# 8 social Studies times.

Addiction to opium lead to war. The opium war!  

* British merchants smuggle a relaxent drug called opium into china. Over 12 million chinese

Soon become addicted and this causes turmoile in the nations structure. The quing emperor wrote to the british queen to stop smuggling the opium into china but the british refused. War broke out in wich most battling was over seas where the british navy easily   overcame the chinese ending in a british victory and and treaty of nanjing to be signed.

Hong Xiuquan leads the Taiping Rebellion. 

*Hong Xiuquan builds empire of followers. His idea was to create a "heavenly

kingdom of great peace." In which wealth was shared so there was no poverty in china. Over time he created a one million man army and took over large areas of southeast china. The leaders of the taiping government fueded often and the rebellion ended when Quing, British, and french forces defeated them on 1864.

U.S gets intimidated. Organizes open door poilicy with China.

* China had a great threat from european powers and  its own country being colonized. The united states proposed to china that its "doors" be open to all nations in fear that if colonization was to occur  trading rights would not be established. This also protected china from colonization although the country was still at mercy from foriegn powers.

Boxer rebellion caused by eruptiing frusteration.

*Violence erupted as peasants and workers resented the special privileges

Given to foreign merchants.Also resented against chinese Christians who

took on a foreign religion. These chinese people formed the "Society of righteous and harmonious fists" and soon became known as the boxers. They rebelled against the dowager empress's rule until a mulit national force of 19,000 defeated  the boxers at beijing.

Treaty of kanagawa signed between U.S and china.

*Commodore Matthew Perry was sent to japan to deleiver a letter from president fillmore to ask that japan allow free trade between  the U.S and Japan. Japan accepted  only because Perry sent it wiht a threat of coming back a year later with more huge ships for an answer. The japanese opened up two ports to the U.S.

War breaks out between the Russians and  Japenese. Russo-Japenese war.

*Japan and Russia  emerged as the largest powers in the world. The countries soon went to war over Manchuria. Japan launcheda suprise attack on Russian ships and started the war. Japan ended up winning the war after Russia was drove away by japan. Made the treaty of portsmouth afterward.

#7 imperialism

Imperialism is the seizure of one country or territory by a stronger one.Europeans wanted to do this to gain wealth, use it's natural resources, and hold strategic positions.

The british were a main culprit of imperialism. The british perspective of this strategy is good.They would be using another lands resources and selling them.They also thought it was good because then they would go back and sell their goods to the smaller country.They would. Be holding strategic ports to sell there items and the native people could work the land.

The African perspective of this would be the opposite of the british because they were the ones who were getting taken over. They had no representation in the government that was ruling them. They were starving because they were forced to grow cash crops such as cotton instead of food. They would have to work and be soldiers to their controlling country and then they would have to buy the goods they made and grew for alot more money.