China's Rivalry Against the West: Century of Humiliation | Animated History

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Sources:
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
Guang, M.A. “Conflicts of Interest: The Opium Problem in Guangdong, 1858-1917” PhD diss. University of Macau, 2010.
Li, Xiaobing. China at War: An Encyclopedia (Norway: ABC-CLIO, 2012).
Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China (United Kingdom: Norton, 1990).
Westad, Odd Arne. Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 (Italy: Bodley Head, 2012).
Armchair Team Credits:
docs.google.com/document/d/1s...

[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Thanks to Storyblocks for sponsoring this video! Download unlimited stock media at one set price with Storyblocks: storyblocks.com/ArmchairHistorian Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Merchandise available at armchairhistory.tv/collections/all Android App: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fourthwall.wla.armchairhistory IOS App: apps.apple.com/us/app/armchair-history-tv/id6471108801 Armchair Historian Video Game: store.steampowered.com/app/1679290/Fire__Maneuver/ Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/armchairhistorian Discord: discord.gg/thearmchairhistorian Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist

[@edwardsnowden8821]

China also faced threats from the British along it's border with the British raj in Tibet.

[@kellychuang8373]

Yes it really is a good video and really covered that history well here and also there was an expedition in the Boxer rebellion that failed known as the Seymour expedition where their commander really thought they could defeat those Boxers with him and his force but it turned to a defeat and really is why it's 55 Days At Peking also made a movie based on that really for anyone check that out as well.

[@xuedalong]

Treaty of Nanjing, not nanking.

[@muzluk8175]

Bro please add your videos turkish sublities

[@kellychuang8373]

@@muzluk8175 Still good video despite it's flaws.

[@kishinasura1504]

West: Why China distrusts us so much?! China:

[@parkchunjae8471]

from 1840 to 2024😅

[@davidw.2791]

Look no further than 1919.

[@motoKJ]

CCP says no one else can abuse the Chinese, only them.

[@JS-ih7lu]

Modern Chinese people have been quite trusting of the West until it decided to contain China’s development over the past 5-10 years. It’s the self-absorbed West that would never stop to wonder what anyone else thinks.

[@hhf39p]

The term 'The West' in this video is misleading. The US has long been a friend of China. It was not US policy to grow and export opium to China in the 19th century, and they were neutral in the Second Opium war, though you wouldn't know it from this video. The US provided significant aid to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The US played a role in China's admission to the UN and its permanent seat on the Security Council. When the Chinese Republicans split, the US withdrew funding from the Nationalist faction, which hastened the end of the Chinese Civil War. The US provided aid to China during the Great Famine when they became aware of the scale of the problem. The US also worked with Deng Xiaoping and brought international financing to China, which, along with the hard work of the Chinese, made China a manufacturing world power, and not experience famine again. The US granted China 'most favored nation' trading status, which was a significant boost to the Chinese economy. So China does not have a deep seated reason not to trust the US. However, the US is a Republican Democracy, its leaders rotate in and out of power often, and in short, the US government can be fickle and make nonsensical decisions on occasion. As Winston Churchill said, it is an awful form of government, but it is the best we have. China became a Republic in 1911, though there seem to some philosophical differences that continue to be debated and might play into an evaluation of trust.

[@aarondemiri486]

Using drug addiction to force another country to trade, madness.

[@butbutmybutt]

West at its best

[@unholydanger]

That was what the British did. DESPICABLE

[@rarescevei8268]

And intelligent

[@superspies32]

Because Qing dynasty refused to buy anything from British merchant, while the demand of tea from China was super high. It created a deficiency and threatened to empty the funding of British court and caused economic crisis. To avoid this one-side trade, opium was used because not only it addicted, but also it did not be spoiled or lost during hauling and keeping so it can act as a type of money. Entire situation caused by the isolation policy and outdated confusion philosophy, Qing dynasty can buy anything from Britain, from exotic materials to even battleships with tea - the one they can easily cultivate, but because of self-isolated, they became a victim of imperialism.

