by the turn of the 19th century China was under the rule of the great Ching an ethnic Manu Dynasty who reigned over a vast and culturally Rich Empire boasting advancements in art Science and Technology despite occasional internal strife the Ching maintained a rigid social hierarchy and bureaucratic structure deeply rooted in Confucian ideals which guided everything from Imperial to CES to daily life this period was also characterized by a self-sufficient economy with agricultural productivity and traditional crafts underpinning local and National Prosperity exports in tea silk and Porcelain flourished although it was tightly controlled by the state internationally China viewed itself as culturally Superior and largely self-reliant requiring from the outside world though that didn't mean they were insular since the 17th century the Ching had made efforts to exert their influence across Central Asia Coastal Asia and Russia ensuring their dominance over the Far Eastern World however beneath its strong facade the Ching Dynasty struggled with governance challenges widespread corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency Rising social unrest due to population growth inefficient food supply and tax issues along with a reluctance to modernize and an underestimation of Western technology left China ill prepared for the challenges it would soon face with the arrival of European powers and their imperialistic Ambitions the first of these challenges came with the trade of opium a narcotic substance derived from the Opium poppy historically the trade of opium in China had existed as early as the Tang Dynasty and by 1589 had become a taxable commodity before the 17th century opium was mainly medicinal treating a variety of issues from veril to bowel problems but the practice of smoking the drug was soon introduced from Southeast Asia this practice intensified when a method to smoke pure opium was discovered in the 18th century leading many users to pursue the drug for recreation opium could relieve both physical and emotional stress reducing the strain of Labor and everyday living like most recreational drugs however there's a catch opium was extremely addictive and any attempts at withdrawal often led to severe cramps muscle twitching chills and nausea by 1729 over 200 chests of opium were being imported into China China every year with each chest containing roughly 140 lb of opium however its Rising popularity caused Imports to swell rapidly widespread addiction plagued various social classes including government and Imperial Court officials in response the Chinese government banned opium importation and production in 1800 then criminalized its use in 1813 imposing harsh penalties despite these measures British Traders evaded restrictions by selling to local Smugglers off the coast of Guangdong this meant the import quantities continued to rise in 1838 alone over 40,000 chests of opium found its way into China the Opium trade's immense profitability attracted criminal groups who undermined law enforcement with bribery and Corruption thwarting the Ching government's efforts to control the trade in 1839 ly zesu was appointed as Imperial commissioner to tackle the growing crisis his Firm Stance including blockading British traders in Canton and destroying over 20,000 chests of opium directly challenged British economic interests before we continue I'd like to thank the sponsor of today's video story blocks a stock media subscription service with a vast library of stock videos images audio and sound effects while the content we create is primarily hand animated not all creators have the skills or time needed to create their own video assets or the funding to afford Freelancers to do all the jobs for them that's where story blocks comes into play story blocks curated stock library has everything you need to create highquality videos in one place with over a million 4K or HD footage templates music sound effects images and more save time and money and take your videos to the next level using thousands of pre-made professional video templates with your favorite editing program including After Effects premere Pro Apple motion and da Vinci resolve while stock footage is less useful for our animated content story blocks does offer a vast library of really useful audio files and I was really impressed with the extensive collection of sound effects and music that were available for us and anything you download with story blocks is 100% royaltyfree meaning you don't need to worry about copyright strikes licensing fees or other legal rights to support our Channel and get started with unlimited stock media downloads all at one set price head to story blocks.com armchair historian or click the link in the description below unperturbed the British responded to commissioner Lynn's actions with mil military force British Naval power equipped with Advanced steampowered gunboats and modern artillery proved overwhelming against the outdated Ching military key battles including the capture of Canton and the yangi river