Asian Imperialism
Imperialism:
• When one country takes control of
another country. One country may
control the other’s government, trade,
or culture.
India
Mughal Empire
Causes of Sepoy Unrest
• A new law allowed widowed women to
remarry,
• Rifle cartridges were rumored to be
greased with animal fat.
Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their
mutiny against British rule
The hanging of two participants in the Indian
Rebellion of 1857
Japan
Japan Changes Direction During
the
Meiji Era: 1868 - 1912
Commodore Matthew Perry
Japanese Print of Perry’s Fleet
1853 – Commodore Matthew
Perry
“Opens Up” Japan to Western
Trade!
What Did the U. S. Want??
 Coaling stations.

More trading
partners.

A haven for
ship-wrecked
sailors.
The Treaty of Kanagawa - 1854
Effects of the Treaty of Kanagawa
• Many Japanese felt that the shogun had
shown weakness in front of the foreigners
by agreeing to the treaty.
• Some Japanese felt the need to
modernize Japan in order to compete with
the Western powers.
• A rebellion overthrew the shogun,
restoring the emperor to power.
Emperor Meiji
The Meiji Revolt - 1868
 A powerful group
of samurai
overthrow the
Shogun.
 Sakamoto Ryoma,
the hero.
 He helped Japan
emerge from
feudalism into a
unified modern
state.
Samurai of the Chosyu clan, during the Meiji
Restoration
The Shogunate Is Overthrown!
 The last
Shogun.
 Tokugawa
Yoshinobu.
Newspaper Cartoon, 1870s?
Enlightened
Half-Enlightened
Un-Enlightened
The Japanese Became Obsessed
with Western Styles
Civilization and Enlightenment!
The Rulers Set the Tone
with Western Dress
Emperor Meiji
Empress Haruko
(1868- 1912)
Changing Women’s
Fashions
1900 Styles
The First
“Miss Japan”
(1908)
Abolition
of the
feudal system
Modern
Banking
System
Written
Constitution
(Germans)
Land
Redistribution
Meiji
Reforms
Westernize
the School
System
(Fr. & Ger.)
Modernize
the Army
(Prussian)
Build a
Modern Navy
(British)
Human Rights
& Religious
Freedom
The National Diet
Building, Tokyo
Joint session of the
Diet of Japan
A Constitutional Government
Copied from the Germans
The Emperor
of Japan
The Diet
(Legislative Body)
House of
Representatives
House
of Peers
1889 Constitution
of Japan
China
Opium Wars
1840-1842
Painting of a sea battle during the First Opium War
Partial view of the ruins of the Upper North Taku Fort, China. This
photograph was taken by Felice Beato on the morning of 21
August 1860, shortly after the fort was attacked and captured
by Anglo-French forces in one of the key battles of the Second
Opium War.
A shocked mandarin in
Manchu robe in the
back, with Queen
Victoria (Great Britain),
Wilhelm II (Germany),
Nicholas II (Russia),
Marianne (France), and
an Emperor Meiji
(Japan) discussing how
to cut up a plate with
Chine ("China" in
French) written on it.
Taiping Rebellion
• Beginning in 1850 and lasting until 1864,
Chinese peasants revolted against the
corrupt and crumbling Qing dynasty
government to protest their growing poverty.
• While these rebels had temporary success in
overthrowing the government in some areas
of China, it eventually failed and led to the
death of 20-30 million Chinese, due to
warfare and starvation.
Soldiers on the Battlefield
During the Sino-Japanese War
The Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the war.
Map of
battles
during
the first
SinoJapanese
War
(1894-95)
The Boxer Rebellion
• By about 1900, France,
Germany, Great Britain, Japan
and Russia had come to enjoy
substantial spheres of
influence over China.
• Anti-foreigner movements
began breaking out. These
included a group called the
Society of the Righteous and
Harmonious Fists, often
simply known, at least in
English, as the Boxers.
Boxer Soldiers,
1901
The Boxer Rebellion
• They attacked
foreigners who were
building railroads as
well as Christians who
were held responsible
for the foreign
domination of China.
• Tens of thousands of
Chinese Christians,
Catholic and
Protestant alike, were
killed.
A Boxer rebel
A German political cartoon about the Boxer rebellion
US Military soldier in his quarters during the Boxer rebellion. The 8
Nation Alliance helped to put down the rebellion: America, Russia,
Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Sun Yat-sen and the
Republic of China
• When workers,
peasants, students and
warlords toppled the
monarchy in 1911, Sun
Yat-sen named
president of the new
Republic of China.
“Three Principles of the People”
• The people’s government, the people’s
rights, and the people’s livelihood. The
principles called for:
– Political unification and an end to foreign
influence.
– A gradual change to democratic government with
full personal liberties and rights for all Chinese
people.
– Economic improvements that included
industrialization and a more equal distribution of
land.
The Russo-Japanese War:
1904-1905
The Battle of Tsushima:
The results startled the world!
Painting of Admiral Togo on the bridge of the Japanese
battleship Mikasa, before the Battle of Tsushima in 1905.
Manchuria
Battlefields of the RussoJapanese War
Japanese
soldiers'
corpses in
a trench,
with
Russian
soldiers
looking
on.
President Teddy Roosevelt
Mediates the Peace
The Treaty of Portsmouth, NH ended the
Russo-Japanese War.
Japan Annexes Korea
Japan Is a Player in China
Competition from Another “Pacific”
Power Is on the Horizon