[@lambertli9130]

​@superspies32 Now it seems the situation changed, western world are changing into Qing dynasty, they are crying for couldn't compete with Chinese companies and making themselves looks like the victim

[@littoww]

As a recovering heroin addict, I can tell you that opiate withdrawal is absolute hell on earth.. Obviously I've never smoked actual pure opium, only heroin (which comes from opium). You can't do anything when you're dope sick, let alone fight for your country. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Also, funnily I'm British, born in London, but moved to Hong Kong when I was 8 and grew up there for 13 years. So nice bit of irony there.

[@Alextwo.]

Hm, feel bad for you, but the irony...

[@littoww]

@@SuperCool362jack I smoked heroin. I'm on a methadone treatment which is a syruppy liquid you drink.

[@yourwifesboyfriend6081]

@@SuperCool362jackIt may be smoked, usually off of a piece of heated foil or a substance that burns well, like tobacco. It may also be snorted. The most popular method is intravenously, which is much stronger and what most addicts end up doing.

[@ShadowReaper-pu2hx]

Imagine the heroin came from China.

[@Jason-gg4lm]

​@@SuperCool362jacksnort 😀

[@mamaelas]

"The opium trades immense profitability attracted criminal groups..." like the British Empire 😂

[@b1crusade384]

The empire was so criminal the empire fell apart once it had to survive on its own talent, after WW-II.

[@Userguider25814]

they also sold blacklike animal

[@axelhopfinger533]

@@b1crusade384 Or maybe, the criminal elements who drove the exploitative mercantile colonialism of the British empire merely migrated on to greener pastures with greater growth and profit potential, like the USA?

[@melvinbarnett1910]

Faaacts

[@nodruj8681]

@@b1crusade384 Anti whites seethe with jealousy hahaha

[@HistoryHaty]

So the British are international drug dealers LOL. Please keep making great history videos Armchair Historian.

[@johnhession8035]

The International Dealer by Henry Ford.

[@shadowes1386]

That's why modern Chinese people always despise the British Empire

[@jerryfish09]

Surprisedly you just realized

[@hhf39p]

The British monarchy granted the East India Company a monopoly on opium production in India. The French also controlled opium production in Indochina. There were other suppliers as well. The Second Opium War was, in part, a protection of the British and French distribution networks into China. Distribution and retail within China were largely handled by the Chinese. The Qing government did collect taxes on opium sales, although the specifics of this taxation are not clearly documented. It’s challenging to discern the exact relationships and alliances during this period due to the complexity of the opium trade and the corruption within the Qing government. Opium was also sold in Britain, France, and the U.S., and it had become popular on the U.S. West Coast in the late. It’s important to note that there were no drug laws back then. Consumption was a matter of personal choice. The British did not force anyone to smoke opium. However, the Second Opium War was indeed a contentious event, and it challenged Chinese sovereignty when the British attacked.

[@hhf39p]

@@johnhession8035 Really? Can you provide a citation for that? Where does this 'factoid' come from? ... Also, the second Opium War was 7 years before he was born.

[@deathdrone6988]

For those who are wondering, the Hakka people are a sub-section of the Han Chinese, much like the Cantonese or Hokkiens (predominant group in Taiwan and S.E Asian Chinese), where they made up most of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's leadership including Hong Xiuquan who claimed to be the brother of Christ.

[@simmat6419]

(takes deep breath) "Team Valor is better" (runs away)

[@stepanrusinko2456]

The brother of Christ guy also ate wild grass, to encourage his people to do the same during famine. He later died from food poisoning.

