Chinas Relations with West from 1839-1911

As the Chinese became more open to trading with Westerners, the country slowly fell into a downward spiral. Once their ports opened and opium began to be traded the west slowly took advantage of the their knowledge and strength. Between 1839 and 1911, many events took place which combined led to the decline of the dynastic period in China and rise to a new revolution within the country.

Chinese relations with the west were troubled from the start. The Chinese did not feel that it was important for their empire to be open to relationships with the outside, and in their minds barbarian, Westerners. Trade was set up on a closed system with the west. The Chinese were able to select who they wanted to trade with and at what price. No regulations were put in place to help control the trade of goods and services. As opium became more prominent, trade also became greater. With a greater amount of goods being traded, the economy slowly becomes weak. The problem was not a physical one, but instead a moral one. With opium use becoming an epidemic, the Chinese had to take action. On March 10, 1839, the first step was taken to stop the opium epidemic. Lin Zeziu was sent to stop the trade of opium in Chinese ports.

Lin made a valiant effort to be diplomatic about the problem. He wrote a formal letter to Queen Elizabeth of Britain telling her that she should be privately ashamed of the problem and they she should take action. With no action being taken however, Lin made the decision to use his force to stop the problem. His first move was to strengthen coastal defenses. He also had all dealers arrested and all merchants to provide an inventory list of their ships cargo. After months this began to work, but the British were not happy and decided to take action.

Charles Elliot, leader of the British military, told the fleets to prepare for war and for all merchant ships to leave their cargo of opium in the ports and that they would be compensated. Lin then quarentined all dealers from their ships to stop communication. The prohibition remained strong for months until October 1, when the British, with pressure from the government, declared war on China. The British were much stronger then the Chinese who underestimated the strength of the western weapons.

After the war, many treaties were signed. The main ones were the Treaty of Nanjing, Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, and two French and Treaties. These treaties became known as the "unequal treaties." They declared that 5 ports were to be opened for Western trade. They also led the way for extraterritoriality, which meant that the British could reside in China, but still be under British law. Also, no favoring of countries would be allowed because of a fixed tariff. With no Chinese law to govern the westerners, hustlers and racketeers were able to run wild.

Although the Chinese went along with the treaties, they did so in a way that allowed them to still keep some of their own ideas. This angered the Britains who felt that their representatives weren't getting the respect that they deserved. The British demanded that the Chinese revise the treaties, but the Chinese refused. Later, a French Missionary was murdered, and a British boat was seized which gave the French and English a reason to take action. China would not officially apologize for the events and this caused French and British troops to march into Tianjin. As a result, the Treaty of Tianjin was signed in 1858. This treaty made opium legal, more ports opened, and gave open passage to foreigners to the interior of China. It also gave the West representation in the Chinese cities. The Chinese still refused to follow most ideas and this caused the Convention at Beijing. This gave the French and Russians, as well as the United States territories in the Chinese land.

With these treaties giving so much power to foreign trade, China's economic situation became very weak. They had no power of trade and therefor were out bid by foreign goods. Being that the Chinese could not argue the British ideas due to their weakened military, they had to abide by Chinese rules. A group known as the Taipings soon became a more prominent fixture in China.