campaigns led to a series of British victories the war concluded with the treaty of Nan King in 1842 which imposed harsh conditions on China including seeding Hong Kong to Britain opening reports to British Traders and establishing extra territorial rights for foreigners in China the treaty of Nan King became the first of the unequal treaties that eroded China's sovereignty through one-sided concessions the next of these treaties came just 2 years later in 1844 when the Ching Dynasty and Kingdom of France signed the Treaty of wo this effectively granted France the same privileges as Britain under the treaty of Nan King and more importantly secured the legalization to practice Christianity in 1846 however despite such concessions the Ching's position on the opium trade was set firmly against both French and British interests the years following the first Opium War saw tensions simmer as Britain France and other foreign powers pressed their influence against the resistant Ching Dynasty this resistance often came came in the form of repressing Western subjects engaged in the trade of opium in 1847 the British launched the expedition to Canton in response to such repression against British Traders forcefully taking the Strategic boka tigis Forts and signaling their Readiness to challenge Chinese sovereignty the 1850s an era of aggressive Western imperialism brought these Brewing conflicts to head Britain citing the most Ed Nation status sought to renegotiate the treaty of Nan King with ambitions to fully open China to British merchants legalize opium exempt imports from taxes and establish an ambassador in the capital of pay King the French and Americans with their respective treaties eyed similar expansions of influence and trade rights ultimately the flash point came with the arrow incident the seizure of a Chinese ship with expired British registration by Ching authorities and the subsequent desecration of the British flag provided the casus belly Britain sought Harry Parks the British Consul demanded the release of the crew and an official apology which the Ching resisted this diplomatic impass would soon escalate into the second Opium War using the arrow incident Britain and France launched strategic offensives demonstrating their military superiority at Canton and the Dagu forts this led to the Ching signing the treaties of tensen and igon in 1858 however the war persisted despite the Ching signing treaties as they were not ratified until 1860 when the Xiang Fang Emperor fled pay King fighting raged on until Western forces occupied pay King and destroyed the old Summer Palace forcing the emperor's brother Prince gong to oversee the Ching's official capitulation the convention of pay King in 1860 ended the second Opium War but its stipulations were harsh eroding China's sovereignty seeding territory to Russia opening more ports to foreign powers and legalizing the opium trade stripping the Ching of control over its importation and manufacturer amid the turmoil of the Opium Wars the Ching Dynasty faced the Dual threat of external aggression and internal Revolt the Empire already reeling from the Opium crisis and the encroachment of Western Powers confronted a new level of domestic instability with the White Lotus and eight trigrs Uprising these conflicts drained Imperial resources setting the stage for the Monumental taiping rebellion in 1850 which saw 20,000 Rebels mobilized throughout South Central China these Rebels consisted primar arily of ethnic Haka peoples who were left disenfranchised by the ruling Manu at the head of this movement was Hong Chan a charismatic revolutionary whose religious ideals rallied together the disperate Haka people Hong's radical vision for social and political reform helped the Rebellion inflict unprecedented destruction across China exacerbating the woes of a dynasty Under Siege the taiping Rebellion unfolding against the backdrop of foreign intervention sought to upend the Ching status quo at its heart in Nan King the taiping government challenged entrenched norms advocating for land redistribution and gender equality the radical ideologies and aggressive military strategies of the Tai ping not only targeted the Ching Dynasty's power but also led to widespread destruction and suffering as Rebels pursued Hong's call for prolonged conflicts resulted in staggering casualties estimates suggest that between 20 to 30 million people lost their lives making it one of the deadliest conflicts in all human history despite the Tai Ping's initial military triumphs their challenge to Ching rule was met with brutal force compounded by support from Western powers for the ching and internal strife within taing ranks thanks to Hong's increasingly erratic Behavior local Chinese Elites in central China were able to Rally their own forces and destroy the rebels in 1864 putting an end to the movement once and for all the years following the taiping Rebellion saw Ching rulers endure a slew of embarrassing setbacks the Sino French war of 1884 to 1885 saw China clash with French forces for control