[@Laurence0227]

Taiwanese Hokkiners here, I didn't know Taiping Rebels were Hakkas, I thought they are of the Gui (桂) tribe, (cuz the thing is that I don't know if there is that manny Hakka around to joing HONG Xiu-Quan), in therms of that there was a draft of colonial Taiwanese men to sent to fight the Taiping rebels, I think some Taiwanese towns in the west coast is named to commemerate the colonial Taiwanese men whom fought during that conflict

[@Schizz76]

A suprisingly high amount of modern chinese leaders (even the unsuccessful ones) are of Hakka descent. Deng Xiaoping was a Hakka, theres also some rumor that Sun Yat Sen was at least part Hakka, LKY from Singapore was also a Hakka, even one of the funders of the Teochew diaspora in Penang was too.

[@elmohead]

We Hakka are just OP. Just look at our wiki page.

[@univeropa3363]

Instead of fighting WW1 we should have built that megazord.

[@Black-Sun_Kaiser]

Same with ww2.

[@YugoslavGamer]

Well, decades later, "we" kinda did build one in a form of ISS.

[@shzarmai]

damn right

[@inyourcloset1814]

MFW My entire rebellion gets beat by a bunch of dudes stuck in a city we completely surrounded

[@PaulRudd1941]

55 days!

[@ramadansteve1715]

Exceedingly common China L

[@user-vk7zv3he1m]

​@@ramadansteve1715maybe read some history before the qing man

[@Clippidyclappidy]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@SuperCool362jackLiterally not true. Go away, bot.

[@ramadansteve1715]

@user-vk7zv3he1m You mean like that time millions died in a civil war, or that other time millions died in a civil war? Or maybe that time millions died from a natural disaster, or those other times millions died from natural disasters? Or that time they got conquered by the steppe nomads? Or that other time they got conquered by steppe nomads?

[@TechieWidget]

After the fall of Qing dynasty, China's century of humiliation continued until the end of WWII. It's debatable on when it ended, as some would argue that it ended with later events like the establishment of PRC on mainland China or 1997 handover of Hong Kong back to PRC. This humiliation has taught a harsh lesson to China, and they still take this lesson by heart to this day. Today, China is no longer an easy target for bullying and the "sick man of Asia". In retrospect, the humiliation that the western powers and Japan inflicted from 1839 to 1945 turned China into a juggernaut to be reckon with on the world stage.

[@426mak]

I would argue militarily the Century of Humiliation ended in the Korean War, where China showed it could stand up to a western superpower. Politically I would say 1971 when Mainland China became a permanent member of the UN.

[@TheGuzeinbuick]

And yet Mao brought more misery and devastation to China than Western powers ever did. But don't ask Chinese to reflect upon that because it will make them uncomfortable.

[@user-vw8it9oo8h]

If the Qing Dynasty had not been so arrogant, but instead had continued to modernize and held back the Western powers, and maintained order in Asia, Japan would not have had to go through such hardships. For the sake of their own national security, the Japanese had to aim for a large enough empire to rival the West and for the forced unity and modernization of Asia. If we look at the policies of modernization and assimilation that Japan subsequently forcibly pursued in Korea, Taiwan, and Manchukuo, we can see that Japan's motivation was not Western-style exploitation.

[@ReaperCH90]

I will argue they will soon be the sick man again, because their demographics will be a nightmare in 20 years and it doesn't look like they want to finally harshly get their real estate sector in order.

[@user-nv3bi1by9p]

@@user-vw8it9oo8h The Japanese engaged in a killing contest across Asia, forcibly recruiting comfort women and massacring civilians. Unit 731 conducted various cruel human experiments on living people and used bacterial and chemical weapons on hundreds of thousands or millions of people. Do you call these crimes "assimilation"? Anyone who whitewashes the crimes committed by the Japanese during World War II should be despised by all mankind.

[@ScorpoYT]

Today i will declare my self as jesus's brother, sure do hope nothing goes wrong.

[@ScarletRebel96]

Scorpo!!! Good to see ya!! 😊

[@TeaTimeWithTommy]

Good to see a fellow enjoyer of Armchair Historian

[@bensonchannel1511]

whats good

[@jeffreygao3956]

Oh no! I'm gonna stop you for blasphemy!

