How Did China Became An Imperial Power

The Chinese did not successfully integrate western imperial ideals into their traditional culture, so they were unable to resist. There were numerous aspects that influenced the west’s victory over China such as: allowing the west to do as they pleased, unfair treaties, and uprisings/rebellions. The treaty of Nanjing end the first opium war in 1842, but was founded on British terms. The British imposed on Chinese sovereignty and opened up five trade routes. The Great Powers were exhibiting their superiority over China by granting themselves special privileges, establishing military bases, extracting raw materials, and building railroads. The boxer uprisings of 1898-1901 created more friction between China and the west by killing Europeans and Chinese christians. These factors hindered China’s ability to resist western influence, and ultimately caused them to become weak and dependent on the west. The Ottomans failed to resist Europe because of their inability to compete with Europe, unfair treaties, defensive modernization, and secular reformists. European factories that manufactured cheap goods were superior to the Ottoman’s ability to create goods, and caused Ottoman revenue to decline. Defensive modernization caused europeans and european influence
The two centuries of peace provided economic growth, commercialization, and urban development; by not needing those things Japan did not become heavily dependent on Europe. By withstanding western imperialist onslaughts Japan’s strong foundation became a large asset; a quote from Strayer emphasizes this point: Far from succumbing to Western domination, Japan joined the club of imperialist countries by creating its own East Asian Empire” (Strayer 852). These factors aided Japan’s ability to resist imperial power, and ultimately become an imperial