The Boxer Rebellion

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which led to the ultimate demise of Imperial China. So I will look at the impact of outside influence on China and how China reacted to the pressure. Finally, I will look at the impact of the Boxer Uprising.
China’s first major change in policy with regard to the west was set with the Portuguese. The Portuguese first attempted to trade with China, there was an awful precedent that the rest of the West would follow. The Portuguese used force to get what they wanted with regard to trade, port access, and settlement. The Portuguese were considered like bandits, but the Chinese allowed for them to trade and eventually settle. The Chinese viewed themselves as superior and these foreigners as less than civilized. This was integral part of Chinese thinking and was a major factor in the reasoning in the way China dealt with the West. According to Wakeman, the Chinese viewed themselves as superior to all other societies, he states, “The Chinese did not stereotype all barbarians in a single ...

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they marked the entrance of western imperialism into China with Treaty of Nanking. If China perceived the West as a real threat and not as a barbarian, why concede? The Treaty of Nanking was one of many known as ”unequal treaties” (Wakeman, pg. 137). The treaty was based on a policy of appeasement that gave the west a strangle hold in China. China was now dealing with the west on its terms and those terms would be granted to all other countries, this was known as the most-favored nation principle. China’s defense was to deal with the West, “Divide and rule” was breached (Wakeman 140). The Treaty of Nanking set an era of concessions, appeasement, and marked a beginning for resentment ...

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