over Indochina but French victory forced the Ching to seed the territories of Anam and tonen concurrently the Pavlov agreement of 1885 with Russia had china concede the strategically important Lee region the later British expedition to sikim in 1888 also diminished Imperial Sway in the Himalayas Japan's growing prominence in East Asia was then marked by the first Sino Japanese war of 1894 to 1895 which saw the Ching lose Taiwan and concede Japanese influence over Korea in the wake of these successive territorial losses and diplomatic setbacks the Ching Dynasty faced heightened vulnerability and diminishing control this period of escalating external pressures led many peasants and workers to become disillusioned with foreign encroachment and Christian influence these grievances were championed by a secret society of nationalists known as the righteous and harmonious fists westerners quickly came to refer to their followers as boxers due to their prowess in martial arts by 1899 the boxers had instigated a nationalist Uprising targeting foreign Nationals and Chinese converts to Christianity the Rebellion started in Shandong Province and quickly engulfed the areas around pay King by 1900 this provoked a response from for powers in China who formed an eight-nation alliance to deal with the boxers the Allied Forces consisted of nearly 55,000 troops with Japan Russia and Britain providing the majority of soldiers to the war effort the Ching Dynasty initially caught between suppressing the boxer Uprising and maintaining diplomatic relations with foreign powers found itself in a precarious position initially the Ching government under Empress Dowager sishi cooperated with the eight Nation Alliance recognizing the Potential Threat the boxers posed to both foreign Nationals and their own tenuous hold on power this cooperation however was short-lived and fraught with internal conflict as the Rebellion gained momentum and popular support Empress Dowager seishi sensing a shift in public sentiment decided to back the boxers this tramatic decision was influenced by several factors in including the growing anti-foreign and anti-christian sentiment among the populace the boxers portrayal as Defenders of Chinese sovereignty and the Ching Court's own disillusionment with the ineffectiveness of foreign alliances and treaties in a strategic move to align with nationalist fervor in June 1900 SEI declared war on the foreign powers effectively siding with the boxers this decision aimed to leverage the uprising to consolidate the Ching's weakening Authority and expel foreign influence but It ultimately plunged China into a deeper conflict during the Battle of tianin in July 1900 the Western forces launched a significant offensive to capture the Strategic City their success provided a key gateway to pay King leading Allied Forces to relieve the boxers Siege of the international legations on August 14th these actions prompted SEI and much of the Ching Court to flee to Shian by the afternoon the Allied Forces had effectively crushed the boxer forces leading to the city's occupation by Foreign troops these victories compelled the Ching government to negotiate leading to the signing of the boxer protocol in September 1901 signaling the end of the Rebellion as well as imposing harsh penalties on China Key stipulations including building memorials for Western victims suspending civil exams in violence stricken areas and a 2-year arms import ban they also had to allow permanent foreign military presence in Pay King and transform the zangi Yaman building into a Ministry of Foreign Affairs financially they were burdened with a colossal Indemnity of 450 million Tales equivalent to $333 million at the time this cost was over twice their annual revenue made worse by added interest which left China paying off the last installment of this debt in 1940 the boxer protocols signing in September 1901 marked a pivotal moment in the Ching Dynasty's decline Empress Dowager sishi who had fled to Xian during the Allied forces's capture of P King eventually returned to the capital facing a dramatically altered political landscape the Ching Dynasty now severely weakened and internationally isolated confronted mounting pressure for reform and modernization this period saw numerous attempts at internal restructuring including the new policies or late Ching reforms which aimed to modernize the military economy and educational system however these efforts were too little too late to salvage the crumbling Dynasty the final blow came with the wuang uprising in October 19111 a Revolt that quickly escalated into the shenhai revolution this WI widespread Rebellion driven by a coalition of revolutionary groups and disaffected provinces signaled the end of Imperial rule in February 1912 The Last Emperor Pui abdicated marking the fall of the Ching Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China this profound transformation ended over 2,000 years of Imperial Rule and ushered in an era of republicanism albeit one Frau with its own challenges and instabilities