[@kellychuang8373]

Really sad to say but it goes wrong on multiple parts and also that guy you based on poisoned himself thinking the mushroom was safe near the end of that rebellion. Really look or Google and KZbin that as well.

[@ANBUsander]

As a Belgian I thank you for the Tin-Tin reference 😂 had a good laugh!

[@jakobtarrasericsson4295]

I immediately started looking for the Tintin reference when you mentioned it. Ah man, Blue Lotus by far is one of my favorites in the Tintin collection.

[@mikexirou]

Yay someone found my reference ^^

[@andrewpritchard5080]

@@mikexirou at 2:38, soon as I saw it I thought Blue Lotus! nicely done.

[@HWDragonborn]

Its kinda hypocritical that Hergé drew a comic that condemn Japanese occupation of China yet at the same drew a comic that glorified European colonization of Africa.

[@JBRAI22]

THATS WHAT I WAS THINKING!

[@Freezeenie-tu8sl]

Honestly, The ArmChair Historian is the best channel to go to for history. I always loved history and when I found this channel I just became more obsessed!

[@flaminggears3833]

​@@SuperCool362jack check description.

[@apokos8871]

they only use pro-Western sources and have a clear Western bias. if i submited a paper using this kind of one-sided sources for my history degree, my professors would cut me. this is not a good history channel. try SandRhoman History or Mark Felton

[@podemosurss8316]

12:33 Except that the Chinese saw (and still see it) as a victory since they managed to preserve their territorial integrity and also inflicted several defeats on the French (most notably the battle of Bang Bo in the border between China and Vietnam).

[@davidw.2791]

It was a victory until the court came up with the truly galaxy-brain policy of 乘胜求和 -- “Follow up the victory with… suing for peace (at any cost)”.

[@davidw.2791]

In the history books under the CPC education boards at least, the Sino-Franco war of 1884 was a win until Cixi flushed that under the toilet. That was how China lost their grip on Indochina and Yunnan became French sphereofinfluence.

[@GahnzNmi]

As someone who has studied history from the perspective of multiple nations, I really appreciate just how unbiased and informative you try to keep your videos.

[@theoutlook55]

For sure.

[@apokos8871]

like the recent video on N. Korea using only Western sources? you see this as unbiased? would you trust a channel that showed only pro-Russian "facts" about the war in Ukraine for example?

[@Waffles435]

@@apokos8871yeah because the sources form North Korea is completely bullshit

[@Recidivous]

@@apokos8871 While true, are there even N. Korea sources to begin with?

[@apokos8871]

@@Recidivous 100% there are N.Korean books on the subject. that war is a major part of their national identity. im not saying they wont be full of propaganda, but in every conflict historians need to include sources from both sides.

[@kailee2166]

I have been waiting forever for you to make this video, thank you!

[@2packrm781]

I couldn't agree also.

[@trel9388]

@@2packrm781I couldn’t agree also… lol

[@user-oi3jk4qo9j]

Babe wake up there's new Armchair Historian Videos release

[@Global-yt]

@@vapaus831 que

[@user-gu8qi4me8x]

​@@Global-ytit's bot

[@ObliviAce]

Yes Honey...

[@eonthinker100yrago8]

Shut up honey.

[@user-gu8qi4me8x]

@@ObliviAce l actually agree with you

[@biochemwang2421]

Excellent video as always! Thank you for bringing the true history to people all over the world!

[@74jparralel38]

Wow… the animation looks very beautiful in this video. Amazing information

[@dunnowy123]

It always astounds me how great the animation is with these videos, they literally look better every time.

[@Nellynelzzz]

great storytelling mixed with creative animations. awesome vid!

[@fallout44454]

2:40 Oh Tintin, what has happened to you?

