Assess the Aftermath and Impact That the First Opium War Had on China

Question: Assess the aftermath and impact that the first Opium War had on China Essay: The First Opium War fought between Britain and China from 1839-1842 was a clash between two vastly different cultures, one struggling to control trade rights, and the other desperate to limit the impact of foreign trade upon the local population. The war changed the way China acted towards its foreign counterparts, exposed the weaknesses of the Chinese feudal system and forcefully opened-up China to the rest of the world. There were severe economic, social and political consequences that the war had on China. Prior to the war China had believed that the Chinese empire was the ‘Heavenly Middle Kingdom’ and superior to all other civilisations. China had very little contact with the West and foreigners were continually looked down upon. Despite strict government regulations, foreign trade with the West in China grew during the late 18th & early 19th century. The West became desperate in trying to balance their thirst of coveted Chinese goods for their own goods but China showed little interest in Western products until 1817 when Britain sold 240 tons of opium into China and when the West found a product which China did not have, opium. Opium smuggling developed rapidly and the trade literally produced a country filled with opium dens and drug addicts. Thus the government decided to do something about this problem and sent Commissioner Lin Zexu to sort things out. However it was Zexu’s actions that eventually started a war in which brought China into a humiliating defeat. The Treaty of Nanking is an official document that marks the conclusion of the First Opium war; it is also considered an unequal treaty by the Chinese. China was ordered to handover Hong Kong, open up five more ports for trade and pay 21 million ounces of silver to Britain. Britain also received fixed tariffs, the ‘most favoured nation’ status and imprisoned British nationals were not to be tried under Chinese law. This treaty caused many problems for China as no restrictions were placed on British merchants who were free trade in China, the opium trade more than doubled in the three decades. As Hong Kong was to be ceded to Britain, it gave the British a base for further military, political and economical penetrations of China. Import duties were lowered from 65% to 5%, effectively traumatizing China's home industries. The treaty also exempted British nationals and any Chinese person who had either dealt with the British, lived with them or were employed by them, from Chinese law. This provided a refuge for Chinese criminals. No sooner had the Chinese emperor made concessions to Britain, he was faced with similar demands from US, French, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Russian governments. Greatly weakened by war he had no choice but to grant their requests. Seeing China’s weakness, the foreign powers sailed up to impose treaties similar to that of Nanking. By 1860, a massive amount of 6400 tons of opium was being annually imported into China. Western merchants mainly bought silk and tea from China and the export of tea from China increased to 42,000,000 kg in 1855 from only 7,500,000 kg in 1843. The export of silk rose to 56,000 bales in 1855 from a relatively small sum of 2000 bales in 1843. The tea and silk producing regions around the treaty ports expanded and benefited from the foreign trade and resulted in more and more farmers who abandoned the production of food stuffs to produce silk and tea. When Shanghai opened up to foreign trade, the occupation shift for the coolies and boatmen who would transport tea and silk throughout the regions in Canton were now unemployed since the majority of trade moved from Canton to Shanghai. This caused a food price hike and the unemployment rise. As Canton wasn’t the only port open for trade, the inland boatmen who transported goods to Canton from other areas before the war, lost their business. The amount of European goods and opium that flooded china severely strained the economy and provoked an economic crisis which resulted in the shortage of the Spanish silver dollar. The Spanish dollar appreciated so much that Canton abolished it and introduced the Mexican dollar. The monetary disturbances in China was enhanced by the internal monetary crises in China were the Chinese copper cash continued to devalue due to poor management and insufficient supply of copper. The monetary crises devastated the Chinese financial system and caused the loss of morale. With the rush of cheaper Western machine-made products, the home textile industry in China was almost destroyed. For many centuries, clothes