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A Hundred Years of Humiliation- How Western Powers Ruined Chinese Empire

Politicsย | 18:41, 27.12.2015 (updated 18:45, 27.12.2015) |ย http://sptnkne.ws/auCD

What is at the root of Beijing's incredulity toward the West? To unveil the mystery one should look back in history to the colonization of China; unbelievably, a hundred years ago China's statehood was hanging in the balance.

China, or Zhonggou ("Middle Kingdom") dates fromย 2353 BC; byย 18th century the kingdom had undergone a series ofย crises, wars and geopolitical victories, successfully maintaining its influence overย Eastern Asia.

China could also boast a rapidly growing economy. Up toย the 18th century the country's GDP was twice that ofย Western Europe.

Western merchants appeared inย Chinese waters inย the early 16th century. The Dutch, Portuguese and British tried their best toย open trading enclaves atย the Chinese borders, butย their attempts toย penetrate intoย the heart ofย the Middle Kingdom were met withย fierce resistance.

  • The Chinese believed that they possessed all the technological and intellectual skills they needed toย run their empire. Furthermore, they regarded Europeans as "barbarians" and did not see the necessity toย be involved inย trade and interaction withย Westerners.


The Chinese agreed toย sell tea, silk and porcelain toย the British inย return forย silver butย rejected European goods, monitoring closely merchants' movements withinย Cantonย โ€” the only port the foreigners were allowed toย enter.

The East India Company and Illicit Opium Trade

Of course the state ofย affairs did not satisfy the Western merchants, particularly the British East India Company. The company was not interested inย pouring silver intoย the Chinese coffers. The demand forย tea was enormous atย that time and the East India Company risked running outย of silver. It needed a hot commodity which would help the company break intoย China's market.

Eventually the solution was found and it was called "opium."ย  On behalf onย the British Crown, the East India Company administered parts ofย India: byย the 1760s it gained control overย the north-western Indian territories including Bengal. The Bengal region was famous forย its opium plantations. It was considered a luxury item byย Indians who used it asย medicine or drank it asย a beverage.

However, afterย the East India Company seized the region, it expanded the poppy cultivation which provided the British Empire withย immense economic wealth.

  • Opium is a highly addictive substance. The British merchants knew it perfectly well and used it toย their advantage. In 1773 the company launched its opium project inย China. The trade was completely illicitย โ€” the Chinese government had repeatedly banned the consumption ofย opium. However, the British company used various ways toย smuggle the narcotic intoย the country.ย 


At the end ofย 18th century the trade ofย the drug increased tremendously. For comparison's sake, atย the time when the opium trade was prohibited byย the Chinese government inย 1729 aboutย 200 chests (12 tons) were imported toย China fromย abroad.

However, afterย the British East India Company maintained its control overย the illicit drug trade the amount ofย opium imported intoย China surged toย 10,000 a year (between 1820 and 1830) and soon mounted toย 40,000 chests (2,500 tons) ofย opium byย 1838.

Pic 4. Opium smokers 1880s

Opium smokers 1880s

The Opium Wars: Great Britain versus China

The British opium trade dealt a heavy blow toย China's economy, political, social and cultural spheres. The addictive drug caused significant damage toย the nation's health and productivity. Millions ofย Chinese drug addicts were dying. However, the British Empire throughย its emissaries tried toย extend the lucrative drug business inย China.

In response, the Qing ruling dynasty toughened restrictions againstย the British opium trade. This conflict escalated intoย the First Opium War betweenย Britain and China fromย 1839 toย 1842.

Pic 6. Queen Loitering- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visits the Tower of London's 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' poppy installation in central London on October 16, 2014

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visits the Tower of London's 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' poppy installation in central London on October 16, 2014

Tearing the 'Middle Kingdom' Apart

Predictably, Western European governments jumped atย the chance toย tear the weakened Chinese empire apart. In 1883 France launched an all-out advance inย northern Vietnam (Tonkin). Vietnam was China's vassal-state butย the Qing dynasty was unable toย protect it. Although the Chinese army performed better thanย in the First and the Second Opium Wars, the French defeated it and gained protectorate overย Annam and Tonkin inย 1885. By 1887 so-called French Indochina absorbed the territories ofย Cochinchina, Annam and Tonkin (the territories ofย modern Vietnam) and Cambodia.

The Chinese people were deeply frustrated byย the Western advance and the incapability ofย the Qing dynasty toย cope withย the problem. Between 1899 and 1901 the Boxer Rebellion took place inย China aimed againstย the Western influence and Christian communities. However, besidesย religious matters, the uprising was caused first and foremost byย the decades ofย foreign aggression and humiliation ofย the Chinese. The European powers decided toย step inย and divide the country intoย spheres ofย influence inย order toย settle the conflict.

In order toย protect the country's sovereignty China's Empress Dowager Cixi decided toย take the "boxers" side and declared war againstย the Western powers. The future ofย the Chinese statehood and its national identity was hanging atย the balance, sinceย the military power ofย the West exceeded that ofย China.

  • However, the First World War (1914-1918) saved China fromย dissolution. Since then the country has been repeatedly subjected toย the foreign aggression untilย it was re-unified and reformed underย the rule ofย the Communist Party ofย China, which worked inย close cooperation withย the USSR. By 1949 the Chinese Communists gained control overย the mainland and centralized the country. Interestingly enough, it was China's Communist Party who wiped outย the opium "plague" fromย the country.


Although the country has finally reached peace and stability and made an incredible technological leap, China's memory ofย the West is far fromย benign.

โŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏโŽฏ

Ekaterina Blinova is a historian specialized inย medieval and modern history, international relations, political science and sociology. She is a regular contributor toย Sputnik International.

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