[@the_feedle]

I was looking for this comment

[@user-gu8qi4me8x]

​@@the_feedlel actually agree with you

[@vaqueroman9406]

He actually did this in the blue lotus

[@davidw.2791]

He was pretending to be an opium den customer when he's trying to tail someone in the den. The titular Blue Lotus.

[@IronDragon-2143]

Is it any wonder that the Chinese have such a negative opinion of European Colonialism?

[@davout5775]

Colonialism is a thing of the past. You can't hate on people who have nothing to do with what happened 100-150 years ago. Instead, they should learn from their mistakes, both sides in fact. It should also be mentioned that the Western world helped greatly with the industrializaation and modernization of China.

[@edwardsnowden8821]

​@@davout5775BS France is still a neo colonialist power on Africa till today. no Wonder Africa hates you guy's

[@MarkMcAllister-ni9sf]

Lols, whatever, the Europeans put opium in cough syrup until the 20th Century, they saw it a legitimate product, as did the Chinese, opium being legal in China until the Westerners were making money instead of them. The CCP hides behind a twisted view of European imperial history to hide their own massive crimes against Humanity.

[@komododragon6061]

​@davout5775 Colonialism isn't that far back as you assume. Literally, Hongkong was handed over from the British to the Chinese in the 1990s. Colonialism had immense and lasting impacts on the modern world today, and the histories of the people in countries who were affected by Colonialism greatly shaped their world view today because it was so influential in their development as a nation.

[@metalgearray6832]

@@davout5775you tell that to the Indigenous Australians here in Australia to get over their past and see how well that goes down. The British arrived and kidnapped Indigenous children from their families, r@ped the women, and genocided the local population and their culture.

[@Lukastar1]

Great video, and the Boxer Rebellion mech was insane

[@ashman8891]

2:43 Love the Blue Lotus reference

[@biggerdany95]

I'm not sure, but I don't remember Tintin smoking opium, did he smoke?

[@samsoldgaffer]

​​@@biggerdany95 No, he just infultrated an opiom den.

[@murdiahmurdiah4154]

He just pretend i think​@@biggerdany95

[@davidw.2791]

@@biggerdany95 At one point he was inside The Blue Lotus and he "picked a spot" to lie down and pretend to be a user, in order to blend in and spy.

[@biggerdany95]

@@davidw.2791 Ohhh yes, that's why I was confused. It seemed for a moment that he did smoke it. Thanks!

[@andyho9670]

Excellent video! The animation is perfect. Thanks to Armchair Historian Channel to tell the true and accurate history of my country. Just because we had been sufferred by war almost a centry, we know the value of peace for sure. In our mindset or philosophy, world live together in harmony is the supreme goal. We lack of will or interesting in dominating the world.

[@mrmeme9105]

Please can you do more videos like this. It's really interesting.10/10.

[@justinwong411]

Great video !

[@paulcock8929]

Beautifull illustrations.

[@Ze_Austin]

This video's aspect ratio filled my phone screen well in landscape mode. Felt extra cinematic. I love it With most phones being taller than 6" now, maybe we'll see more videos like this

[@ungusbungus2486]

Wanted this for a while! 😁

[@todyeee]

谢谢你制作这部历史影片，以一个客观的叙述方式向大家陈述中国的近代史，祝你在未来愈来愈顺利并能在YT上成为更广为人知的历史频道。

[@ernest9868]

Props to the animation team. Amazing work

[@lixiangdong9821]

Very nice video on a period of history in China that is not well known to the West, I think. As a Chinese studying abroad, who loves history. It’s nice to see my country’s history taught in a such well known KZbin history channel. Thank armchair historian.

[@emmanuelmatchuca3871]

Perfectly timed, i have a history test about this, thanks armchair historians

[@midnight6370]

they will never tell you that franklin roosevelt grandfather was the biggest opium dealer in Hong Kong, do that research, he made millions, that's were the roosevelt fortune comes from

[@ooliu]

​@@midnight6370Interestingly, so did President Hoover, who was in Tianjin, China

[@hydrawish8725]

Well, beware that some facts are not allowed to tell, lol.