were made by hand so this business was heavily impacted by foreign trade. In order to survive, this industry had to decrease the price of their products but, because the production methods remained basically untouched, the cost of production was also unchanged. Therefore the lower price came at the cost of the lower of the living standards of the textile workers. The Opium War almost entirely collapsed China's economy. However, it also forced China's economy to quickly adapt and evolve. The war rushed China's development of capitalism. Even before the war, a market economy was already developing in China's urban areas. The â€Å"invasion† of foreign capitalistic powers enhanced this change. However, the coming of outside influences did not result in the independent development of capitalism in China; rather it turned China into a semi-colonial semi-feudal state. This happened because Chinese industries were exposed too soon to the outside world, being insufficiently prepared and poorly equipped to compete in international or even domestic markets. Western capitalism greatly changed and influenced the Chinese economy as on one hand, the opening of China damaged the basis of China's self-sufficient economy, the urban handicraft and rural homestead industries. But on the other hand, it greatly enhanced the development of China's urban market economy. After China's disastrous defeat in the Opium War, the Chinese realized that they were no longer the â€Å"Heavenly Middle Kingdom†. Having lost at the hands of the â€Å"barbarians†, Chinese intellectuals recognized that in order to deal with the strangers from the West, they must understand the Westerners and the place they came from. Before the Opium War, the Chinese concept of European countries was very vague and in some cases, even ridiculous. After the Opium War, China intellectually discovered the West as Western political ideas, social structures, and in some areas, new technologies were introduced. Western ideas of parliamentary democracy and capitalism were vaguely made known and international alliances became a concept. One of the writers, Wei Yuan, first proposed that in order to fight the West, China must learn from the West. Wei's proposal received many positive responses as it was after all that China lost to the Westerner's â€Å"strong ships and sharp weapons†. So, China for the first time established something on the equivalent of a foreign ministry which was mainly occupied with the study of Western technology, modernization of the Chinese army and the open of modern factories. The first factories opened were for the military, and specialized in the production of modern weapons and ships. The running of these factories did not depend on the profit it made, nor the demands of the market so money making was not a concern. This meant that administration techniques of managing a large commercial enterprise were not yet developed. Even so, seeing that Western enterprises made a profit, the Chinese government began to establish commercial enterprises. Immediately after the Opium War, Western merchants had not yet fully entered the Chinese market. The Manchu government, although short in profits, could still find enough funds to start new industries. The private sector also was quite wealthy. With the collapse of the feudalistic economy and the stimulations by Western capitalism, it was willing to invest in modern enterprises. At the same time, Western companies absorbed some Chinese capital. It could be said that shortly after the Opium War, Chinese capitalism had a good chance to develop. The Opium War exposed the weaknesses of the Chinese feudal system. The cost of the war and later the compensation all fell onto the shoulders of the farmers and civilians. The Manchu government could no longer protect, and govern its people and as China's economy collapsed, poverty was wide spread, and insurrection sprang up all over the country. The Manchu government showed its weaknesses when it signed the Treaty of Nanjing without using all possible methods of resistance. The Opium War helped to discredit the Manchu government and encouraged popular movements. For many Chinese, the Treaty of Nanking was a signal that the Manchu dynasty was at its end – humiliated, weak and corrupt. A republican movement ran across the political landscape, stimulating nearly fifteen years of civil war. Seeing the social chaos and the weakening of the Manchu dynasty, Chinese intellectuals sought to make China strong. Unlike the government, the intellectuals believed that adapting Western technologies and industries was not enough and that China must undergo political changes as well. Chinese intellectuals began to study Western countries