HIST-281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Qianlong Emperor, Kowtow, Caffeine
14 Oct 2020
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Document Summary
Opium wars: the discovery of the new world was an attempt to find a sea route to china. Gold and silver were needed to pay for chinese goods. China was a huge market with various, delightful goods. Chinese silk, tea and porcelain were in high demand throughout europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The imperial government in beijing, the qing empire, said they did not need european goods. China is very big compared to small britain. Britain sent multiple trade missions, all of which failed and were turned away: george maccartney: britain"s first diplomatic mission to china, 1793, refuses to kowtow to the qianlong emperor. The chinese kawtow was touching the ground nine times as an act of submission the british refused to do. Diplomacy doesn"t get too far, and britain becomes frustrated because of these attempts. The only access to the chinese market was at canton, the city of guangzhou today.
