The Division of Asia

1. The Division of Asia Academic World History II

2. The British in India • British involvement in India dates back to the 1500s, when English traders first discovered India. • In 1600, the East India Company was formed. • Throughout the 1800s, the British continued to expand their territory in India. • The East India Company came to control most of India by the mid 1800s.

3. The Sepoy Rebellion • In 1857, Sepoys rebelled against their British commanders. • Sepoy – Indian soldier in the British army. • Reasons for rebellion: • Bullets were greased with fat from pigs and cows. • The tips had to be bit off bullets. • Most Sepoys were either Hindu or Muslim. • Hindus thought cows were sacred and Muslims couldn’t touch pork. • Sepoys resented British attempts at imposing Christianity and European ways on them. • The Rebellion failed, but it forced the British to tighten control on India.

4. British in India • The East India Company was dissolved. • The British sent a viceroy to rule over the company’s territory. • Viceroy- governor representing a monarch. • The British tried to appease Indians by spending money on India’s economic development. • The British discriminated against the Indians. • They were forced to change their ancient ways. • They were forced to grow cotton instead of wheat, leading to a food shortage that killed many Indians. • Outraged by many problems, Indians formed the Indian National Congress in an effort to gain more rights.

5. Imperialism in China • During the 1500s, Chinese civilization was very advanced. • Trade between China and Europe was limited. • Under the Qing Dynasty, China became weaker politically, economically, and militarily. • In the early 1800s, British merchants began smuggling a drug called opium into China. • The Chinese military tried to stop the smuggling, but the British resisted, leading to war. • The British won the Opium War and signed the first of many foreign treaties with the Qing Dynasty. • The Chinese called these the unequal treaties.

6. Imperialism in China, cont. • Over the next 60 years, many other countries signed unequal treaties with China. • These increased foreign power in China and weakened the Qing Dynasty. • Civil Wars, including the Taiping Rebellion, further weakened the Qing Dynasty. • Spheres of Influencewere created by Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan. • The United States didn’t claim a sphere of influence, but they tried to open China to trade for all nations through the Open Door Policy. • Europeans agreed to this policy in 1899.

7. The Boxer Rebellion • Empress Ci Xi, the mother of the Qing Emperor, opposed all foreigners and modernization. • She prevented the emperor from ruling in his own right and encouraged antiforeigner groups. • One group she encouraged was the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, also known as the Boxers. • Boxers believed in Chinese rituals and traditions and hated foreigners. • The Boxers launched a series of attacks, killing hundreds of foreigners and thousands of Chinese Christians. • They took over Beijing, the capital of China. • Foreign powers gathered an army of 25,000 troops and crushed the rebellion.

8. The Empress fled the city. • The Qing Dynasty continued to rule, only with foreign backing. The Revolution of 1911 • After the Boxer Rebellion, Ci Xi struggled to hold power. • She gave in to some of her people’s demands for change. • Despite this, many Chinese felt the need for a modern Republic, and felt revolution was the only way to get it. • Revolutionaries formed the Union League, with Sun Yat-sen as its leader. • They attacked troops loyal to the Qing Dynasty, but were unsuccessful.

9. Revolution of 1911, cont. • After the Empress died in 1908, further confusion resulted, weakening the dynasty. • Three years later, Sun Yat-sen was raising money in the United States when the emperor’s troops revolted against the dynasty. • They were successful, and Sun Yat-sen returned and became the first President of the Republic of China in 1911.

10. Modernization of Japan • The Japanese cut off trade with Europe in the early 1600s. • Japan began trading again when Matthew Perry sailed into the bay at Edo and persuaded Japan to trade with the U.S. • The shogun (military commander) signed a treaty with Perry in 1854. • Over the next five years, Japan signed treaties with other countries. • Treaties favored the imperialist powers. • Japanese were unhappy and called for an overthrow of the shogun.

11. Modernization of Japan, cont. • A group of samurai known as the Meiji took over Japan. • Meiji – “enlightened” • The Meiji tried to make Japan a great power. • They adopted the slogan “Rich country, strong military.” • The Meiji modernized Japan. • Parliamentary government, strong military, industrialized society. • They believed that leadership should be based on talent, not birth.

12. Industrialization of Japan • Japan began to industrialize to strengthen the economy. • They didn’t want to borrow money from the west. • Japan carried out economic reforms to raise money. • Revised tax structure. • Developed modern currency system. • Built postal and telegraph networks, railroads, and ports. • Japan’s economy grew rapidly. • New technology and cheap labor allowed Japan to produce low priced goods.

13. Japan as a World Power • As Japan continued to grow, they began creating an overseas empire. • Korea was the first area Japan attempted to claim. • When Koreans revolted against China, Japan helped them gain independence. • As a result, Japan gained partial control of Korea’s trade. • Japan defeated Russia, who also had interests in Korea, in the Russo-Japanese War. • Japan’s victory over Russia proved small countries can defeat European powers. • Japan became an imperialist country. • It made Korea a colony and would continue to expand its empire for the next 35 years.

14. Southeast Asia • Southeast Asia is made of two archipelagos, or groups of islands. • East Indies and the Philippines. • The East Indies were under Dutch control. • The Dutch used the culture system, a system of forced labor, to get raw materials from the East Indies. • They discouraged westernization, the spread of European civilization, in these areas. • Spain controlled the Philippines. • The Spanish paid Filipinos very low wages, causing them to revolt in 1896.

15. Southeast Asia, cont. • When the U.S. declared war on Spain in 1898, they promised to make the Philippines independent if the rebels helped against the Spanish. • After winning the war, the U.S. broke the promise and made the Philippines a colony. • Great Britain and France struggled for control of mainland Southeast Asia. • Great Britain took control of Burma and Malaya. • France controlled Indochina, the area that is now Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

16. Southeast Asia, cont. • Struggles between Europeans for economic control brought disturbance and destruction to Southeast Asia. • Western products and practices changed the way of life in southeast Asia.