and at the same time, the Chinese government imported Western technologies and industries. They, like the officials, believed that the government should allow and protect the growth of capitalism and that the army must be modernized to fight Westerners on the battlefields. But most importantly, private enterprises should be formed without government interventions and companies must be created to compete in the market place. The intellectuals also proposed a parliamentary system as a new, more democratic political system. This proposal was the first attempt of private citizens to get involved in the government. The Opium war created an entire new level of crime and disorder in Southeast China. The British navy drove away the pirates along the coast and up into the Kwangtung-Kwangsi highlands. There, the pirates would periodically raid plentiful villages up the river. To add to this, former militiamen used their weapons for banditry. The Opium War had led the people of China to witness the destruction of their military and navy by the strongest military force at the time. It led to a greater understanding and appreciation for West, despite their hatred for it. This led many people to consider and try to understand Western doctrines and beliefs. Also some British missionaries, who had knowledge of China and the language, played in the embarrassment of the country to which they had come perceived with no object other than to preach Christianity. Thus for the first time instances of foreign religion was seen. The Opium War was also one of the many factors that led on the famous Taiping Rebellion. Directly after the war feuds between the Punti and Hakkas clans rose. The Hakka people were Chinese that came from the north and had immigrated to southern China. They were treated as ethnic minorities by the Punti’s who were the Cantonese natives. This led to competition between the two in farming and economy. In the 1850’s the feuds and wars between these two clans resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. The dislike towards the Hakkas eventually led them into following the Taiping Rebellion’s leader Hung Hsiu-chuan. Hung Hisu-chuan was the revolutionary leader who incorporated the Western ideals and beliefs of Christianity with classical Chinese themes. He believed himself to be the younger brother of Christ, and was sent on a mission to return Christianity to China. This belief was soon adopted by thousands of Hakkas alike, because of the loss of faith in the Ch’ing dynasty partially due to the defeat in the Opium War, it’s social and economic effects afterwards and the silver & copper crisis. The movement to change and restore China with Christianity finally resulted in the Taiping rebellion against the Ch’ing dynasty. The Taiping rebellion lasted from 1851 to 1864, causing the loss of millions of lives. The Ch’ing dynasty’s power was questionable during this time because the rebellion lasted so many years. Finally, the Ch’ing dynasty managed to organize an new army to overthrow the Taipings. This new army and organizations was aided by Western countries who wanted the Ch’ing dynasty to continue. If the Ch’ing dynasty was overthrown it would end the unequal treaties with between China and the West. The Opium War resulted in the dramatic changes in China economically, socially and politically. It no doubt opened China's doors to the outside world while changing China’s view and relationship with the Western world incredibly. The war shattered the idea that China was the ‘Heavenly Middle Kingdom’ as well as breaking China’s false sense of superiority over other nations. It resulted in a major change in the economy and the social relationship between the people of China and because of the Opium War, China was left with internal struggles and warfare, increased crime, an economy downfall in Canton and people without work or money. The Opium War led to the major influence of the Western cultures and belief in China, and the loss of power and control China had over Western nations. The unfair treaties that were created left China in weak position to the West, and opened China to Western influence which is still observed to this date. Bibliography: China, Opium Wars to Revolution by Michael Gibson. Wayland publishers, 1975 From Opium War to Liberation by Israel Epstein. New World Press, Beijing, 1956 The Chinese Opium Wars. by Jack Beeching. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975 The Inner Opium War by James Polachek M. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1992 The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes by Arthur Waley. George Allen and Unwin Ltd. , 1958 The Treaty of Nanking, signed on the 29th of August, 1842

