China: Qing Dynasty, Opium Wars

China

Qing Dynasty

• The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912.

Canton System

• The Canton System (1757-1842) restricted foreign trade to the port of Canton (Guangzhou), China to manage and control trade with the West.

Taiping Rebellion

• The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) was a large-scale revolt against the Qing Dynasty in China, led by Hong Xiuquan. This rebellion devastated large parts of China.

Opium Wars

• The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China and China's sovereignty.
• The First Opium War (1839-1842) was fought between China and Great Britain, resulting in a British victory and the Treaty of Nanking.
• The Second Opium War (1856-1860), also known as the Arrow War, was fought by Britain and France against China, resulting in another Chinese defeat.

Extraterritoriality

• Extraterritoriality refers to the exemption of foreign residents from the laws of the country in which they are residing.

Boxer Rebellion

• The Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China towards the end of the Qing dynasty.

Empress Cixi

• Empress Cixi (1835-1908) was a powerful and conservative figure who controlled the Chinese government for almost 50 years.

Emperor Puyi

• Emperor Puyi (1906-1967) was the last Emperor of China and the final ruler of the Qing Dynasty.

Sino-Japanese War

• The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. Japan's victory demonstrated the success of its modernization. China lost considerable influence in the region.

1911 Revolution

• The Xinhai Revolution (1911) ended China's last dynasty, the Qing, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China.

Yuan Shikai

• Yuan Shikai (1859-1916) was a Chinese military and political leader who played a significant role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor. He attempted to restore the monarchy, naming himself Emperor

Sun Yat-Sen

• Sun Yat-Sen (1866-1925) was a Chinese physician, writer, philosopher, and revolutionary, the first president and founding father of the Republic of China.
  • He developed the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood.

Chiang Kai-Shek

• Chiang Kai-Shek (1887-1975) was a Chinese political and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975.

Guomindang (Kuomintang)

• The Guomindang (Kuomintang) was the Chinese Nationalist Party founded by Sun Yat-sen and led by Chiang Kai-shek after Sun's death.

Mao Zedong

• Mao Zedong (1893-1976) was a Chinese communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China.
  • He developed a Chinese form of communism based on agricultural collectivism.
  • The Long March (1934-1936) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army.
  • Mao implemented propaganda to promote the Communist Party's ideology.

Red Guard

• The Red Guard were radical student mass mobilizations by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution.

Cultural Revolution

• The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was a sociopolitical movement in China launched by Mao Zedong to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society.

Great Leap Forward

• The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) was an economic and social campaign by the Communist Party of China to rapidly transform China's agrarian economy into a communist society through industrialization and collectivization.
• The Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956-1957) encouraged citizens to express their opinions of the communist government, but was followed by a crackdown on those who criticized the regime.
  • The Gang of Four was a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were later charged with treason

Zhou Enlai

• Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from 1949 until his death.

Deng Xiaoping

• Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) was a Chinese politician and reformist leader who led China from 1978 until his retirement in 1992.

Tiananmen Square (1989)

• The Tiananmen Square protests (1989) were student-led demonstrations in Beijing, which were forcibly suppressed by the Chinese government.

India

British East India Company

• The British East India Company was a private company granted a royal charter in 1600 with the aim of trading with the East Indies. It gradually gained control over large parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Queen Victoria

• Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India from 1876.

Seven Years' War

• The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a global conflict fought between Great Britain and France for global dominance.
  • The Battle of Plassey (1757) was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, which helped establish British dominance in India.

Sepoy Mutiny

• The Sepoy Mutiny (1857) was a rebellion against British rule in India, sparked by controversial new rifle cartridges greased with animal fat.

British Raj

• The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947.
  • Improvements instigated by the British government included, but were not limited to: infrastructure development and the introduction of modern education.
  • The Government of India Act was legislation passed by the British Parliament to gradually increase the participation of Indians in the administration of their country.

Indian National Congress

• The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 to increase Indian participation in government. It later became a major force in the Indian independence movement.

Rowlatt Acts

• The Rowlatt Acts were passed by the British government in India in 1919, granting them the power to arrest and detain individuals without trial.

Mohandas Gandhi

• Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) was the leader of the Indian independence movement and an advocate of nonviolent resistance.
  • Gandhi's Satyagraha, meaning "truth force," was a philosophy and practice of nonviolent resistance developed during the Indian independence movement.
  • Gandhi instigated policies of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Indian Independence (1947)

• Indian Independence was achieved in 1947, leading to the creation of India and Pakistan.

Jawaharlal Nehru

• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) was the first Prime Minister of India after independence.
  • The Partition of India (1947) divided British India into India and Pakistan.

Indira Gandhi

• Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) was the Prime Minister of India.
  • She oversaw persecution of the Sikhs.
  • During her premiership the India/Pakistan War occurred.
    • Bangladesh was established in 1972.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah

• Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was the founder of Pakistan.

Nuclear Rivalry

• India and Pakistan have developed nuclear weapons, leading to ongoing tensions over control of Kashmir.