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Imperialist Desires or Demands
Britain demanded China to open up 4 more ports that would be to their use (5 ports in total) and to allow any and all British citizens to settle on their land with their family. They forced the Chinese citizens to pay taxes directly to British government. From the treaty, it also stated that China would give over Hong Kong into the possession and control of the British and enforced that Britain would be given any of the rights in China that China might grant to any other countries.
Pre-Imperialism: China
and Britain
China before Imperialism remained in isolation and had zero contact with Europe and any of the countries outside of China's borders. From this, China was disconnected from trade. They looked down upon and resented Western ideas and concepts. China believed themselves to have a more superior way of life than all other foreign nations and because of this it created a strong and traditional Chinese culture which all citizens followed and obeyed.
Britain however had a much different view on the idea of international interaction and trade. The British lived in hopes to imperialize all nations and to create alliances with such nations to not only give them more power but to widely increase trade between them. With the introduction of the "Industrial Revolution", the British sought trade routes in order to obtain raw materials from these countries he sought, and China was one of these.
Thesis Restated
The countries of both China and Japan were negatively effected by European and American Imperialism. However, over time Japan became more willing to accept the concept of modernization to improve their country's stregnth and power. China, on the other hand, remained unwilling to support westernization due to them believing in their superiority and isolation but were forced into the interaction with Europe from that point forward.
Thesis: At first both China and Japan had similar reactions to imperialism, but over time China and Japan's opinions regarding Westernization began to differ.
Results
The Impact: Japan and the U.S.
Pre-Imperialism: Japan and the United States
The emperor supported following the Western path of industrialization. By the early 20th century, the Japanese economy had become as modern as any other economy in the world. By 1890, the country had several dozen warships and 500,000 well-trained, well-armed soldiers. It had become the strongest military power in Asia.
In the early 1700s, Japan had shut itself off from almost all contact with other nations. The Japanese had almost no contact with the industrialized world during the 1700s. Under the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns, Japanese society was very tightly ordered. The shogun parceled out land to the daimyo. The peasants worked for and lived under the protection of their daimyo and his small army of samurai, or warriors. This rigid feudal system managed to keep the country free of civil war. Peace and relative prosperity reigned in Japan for two centuries..
The Japanese people weren’t very happy with their shogun had given in to the foreigners’ demands, so they replaced him with Mutsuhito, a young emperor who seemed to represent Japan’s sense of pride and nationalism. In 1867, the Tokugawa shogun stepped down, ending the military dictatorships that had lasted since the 12th century. Mutsuhito’s reign, which lasted 45 years, is known as the Meiji era.
Imperialist Desires
or Demands
The Responses
Mutsuhito realized that the best way to counter Western influence was to modernize, so he sent diplomats to Europe and North America to study Western ways. The Japanese then chose what they believed to be the best that Western civilization had to offer and adapted it to their own country.
Beginning in the early 1900s, Westerners tried to convince the Japanese to open their ports to trade. British, French, Russian, and American officials occasionally anchored off the Japanese coast in hopes that Japan would reconsider. The U.S. sent Matthew Perry to politely ask Japan to allow free trade between two countries. Not only did he ask, he also threatened Japan with a larger fleet of warships to wreak destruction on Japan. Japan’s response was the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, opening two ports at which U.S. ships could take on supplies.