Drug Abuse- a Menace to the Society

Drug Abuse is a serious issue affecting all sections of the society, Irrespective whether they are Young/Old, Poor/Rich, and Educated/Illiterate. To really understand the gravity of the situation one needs to understand a few very important points;- what actually is Drug-Abuse? As I understand a very simple definition of Drug abuse is that it means use of drugs for the purpose for which it is not meant to be used (in other words use of drugs not for treating ailments but to satisfy vicarious pleasure ). The destructive thing about this is that when people experience the hallucination under the influence of these drugs, they would like to this again & again causing a serious Drug Addiction. Now let’s try to understand the various Drugs frequently abused. The Most Common that is used by more than 80% of the people is Marijuana also called Ganja or Grass or weed in colloquial language. The most dangerous aspect to be noted is that in spite of being labeled a Banned Drug, Marijuana is available very easily to all & sundry. The reason for it to be a favorite among the Drug addicts is that it is not very expensive & it gives an instant kick and can be had instantly without even letting a non smoker know about it. We see thousands of people smoking cigarettes everyday & their may be many of them smoking Ganja & still we won’t know about it. Even though this is not an appropriate time to say I cannot prevent myself from saying that the If the Law enforcing authorities are strict, this menace can be controlled to a very large extent. Why would people get addicted to this? Other than the reasons of being easily available etc, as mentioned above Chemically a substance called as THC ( Tetra Hydroxy Cannibinol) a ketone present in this Drug makes the body become dependent on it. The relaxation it brings to the smoker along with the euphoria it creates makes the smoker misconceive that this actually is not destructive & some regulars believe that smoking grass helps in harnessing their creativity. Once again this is a misconception which needs urgent rattention. . Now let us see How it becomes a menace to the person abusing it so that we can understand how it affects the society. As the time goes by & the addiction takes root, it causes various personality disorders, serious psychological behavioral problems & loss of priority resulting in Poor judgments, Slowed reflexes, Distorted vision, Memory lapse, Anxiety, Confusion, Constant physical fights, tiredness, Black outs, Lowered inhibitions & problems in remembering recently said or did. They even start believing that Drugs is necessary to have fun & to even to exist. They constantly feel run-down or depressed leading to suicidal tendencies. They constantly complain of Dry mouth, Nausea, Head ache, decreased co-ordination, Increased Heart rates, Reduced Muscle strength, increased appetite & craving. Drugs & Alcohol together are contributing factors in at least half of all murders, Suicides, & Car accidents in an inebriated condition. Drug dependency pushes people to loose their self esteem & make them promiscuous. Approximately there are 1 lakh deaths occurring per year because of Drugs. The Illegal drug Mafia has a firm grip on the Market & is a very big source of funding Terrorism. Of course Marijuana is not the only drug & there are more serious Drugs like Cocaine, Heroin, LSD, and Phencyclidine which are more dangerous but luckily they are not very common as these are expensive, difficult to procure & more harmful. These drugs are snorted, smoked or injected. When these drugs are taken thru injections, it increases the chances of transmitting AIDS & HIV by sharing of needles. The Good News is that more than 98% of the teens have never tried these harder drugs like cocaine. Let me see if we can do anything about this, first of all on a personal level if we find our friends or other young people indulging in it, we have to report to the family immediately. On the family level care should be taken in handling these people & we should give them all the love & support to overcome the addictions with the help of De-addiction clinics. On a bigger scale the society of which we are a part of should take stringent steps to see there are no peddlers or users among them & finally the state should introspect & see why it cannot be rooted out if there is a will & conviction among them. My friends, Recently we saw the Grammy award winner Amy whinehouse dying at the age of 27 because of Alcohol & Drugs. It’s a pity that such a great talent has to loose out to Drugs. I can go on & on about the menace the Drug Abuse causes to the Individual first & then the society, but I feel the more we dwell upon it, the more we would be energizing it, so lets all say NO TO DRUGS & Promise to ourselves & to the society that we would weed out this menace in our generation completely.

There is more than one topic(choose what you want from them) Research Paper

There is more than one topic(choose what you want from them) - Research Paper Example Wal-mart is driven by the objective that they should serve their customers to the best way possible keeping the costs as low as possible but still earn a reasonable amount of profit. Wal-mart ends up reducing the wages and encouraging relocation elsewhere to meet the motive of low cost1,2. The first point is that Wal-mart introduced a â€Å"pull† system of retailing. This means that Wal-mart would direct the manufacturers regarding what to produce and how much to produce. While studying macroeconomics, the first three basic questions that are asked are - what to produce, how much to produce and for whom to produce. In this case, also Wal-mart decides what consumer goods the manufacturers must produce. Wal-mart also instructs them regarding the quantity that is to be produced. Wal-mart, as any other company will want to maximize its profit level. For attracting more customers, it keeps the price of the goods at a low level. However, if prices are kept low then the profit level of the company must also be low. However, this does not happen because the company reduces its cost of production. One way of reducing the costs that has been adopted by the company is by paying low wages to the workers. In 2005, the average weekly wage was $8. While the average hourly wag e rate is $8.23 on average, the average supermarket hourly rate is $10.35. In 2001 there was discrimination between female and male workers –â€Å"the average male employee was paid about $5000 more per year than the average female full time employee†3. In order to protect this low wage policy, Wal-mart does not support the formation of unions. In the year 2000, when a meat-cutting department built up a union at Wal-mart in Texas, the commercial giant phased out the department meticulously. Hence the largest private sector in Europe is free from any union. According to estimates of January

