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Jan 1, 1557
Establishes Permanent Portuguese Settlement at Macau
As Asian products became in demand like spices and silk, Europeans sought to gain permanent trade settlements. In 1516, the Portuguese started to use a port city called Mancau as a halfway point for trips from Lisbon and Nagasaki (Japan), and the starting point for trade in China. China, then seeing a way to get money, rents Macau to the Portuguese in 1557. There was a catch though, China didn’t recognize the Portuguese sovereignty. This was pretty much saying “You aren’t as good as us” and -
Period: Jan 1, 1557 to
Time Period
China From 1557 and 1921 Important Events -
Fall of Ming Dynasty, Start of Qing
The Ming Dynasty started in the late 1300’s. The first Emperor was a Buddhist monk who joined a rebellion and later became the leader of that rebellion. This rebellion was against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. When the rebellion overthrew the Yuan, the Ming sought to unify all of China. In the years following years, they were able to complete that goal. During the Ming Dynasty, a lot of great changes occured. The first being the capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. The second was the focu -
British East India Company establishes Guangzhou post
Before 1711, China wanted nothing to do with foreigners. They didn’t want their western ideas, culture, goods, or even presence. In Europe on the other hand, citizens want a lot of eastern goods such as spices and silk. To establish a trading post in a eastern city would be like hitting the jackpot in today’s society because of all the wealth one would obtain is enormous. As time went on, European countries pressured China to allow a post in China. In 1711, China finally said “okay”. China -
The Qianlong Emperor Takes Power
The Qianlong Emperor ruled from approximately 1736 to 1796. He was considered to be the greatest figure in imperial power throughout all history. His main goal was to complete what his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor set out to do, to expand Chinese borders and eradicate the Mongolian people, along with supporting the arts and intellectual growth of China. The Qianlong Emperor was best know for many things. He was a big patron of the arts and led several encyclopedic compilations. Military -
White Lotus Rebellion
The White Lotus Rebellion started in the late 18th century. This was a rebellion to overthrow the Manchu rule over china, aka the Qing Dynasty through tax protests. Under the leadership of Wang Lun, the rebellion then grew in size and power. Most of the protesters were settlers and farmers that were promised salvation if they cooperated. It they believe that so many people joined this rebellion because of all the corrupt local officials extorting the local’s money. The Emperor of China, Qia -
First Opium War
Opium consumption has been practiced in the East for a long time. It has mostly been a drug used for pleasure due to the blissful sensations it created. The trade in opium did not start with the Bast India Company, as most think, but existed long before China opened up to British trade. The Portuguese have been known to carry opium to China as early as the mid 1700s, and there is reasons to believe China produced and consumed opium at least 2 centuries before that. Britain began exporting op -
The Treaty of Nanjing was Created
The treaty of Nanjing was signed August 29, 1842, marking the end of the First Opium War. Britain and China both signed the treaty. The primary purpose of the treaty was to recreate the framework on how trade was conducted. Several port cities were opened up to British trade, where they had the right to send consuls to who could communicate directly with Chinese officials. Trade in each port was subject to fixed tariffs, which would be agreed on by China and Britain. The Chinese wer -
The Taiping Rebellion
Hung Hsiu-ch’uan was a deeply religious young man who believed that God and Jesus spoke to him in his visions. He claimed that they appointed him as the slayer of demons. Hung decided that the demons were idols, and started a movement to destroy these demons. He also created a religious sect called the God Worshippers. The movement was very opposed to Manchu rule, Hung believed that they were the main propagators of idols. Overthrowing the Manchus would help bring in the Kingdom of Heaven t -
Second Opium War (Arrow War)
By the 1850s, The United States and the European powers started to become dissatisfied with the terms of their treaties with China, as well as the horrible job the Qing government was doing with stick to them. The British showed China their view on the issue by attacking the Chinese port cities of Guangzhou and Tianjin. China agreed to sign a new treaty with the British that Britain was much more pleased with. Due to the most-favored-nation clause, all foreign powers operating in China c -
Chiang Kai – Shek
The so called “mortal enemy” of Mao Zedong, Chiang was born on October 31, 1887 to a wine merchant in Fenghua, China. His father died when he was very young so he was sent to live with relatives since his father’s death left the family very poor. Shortly after arriving at his relatives Chiang ran away to join the provincial army. Chiang turned out to be an excellent soldier and was eventually sent to a military academy in Paoting. After the academy he went to the Military State College in Toky -
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Japan and China over the control of Korea. An agreement reached in 1885 called the Li-Ito convention gave both countries the right to place their respective troops within Korea. Koreans revolted against the incumbent government 9 years later, thus both China and Japan sent troops to help stop the rebellion. But after the rebellion was finished, Japan wouldn’t withdraw from Korea, initiating the war. Both navel and land battles were fough -
The Boxer Rebellion
In November of 1899, an event known as the Boxer Rebellion was started by a group known as The Righteous Harmonious Fists also known as The Boxers which gave the Boxer Rebellion its name. The rebellion was started in China and spread to Japan causing Japan, America and Europe to join China in trying to stop the Boxers. The Boxers started their “campaigning” in the Shandong Province in March 1898 in response to the government’s modernization initiative failure, self-strengthening movement, and wi -
Pu Yi, The Last Manchu (Qing) Emperor
The Last Manchu Emperor was Pu Yi who reigned under the title of Hsuan-t’ung. Pu yi was born in 1905 to the second Prince Chun who was the brother of the current emperor, Emperor Kuang-hsu. He was also nephew to the Grand Dowager Tzu His, who had acted as the de fecto governor of China for many years. Pu yi was cousin to the Dowager’s son Kuang-hsu, but was unlikely to see him since his mother kept him completely isolated from all affairs, government and family; where as Pu yi was accepted in bo -
Sun Yat Sen Ruls
Born Sun Yixian, Sun Yat-Sen founded the Tongmeng Hui, also known as the United League, in Tokyo. He elected Huang Xing as his deputy seeing as he was a popular leader of the Chinese Revolutionary movement in Japan. Sun Yat-Sen’s political philosophy was simple and was created in 1897, first announced in 1905 in Tokyo, and modified throughout the early 1920’s. The three principles that Sun Yat-Sen’s philosophy was centered around were known as the Three Principles of the People or San Min Zhuy -
China’s Communist Party under Mao Zedong
After Sun Yat Sen’s death Chiang who was already commander in chief of the NRA (National Revolutionary Army) set out to conquer the parts of China that were under the Northern Warlords. After 9 months, half of China had been re-conquered by Chiang’s Army. However, in 1926 the Guomindang had divided into left win and right wing factions, and the already established communist bloc was growing. In order to prevent communist takeover, Chiang started a purge of all real and thought to be communists
