Did western influences hasten the decline of the Qing dynasty Why or why not - Essay Example

First theory is concerned with China?¦s internal problems, including corruption, poverty and abuse of powers of the ruling class.” (34) But another sect of the historians argues that even though the Qing Dynasty was wearing out due to the heavy internal troubles, the western influences were at the center of these internal adversaries. Indeed the western influences were not the military interferences and threats to the dynasty in its concrete sense. Rather the western industrial revolution, rapid urbanization, growing individualism and the rapid changes and reorganizations of the socio-economic fields, as again Stanley says, “The theory supported by the Western World is that imperialism and introduction of western ideas in China ultimately caused the disintegration of Qing” ().

Fairly in the early twentieth century Chinn’s socioeconomic and political cultures began to be influenced by the European Industrial Revolution. The pro-western influence school of historians purports that even if there were no internal conflicts, the Qing Dynasty would have to respond to the demand of the age. . d of the Napoleonic War, the growth of industrial revolutions and the European Colonial presence in the neighboring states of China allured the West to take hold of vast Chinese markets (78).

The Chinese markets were potential for the European Colonial powers in the late 19th Century in two ways: firstly, China was a potential market for the West to market their industrially produced goods and secondly, the country was a great reserve of raw materials that could feed the demonically growing industries in Europe. These commercial interests of the European nations in China provoked them to interfere into the internal issues of the country. Consequently the Opium War took place, greatly determining the future of the Qing dynasty (Cotterell 84-9).

Indeed the root of the Opium War lies in the increasing Irish-British interest in the Lucrative Opium business in the mid 19th century. Since the Opium trade began to be less lucrative for the Chinese due to the Turkish cheaper supply in the opium market, the Qing Emperor Daoguang banned the trade in contradiction to the expectation of the British traders. Eventually the Opium War began between the British-Irish Ally and the Qing Dynasty and ended upon causing some irreparable loss to the Qing Dynasty.

Indeed the Qing Dynasty’s defeat in the First Opium War inspired the Western powers to interfere and manipulate the subsequent rebellions and internal conflicts in their own favor. Though he Qing Dynasty received the reluctant western support during the Taiping Rebellion, Nien Rebellion and a number of other rebellions, these rebellions were greatly caused by and connected to western commercial interests in the country. The Taiping Rebels, though were confronted by the allied Chinese-West Troops, received the non-official support