Problem of free will Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Problem of free will - Essay Example Determinism poses some threats to the concept of free will. The first threat is the ability to choose between alternatives. Acting with free will requires the possibility of alternatives but determinism argues that there is only one possible outcome to an event based on interceding events. The second threat concerns control in shaping events. Free will requires control of an individual’s events through choices. Determinism, on the other hand, holds that past events and the laws of nature provide a casual correlation to the events of an individual and therefore lack control over the events. The problem of free will is to reconcile determinism with free will in a state of with cause and effects where events have a casual chain. To settle this problem, it is necessary to reject some concepts or demonstrate that all the concepts of free will and determinism are consistent (Rauhut 2010). Now that we have established the problem of free will, I will argue that we must reject the concept that free will is not compatible with determinism and endorse compatibilism. This argument will demonstrate that there is a deterministic connection between and individual’s actions and will. This connection enables one to take responsibility for actions such as taking blame or credit. An individual who is free from coercion possess the freedom of action, which is identifiable with free will. This view recognizes the casual chain of events, which relate back to an indefinite time and consistent with the laws of nature and with the design of an omniscient God. Because will is included in the chain of events, individuals have free will. Accordingly, people choose according to their greatest desire, which is guided by their moral nature. In essence, this means that individuals are free to choose but these choices are determined by the condition of the mind and heart. Compatabilism maintains that if there is the choice of

Qatar fencing federation organizational behavior and management Essay

Qatar fencing federation organizational behavior and management - Essay Example The Qatar Fencing Federation’s issue started once it hosted the Asian games in 2006. The games drained the federation’s resources in order to ensure success in these games, and attainment of good results which it achieved. Shortly after the games, the federation lacked agenda and plans on what to do next and with the President being inexperienced in the sports field, he delegated the mandate of seeking a plan to the coaches. The coaches on the other hand, similar to the president, lacked experience in the sports field and hence made weak plans about the future. They were more concerned about keeping their positions and appeasing the president than the welfare of the federation. The managers on the other hand, were simply followers of the coaches’ decisions without questions being asked. They lacked enthusiasm in the federation’s affairs as was indicated by their constant lack of attendance in the teams’ practice sessions. The last and most crucial p arty is the players who had not only become expatriates but wanted more benefits without making any effort in their performance. Their lack of motivation contributed to their poor results. Based on the background provided about the federation, and the issue they have at hand, the problem lies with the lack of effective management, lack of motivation as well as lack of group and team work in the Qatar Fencing Federation as a whole. This can however change if concentration is put on the management, teamwork and motivation of the players who are the key to success. The federation can once again emerge successful in the future. Management and leadership are two different things in any organisation. A leader is supposed to be a motivator and inspire the followers while a manager’s work is to plan and organize. A manager should also be a leader in any organization if success is to be

