Industrial Revolution In China

Chinese leaders could not collectively agree on an approach, and Beijing’s new rulers saw very little value in naval affairs. Seafaring expeditions proved to be costly, forcing higher taxes on an already depraved population. They believed that the financial risk was not worth the little return. Trade did flourish when the Chinese made connections with Western explorers, however the exploits of trade did not benefit the country as a whole. Mongolians and other raiders posed a serious threat to China’s frontier.

Why would people decide to go from “money” with actual wealth to something that ultimately is worth nothing to the owner? People back then, at the time paper money was being made, wondered the same thing. The people who used metals as currency thought the idea of paper money was a joke. “After Marco Polo visited China in the late 13th century, he returned to Europe with tales of a society that used paper money. People found the ideas so ridiculous that they thought he was exaggerating” (Merritt).

To What Extent did interference from European nations contribute to China’s problems in the nineteenth and early twentieth century? The Europeans contributed to China’s problems in nineteenth and early twentieth century to an extent that caused China to rise up and modernize. China for many years was an imperialist ‘nation’ with different dynasties that ruled for thousands of years. For most of the 18th century, the Qing emperors claimed that China was superior to other nations. They kept the idea that China was the center of civilization and had little need of foreign technology, learning or goods.

The Qianlong Emperor sent a letter to King George III stating, “I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country’s manufactures” (The Qianlong Emperor 1793). The Chinese refusal of trade with Britain ultimately led to the Chinese loss of the Opium War and allowed the British to gain control over China. Although the most significant causes of European Imperialism in both Africa and China were similar due to the fact that the belief that one country was superior in comparison to another was present in both situations, the most significant causes also differed in which country held the

The Great Wall did not work 100% of the time, but it still helped protect China. No, the Great Wall did not always keep the Mongols out, nor did it ensure the safety of every person. But what we do know is that if it weren’t for the Great Wall, China would not nearly be as successful as it is today. "Heavy fighting against the Xiongnu during much of the 2nd century BCE" (Document E). As I stated above the Great Wall did not ensure the safety of every person.

The expedition reached its furthest point on twelfth March 1488. Bartolomeu Dias wanted to continue sailing towards India but he was forced to turn back because his crew refused to sail any further. It was then on the returning voyage he discovered The Cape of Good Hope on May, 1488. He returned to Lisbon in the month of December later on that year after an absence of over sixteen months. The discovery of this passage was very important to the Europeans, because they realized that they could trade directly with India and some parts of Asia bypassing the land route through the Middle East.

This audience is believed to be his sell mates, and through one of the cell mates whom had written down the stories, and the result of this came to be known as the travels of Marco Polo. Marco Polo became Europe’s primary source of information about China until the 19th century, and even since then people did not completely believe his stories as he did not write it himself, they are of no value as sources of what he observed on his travels. Many doubt Polo going to China as his stories do not mention for example the Great Wall, and many other advances during his time there and even before he reached there. Although Polo’s credit of being in China is believed to have been due to one of the things he had brought back such as printing and explosive

In the west wages were declining due to the Chinese immigrants taking jobs. Then the government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 to protect the American’s jobs. The act stated no Chinese immigrants would be allowed in unless their parents lived in America. After this act was passed the main concern of the government was urbanization. They government helped out with five challenges of urbanization crime, fire, transportation, sanitation and water.

In Great Britain, instead of spending their own silver, they sold opium with Chinese citizens for silver to be used to trade between governments. Great Britain was exploiting China for its products while also smuggling in illegal drugs. After China ordered the opium to be taken away in 1839, merchants were outraged and asked the British government for assistance. The British soon attacked along the Chinese coast in June of 1840, and with their old military technology, China lost to the British. Britain made China agree to pay a large fine, open five more ports to foreign trade, give British citizens special legal rights in China, and offer the British a 99-year lease for the island of Hong Kong.

With colonization came missionaries. The missionaries in India allowed for Christianity to spread and flourish in the world. Without the search, colonization, and conversion of India, the world we know today would be delayed if not nonexistent. European exploration began during the Middle Ages. During the late 13th century, Italian explorer Marco Polo went on a 25-year overland journey through Mongolia and Japan in search of a route to the Far East for trading textiles and spices.