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In 1644, an offical from the Ming Government allowed the Manchus to enter China to stop a rebellion near the Great Wall. Consequently, this backfired and the Manchus were now a greater threat than the rebels. The Manchus yake control of the government and they then legitimize power by their practice of Confucian teachings.
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Cheating was so widespread that students who honestly took the test protested in Yangzhou. The cheating caused people to be picked based on favoritism rather than the actual test. In other words, anyone who had enough money could buy a spot.
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In 1773, british traders introduced opium to the chinese. Opium is a highly addictive and deadly drug that was banned in Britain because of the drug's deadly effects. Ironically, the British want the chinese to use it.
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In the late 18th century, the Chinese people gave way to corrupt government severe economic dislocations, and social unrest. The western powers took advantage of these weaknesses.
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By 1838, the drug habit of opium among the chinese had grown very widespread. This causes the Manchu emperor to release an imperial edict forbidding the further sale or use of opium. In other words, opium is banned from China.
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In 1839, the chinese siezed British opium in Canton. This helps China get rid of the opium in the country, but Britain looses some money off of it.
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From 1839-1842, Britain and China fought a war over the opium trade. China ws outmatched by British the military, and consequently, China was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing. This treaty was known as one of the 'unequal treaties' by which Britain was given rights to expand trade with China.
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In 1843, Britain declared Hong Kong as it's own territory. This went beyond trading rights, and Britain eventually establihed a British colony in the same region as Hong Kong.
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In 1844, the Manchu dynasty was forced to permit Christain missionaries into China. This really disturbs the chinese citizens because their religion is Buddhism/Hinduism, not christianity.
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By the 1850s, the dikes that prevented floods had broken down. Hundreds of spuare miles of farmland were flooded. Because of this, food shortages broke out, mass migration happens, and there is widespread starvation.
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In the 1860s, the Manchu dynasty tried to get their act together by establishing the Self-Strengthening Movement. Sadly, this movement failed. This failure really weakened the Manchu Dynasty and China as a whole, because now other countries (korea, vietnam) were seeing how weak China is.
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In 1876, Korea realized how weak China was and declared its independence.
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In 1883, the Sino-French War caused China to loose control of Vietnam to the French. The French later established a colony in Vietnam and called it Indochina.
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In 1895, China was defeated in the Sino-Japanese war. In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, China was forced to hand over control of Taiwan anf grant the japanese trading rights similar to those of the Europeans.