Analysis of the 260-day Value at Risk (VAR) of a portfolio of four Assignment

Analysis of the 260-day Value at Risk (VAR) of a portfolio of four shares - Assignment Example It is the level of return comprising of a given probability (usually, 5, 2.3, or 1 percent) of experiencing a return of less than that level. Value-at-Risk was first used in the late 1980’s by major financial firms to measure the risk of their trading portfolios. Since then, Value-at-Risk is widely used quantitative tool to measure market risk. According to Hull (2005), â€Å"VaR answers the question: how much can one lose with X% probability over a pre-set horizon†. More precisely VaR is an amount (say V dollars), where the probability of losing more than V dollars is over some future time interval, T days. Value-at-Risk has become widely used by corporate treasurers, fund managers, financial institutions, brokerage firms and investment funds to gauge their financial risk. In addition, bank regulators use Value-at-Risk in determining how much capital a bank should possess to reflect the market risks it is bearing (ibid). The aim of this project was to implement various VAR methods that consist of Analytic VAR, historical (Bootstrap) VAR and Monte Carlo (MC) VAR simulation as alternative approaches to calculating VAR, by using data from four portfolios namely; Johnson Matthey PLC, Kazakhmys PLC, Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and Xstrata PLC. These portfolios are listed in the FTSE index, which are among the largest 100 UK companies by full market value. The FTSE index1 is the most widely used of the FTSE Group's indices and is frequently reported on UK news bulletins as a measure of business prosperity, because it represents about 80% companies of the market capitalization of the whole London Stock Exchange. The companies listed in the FTSE index are determined quarterly according to their market capitalization. These companies must meet a number of requirements set out by the FTSE Group, including having a full listing on the London Stock Exchange and meeting certain tests on nationality, free float, and liquidity. In the FTSE, share prices are weight ed by market capitalization, so that the larger companies make more of a difference to the index than smaller companies do. The first company is Johnson Matthey PLC. The company is world renown in refining and distribution of gold, silver, and platinum group metals in 30 countries on six continents. The company is organised in different divisions that includes Precious Metal Products division (the sole marketing arm for Anglo Platinum), Johnson Matthey's Environmental Technologies Catalysts division that produces emission control products, fuel cells, and process catalysts. The company also has Fine Chemicals and Catalysts division that make base and precious metals catalysts and chemicals. Johnson Matthey PLC has an average market capitalization of ? 43.90 billion. The second company under focus is Kazakhmys PLC. Kazakhmys PLC is a company that specializes in copper. It undertakes copper mining, processing, smelting, and refining as well as making of copper cathode and rod products . It is among the top ten copper producers in the world, with an annually production of about 350,000 tons of copper cathode that are used in computers, electric motors, automobiles, and other products. Additionally, Kazakhmys processes and sells by-products such as gold, silver, and zinc. Kazakhmys PLC has

Talk Show Internet Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Talk Show Internet Assignment - Research Paper Example TV emerged in the 50s as America’s dominant cultural form, presenting an image of authority that was mainly middle-class, middle-aged, white, and male. TV soon took over American prime time activity. Beginning in the 60s, family breakdown, religious, and education crises, diminishing state authority, and a growing vocal and visible minority with new ideas and groups. All these led to a dramatic change in public perceptions with the most significant being the impact that progressive movements and social crises had on media talks regarding political correctness and multiculturalism (Quail, Kathalene & Loubna 33). TV talk shows have always been around since the TV was commercialized. They are a crossover from the radio talk shows that had dominated America in the 40s (Grindstaff 22). Therefore, the beginning of the talk show can be considered to have been in 1948, even though most people did not have TV at the time. From the early 50s to the early 70s, almost half of all programm ing on NBC, CBS, and ABC had to do with talk shows. The talk show hosts, rather than kill the talk show hosts that reigned on radio, actually made them bigger stars. For instance, Jack Paar, Dave Garroway, and Arthur Godfrey were all vital in coming up with the talk show format that has been so popular over the decades (Grindstaff 22). One of the reasons why there are so many talk shows is because talk is actually cheap. Talk shows are probably the cheapest TV shows to create (Grindstaff 24). For example, where they can cost as low as $100,000 to produce per each episode, majority of current dramas on TV cost approximately $1 million for each episode. Therefore, if a talk show is successful, it can give the TV Company more profits than most dramas. However, it is still work-intensive. Since their beginning in 1948, very few of them are able to keep the audience’s attention for a long time (Grindstaff 24). Several forms of talk shows that range from outlandish shows like The G raham Norton Effect to Late Show with David Letterman exist. However, all talk shows have similar formats because the format for a talk show is very limited (Grindstaff 31). Most Americans are used to the informal host-guest format where the hosts of the talk shows welcome talk-worthy individuals and celebrities in informal discussions. These are further spiced up using musical and comedic segments. Another common format has to do with public affair show, where the hosts of the show interview individuals who are experts in particular fields, or they are in the news for one reason or another. Specific shows that adhere to this latter format are shows like; Meet the Press and Good Morning America. Issue-based talk shows include The Jerry Springer Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Other talk shows are mainly a hybrid of the two formats (Grindstaff 32). The basic goal on TV of talk shows has to do with attraction of curious viewers while also selling services and products, rather than se lling revolutions (Kunkel 11). This results in the need for funny and bizarre participants and topics, as well as the circus-like atmosphere. In addition, the influence by cultural and social movements like feminism, as well as the results, made it contradictory and interesting. Oprah Winfrey, Donahue, and others have been able to reproduce the experience of