Treaty of Nanjing

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: Trace the history of Great Britain's relationship with China using the Treaty of Nanjing, Qianlong's Letter to George III, and Lin Zexu's “Moral Advice to Queen Victoria.”
• 2.: Treaties such as the Treaty of Nanjing are generally accounted as unequal, allowing commercial nations such as Great Britain to dominate colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. How was Great Britain—and other European powers—able to achieve such dominance? If the treaty was unequal, why did China not simply expel the British?
• 3.: During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the British East India Company, a private, commercial enterprise, assumed what could almost be characterized as governmental control in countries such as China and India. Using the Treaty of Nanjing and Queen Victoria's Proclamation concerning India, explain how the East India Company was able to achieve this position.
• 4.: How did the Treaty of Nanjing contribute to the implosion of imperial China?
• 5.: In one sentence, explain to an interested listener what the Opium War was. In one more sentence, explain why the war was important.