RI Y3 RP Fall of Qing China Slides 2021

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF QING CHINA (1850S – 1912)

DECLINE AND FALL OF QING CHINA EXTERNAL THREAT • Refers to the encroachment of the western powers (imperialism) in East Asia. • Western powers adopted a hawkish attitude or foreign policy in their to extract benefits against China • Indirect and direct confrontation caused Qing China to agree to concession. The Treaty of Nanking (29 August 1842) • Ceded Hong Kong to Britain • Paid huge indemnity of 20 million silver dollars • Compensation included • 12 million for Britain’s war costs • 3 million to English merchants for their debts, and • 5 million as compensation for opium that Lin Zexu destroyed • Opening of 5 Chinese treaty ports (Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen/Amoy, Ningbo, and Fuzhou) • Extraterritoriality for British citizens residing in these treaty ports, meaning that they were subject to British, not Chinese, laws • “Most favored nation” clause that any rights gained by other foreign countries would automatically apply to Great Britain

DECLINE AND FALL OF QING CHINA EXTERNAL THREAT Treaty of Tianjin, 1857–1859 • Following the First Opium War in the 1840s, the Western powers concluded a series of treaties with China in an effort to open its lucrative markets to Western trade. • In the 1850s, the United States and the European powers grew increasingly dissatisfied with both the terms of their treaties with China and the Qing Government’s failure to adhere to them. • The British forced the issue by attacking the Chinese port cities of Guangzhou and Tianjin in the Second Opium War. • Under the most-favored-nation clause contained in the existing treaties, all of the foreign powers operating in China were permitted to seek the same concessions of China that Great Britain achieved by force. • As a result, France, Russia, and the United States all signed treaties (list) with China at Tianjin in quick succession in 1858.

DECLINE AND FALL OF QING CHINA INTERNAL THREAT • Refers to attempts by local to rebel (list), resist or revolt against the incumbent regime. • These movements could escalate into armed confrontation with government. • The impact or scale of damage such confrontations varies depending of the degree of local support and the government’s ability to suppress them. THE TAIPING REBELLION Origin • The Taiping Rebellion was a revolt against the Qing dynasty in China, fought with religious conviction over regional economic conditions, and lasting from 1850 to 1864. • The Taiping forces were run as a cult-like group called the God Worshipping Society by self-proclaimed prophet Hong Xiuquan, and resulted in the rebels seizing the city of Nanjing for a decade. Outcome • The Taiping Rebellion eventually failed, however, and led to the deaths of more than 20 million people. • Estimates vary, but the Taiping Rebellion is believed to have claimed between 20 million and 70 million lives, making it one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.

DECLINE AND FALL OF QING