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Chinese informs British
The Chinese Emperor Qian Long (Ch’ien Lung) informs the British representative Lord Macartney that the Chinese possess ‘all things’; therefore China has no need of the goods offered by the British in trade. Qian Long has little knowledge of the outside world, or of the growing economic and industrial power of the West. He shares this quality with many of China’s rulers and it continues to be a factor in the relationship between China and the outside world to the time of the Boxer Rebellion. -
The First Opium War
The First Opium War. The war is used by Britain to open up China to trade. The issue is the right of the Chinese government to stop the British importing opium into China. The quick British victory reflects the level of corruption and military backwardness in China. The war ends in 1842 with the Treaty of Nanjing (formerly Nanking). -
The Second Opium War
The Second Opium War. The cause of the second conflict is similar to the first. Westerners want to exploit the markets and raw materials of China and the Chinese government is powerless to stop them. The war ends in 1858 when China signs separate treaties with Britain, France, Russia and the USA. Collectively these are the Treaties of Tianjin (formerly Tientsin). -
War between China and France
The war between China and France is another typically one-sided affair. The French use the war to secure control of the area known as Indo-China. -
The Sino (Chinese)–Japanese War
The Sino (Chinese)–Japanese War. Unlike its larger neighbour, Japan has been quick to recognise the technological superiority of the West and has become modernised. The result is a crushing defeat for Chinese forces as the Japanese take control of Korea and look for the same trading privileges in China as the Western powers. -
Two German missionaries are killed
Two German missionaries are killed. The German government uses this as an excuse to occupy part of the Shandong (formerly, Shantung) peninsula. Britain and Russia demand more territory as well. -
The ‘100 Days of Reform’ begins
The ‘100 Days of Reform’ begins in January. Following the defeat by Japan and the growing territorial demands of the Western powers, Kang You-wei (K’ang Yu-wei), a minor court official, convinces the Emperor Guang Xu (Kuang Hsu) of the need to reform and modernise China. The reform period is brief; it challenges the existing social and military order too much. The emperor’s aunt, the powerful Dowager Empress Ci Xi, stages a coup and takes over with the support of conservative nobles and generals -
First mention of the Boxers in an official government report
The first mention of the Boxers in an official government report. The report makes mention of anti-Christian violence in Shandong province. This violence is directed toward churches, European missionaries and Chinese converts. -
Local governor recruits Boxers
The local governor of Shandong, one of the conservative allies of the Dowager Empress, recruits Boxers as militia in an attempt to oppose more German expansion in his province. This action is seen by historians as evidence of the Qing government using the Boxers to drive out the foreigners. When the Western powers protest, the Governor is replaced and the Qing government appears to take action against the Boxers. The Boxers, however, simply move to the neighbouring province of Zhili (Chihli). -
Boxer violence increases
Boxer violence increases. The Dowager Empress Ci Xi prevents the Imperial army from controlling the Boxers as they attack any foreign outpost, foreigner or Christian. Large numbers of Boxers attack Western homes and businesses in Beijing and Tianjin. Westerners are besieged inside the legation in Beijing. By this time, Imperial troops side with the Boxers. The Western powers respond by sending in troops to crush the Boxers and the Imperial army -
The Western powers impose the Boxer Protocol
The Western powers impose the Boxer Protocol. The Qing calls the attacks a rebellion in order to limit the penalty imposed by the West. They manage to keep the foreign troops out of southern and central China, but it is still a harsh peace treaty that further expands Western power and influence in China.
