HIS 101 Module 3 Case Study Challenges in East Asia, 1800­1912

HIS 101 Module 3 Case Study Challenges in East Asia, 1800­1912

Module 3 ­ Case
Challenges in East Asia, 1800­1912
 
Barbarians at the Southern Gates: The Opium War and After.  Although the advances by Europeans in 
science and industry made them dangerous rivals to the empire, the Chinese continued to treat  
Europeans as just another type of barbarian. Confrontation occurred over the importation of opium from  
India into China. The British lacked commodities, apart from silver, to exchange for Chinese goods.  
Indian­grown opium reversed the trade balance in their favor, but the Chinese saw the trade as a threat to  
their social order. Silver left the country, and opium addiction became rampant. Government efforts to  
check the problem failed until the 1830s when an important official, Lin Zexu, came to end the trade at  
Canton and nearby. When he blockaded European trading areas and destroyed opium, the merchants  
demanded and received military intervention. The British invaded in 1839; the Chinese were defeated on  
sea and land and sued for peace. Another conflict ended similarly in the 1850s. The settlement after the  
first war awarded Hong Kong to the British and opened other ports to European trade and residence. By  
the 1890s, 90 ports were open and foreigners had gained long­term leases over ports and surrounding  
territory. Opium continued to pour into China. By mid­century, British officials managed China’s foreign  
trade and customs system, and the court had to accept European ambassadors.
Read the information in the background material, look for more information, and then write a 3 to 5 page  
paper answering the following questions:
• Describe the purpose of the paper and conclusion.

• Answer the case assignment questions clearly and provide necessary details.

• Provide a quality argument; that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar  
mistakes or run­on sentences.

• Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page