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Opium Wars
These were a series of wars fought between the Chinese and the British, caused by the British who were smuggling opium into China because they needed tea, silk, and porcelain. The Chinese tried to stop the British from smuggling because the problems with opium had gotten so bad so they started fighting; however, this was unsuccessful as the British easily defeated the Chinese, so nothing changed -
Treaty of Nanjing
This was the treaty signed marking the end of the Opium Wars; however, this was a very unfair and unequal treaty. This treaty granted the British lots of money and control of Hong Kong while China received nothing and the British owed nothing to them. -
Sepoy Rebellion
The Sepoys, who are Indian soldiers, rebelled against the British who had total control over them. The British put down this rebellion in less than a year. The overall impact of this rebellion was that British Parliament tightened control of India and it ended the dominance of the East India Company. -
Boer War
This was a war between a South African tribe, the Boers and the British which was called the first modern "total" war. This war was very violent and visious; the Boers launched raids and used guerrilla tactics to defeat the British while the British burned the Boers's farms and imprisoned the women and children of the tribe. -
Boxer Rebellion
This was a rebellion of the peasants in China who rebelled against European/Western influence on China. Meanwhile, the Chinese Empress left this situation alone and allowed these Chinese people to continue on with their actions causing the Europeans to have to come over to China and defend their people. This eventually led to a Chinese defeat. -
Open Door Policy
This was a policy created by the United States in order to open Chinese trade up to all nations, which previously depended on which country held which trading rights. -
Revolution of 1911
This was a revolution of the Chinese people who were completely against the current (at the time) Qing dynasty but instead wanted a completely new form of government, specifically a modern, independent republic. The Chinese citizens won in this revolution and soon created a democracy, ending the dynastic cycle.
