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World history: China's Qing dynasty, 1644 to 1911

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The Qing were China's last imperial dynasty. Their story links China to Britain through tea, silver, opium and war.

A powerful empire

The Qing dynasty was founded by the Manchus, from north-east of China, who took Beijing in 1644.
Under emperors such as Kangxi and Qianlong China grew larger and its population grew fast. China was one of the world's biggest economies.
Britain wanted Chinese tea, silk and porcelain. China wanted little from Britain, so Britain paid in silver. In 1793 a British mission led by Lord Macartney failed to win better trade terms.

Opium and war

To stop silver leaving Britain, British traders sold opium, grown in British India, into China, even though China banned it.
In 1839 the Chinese official Lin Zexu destroyed huge stocks of British opium.
Britain went to war: the First Opium War (1839 to 1842). Britain's modern navy won. In the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) China gave Hong Kong to Britain and opened ports to British trade.

Decline and revolution

A second Opium War followed (1856 to 1860). Huge rebellions, such as the Taiping Rebellion (1850 to 1864), and later the Boxer Rebellion (1899 to 1901), weakened the Qing.
The 1911 Revolution overthrew the dynasty, and the last emperor, the child Puyi, gave up the throne in 1912. China became a republic.
Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.
Worked example

Explain why Britain and China went to war in 1839.

  1. Britain bought large amounts of Chinese tea and paid in silver.
  2. British traders sold opium into China to get silver back, against Chinese law.
  3. When Lin Zexu destroyed British opium in 1839, Britain went to war to protect its trade.

Answer: A trade imbalance led Britain to push illegal opium into China; Chinese action against it led to war.

Key idea

Qing (Manchu) dynasty from 1644. Britain bought tea with silver, then sold Indian opium into China. Lin Zexu destroyed opium (1839); First Opium War (1839 to 1842); Treaty of Nanjing gave Hong Kong to Britain. Rebellions weakened the Qing; the 1911 Revolution ended the dynasty (Puyi abdicated 1912).

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