China Trade from Early 17th Century to Mid 19th Century Essay

Around seventeenth and 18th century, Western countries were extremely eager to reach the profitable Chinese market due to its privileged geological location. Although china had make dod their riches with atomic number 63 along the Silk Road for centuries, Chinese governing body were afraid that the sea trade to the south would potenti totallyy corrupt their imperial kingdom and get on leaven to conquer the country. From 1700 onwards, the government established a set of rigid restrictions wondrous the practice of Co-hong to confine foreign trades and merchants in quarter.However, by recently 18 century, the employment system seemed to change. The British commenced the opium trade, which created a steady demand among Chinese addicts and further solved the chronic imbalanced trade. As the Opium War bust out with Britain, chinaware was no longer on the top of the world. The celestial Empire not exclusively was forced to be subservient to British trading regulations, but also somewhat became a semi-colonial country. The East India troupe founded in 1600 that held a monopoly in east India by the British government was rapidly enlarging its global trading influence in China.By direct a company trader to address their concern regarding to the unreasonable restrictions on trade in Canton, the representative James Flint was arrested and impris atomic number 53d for macrocosm breaking the Canton trading law. This incident showed Chinas superior attitude toward Westerners and how they manipulated the trade irrationally in their best engagement disregarding the concerns of foreign traders. The growing number of foreign traders in the late eighteenth century strongly threatened the Qing.They feared that the trade with foreign merchants would fix the opportunity for Westerners to corrupt China thereof, a set of laws that was so called Canton system was established. The system restricted all European trades to only whiz port Canton and foreign merchants were forbidden to abode in the urban center except trading season. Moreover, the Europeans had to obey the licensed Co-Hong merchants, of who were responsible for controlling the trading behavior in Canton. As a result, these complex and irksome rules created a tension between foreigners and Chinese merchants, British traders especially.In 1792, a British ambassador passkey George Macartney set sail to China hoping to seek the adulation of the Qing emperor butterfly to loosen some of the trading restrictions to the British traders. Yet, the letters to the Emperor was unreservedly rejected the response was fairly disappointing. Emperor Qianlongs edicts to George triple in response to McCartneys demands on English traders showed his arrogant and wicked attitude toward the British. As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and consume no use for you countrys manufacturers. (105 Cheng and Letz with Spence) Furthermo re, in his indorsement edict, he stated, But your Ambassador has now put forward revolutionary requests which completely fail to recognize the Thrones principle to portion out strangers from afar with indulgence and to exercise a pacifying control over cruel tribes, the world over. (106 Cheng and Letz with Spence) He describes foreigners as barbarians, which showed how he disrespected all Westerners and measured China as the most superior in the world other countries would have obey Chinese law.British viewed Qings legal regulation as unreasonable and perceived the Chinese officials as obstinate governance, which further exasperated the existed tension between the two nations. Meanwhile, a network of opium was widely distributed throughout China. In order to pay for the tremendous demand of Chinese tea, silk and porcelain pottery in Europe, Britain and other European nations determined to import the one product which became the factor that corrupted the Imperial Empire opium .Opium addiction train arose in a short period of time, which affected not only the imperial troop but also the governmental officials. Thus, Emperor Daoguang nominate Commissioner Lin to confiscate opium from English ships and refused to pay indemnity to the British traders. The efforts of the Qing dynasty to coerce the opium restraints resulted in the trading conflict, which had already existed for decades between Britain and China triggered the Opium War in 1840. Lord Palmerstons dispatch to the Emperor of China was a message to depose the Qing that Great Britain would no longer be submissive. The British government therefore has determined at once to send out a ocean and Military Force to the Coast of China to act in confine of these demands, and in order to convince the Imperial governing body that the British Government attaches the upmost importance to his matter, and that the affair is one which will not suit of delay. (125 Cheng and Letz with Spence) The dispatch si mply showed the Britains intentions to use force to protect its subjects in China, Canton in particular.After the damaging defeats in the war, the first incommensurate treaty, Treaty of Nanjing was sign-language(a) after the War, which awakened China from its fantasy of superiority. In the Treaty, China opened several ports and exposed its markets to Western merchants, which turned the profound kingdom into a semi-colonial country. Consequently, the role in the national economy had reversed. China was now forced to obey all the demands in the Treaty of Nanjing signed with the British. China was no longer the Celestial Empire inversely, it was slowly slide down from the top of the world.