[@taheraalam7692]

Wow, another great video, Griff! Although I prefer WWI videos because there aren't a lot of videos about them, this video was still good! One suggestion I would make is that I would really appreciate it if you made a video about the *Battle of Passchendaele or the Russian Civil War*

[@Weird_Interest]

for history videos, i’m usually a audio listener, but these drawings are too good❤

[@Beamdude.]

Yoooo, love that you talked about this!

[@prussianangler]

Thus the century of humiliation began. It’s funny because the last commander of the Alliance was von Waldersee, a German, yet every Chinese that knows history I’ve met in my years living there says out of all the foreign powers, they like the Germans best. Makes sense when you build flood irrigation systems ending a huge yearly problem and a big brewery that still produces the most famous beer out of China in the area you leased. John Rabe saving half of NanJing and the Germans supplying the 88th Nationalist Division with supreme gear during WW2 adds to all that.

[@QWQ485]

John Rabe is very famous in China,but not very famous in Germany

[@Golfdoggie_X]

I live in a small city in China that is close to Nanjing. Everyone here knows John Rabe and there is even a movie about him, almost like a Schindler's List in Chinese version. On the contrary, few Japanese dared to go to Nanjing because of the crimes they committed there. Every year, December 13 is the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, and on that day, all Japanese who live or work in Nanjing dare not speak Japanese in public or even go out.

[@theonewhotouchedthesky5776]

werent germans allies with japs during ww2? why wud they supply china with weapons

[@jj2351]

2:48 made my day putting a tin tin reference in there or at least I think it’s tin tin

[@hansmelbye1804]

What a coincidence that you uploaded the video today, as it is the 105th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, where students in Beijing protested against Qingdao becoming a Japanese colony. This decision was made during the Paris Peace Conference.

[@kato2395]

I would protest that Cainah doesn't become Japanese colony considering how lame Cainah is nowadays lol 😂 Unlike Taiwan which is cool af. Almost as cool as the Japanese. You see what happen now when you're not a part of the lame mainland Cainah?

[@jokodihaynes419]

"History can say what it want but rarely does it remember anything correctly"-Lawkeeper Equity Mlp Ace Attorney EOJ

[@Clippidyclappidy]

⁠@@SuperCool362jackLiterally not true. Go away, bot. Also what was the second point that you never expanded on before you hit copy and paste? Oh wait. You never had a point…

[@guydreamr]

What we learn from history is that people don't learn from history. - Warren Buffett

[@jeremiahkivi4256]

@jokodihaynes419 lol you know nothing beyond ctrl+c and ctrl+v

[@The_Guy88]

Always wanted a video like this

[@The_Guy88]

@@vapaus831 idk and to be honest idc

[@kellychuang8373]

Yes really good video here and explained a lot.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

14:01 🎶Seven nation army…can definitely hold me back 🎶

[@RealMajora]

Finally we're getting some China content. Love the Boxers.

[@helmann9265]

Very interesting 💯🌟🤔 Thanks

[@hirocc8695]

great video

[@wu6648]

and see the drug issues nowadays, and how China still strictly ban drugs, and no drug issue in China, wow

[@paleoph6168]

16:11 M1903 Springfield in 1900. 👀

[@Theangryscallywag.]

Time travel in 1900 confirmed??????

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

🤓

[@oldschoolman9878]

Likely a reference to the inaccurate weapons used in the film 55 Days At PeKing. When the Marines depicted did indeed use 1903 Springfield rifles instead of the period correct Krag or Lee-Navy rifles.

[@Aquamarineprototype1]

I love the fact that you added tintin at 2:54

[@danielqu9926]

It's crazy how Austria Hungary, the weakest European power had established a colony in china

[@user-gc6pe1zw9n]

Because the empire began to split, local forces believed that outsiders were only here to make money, and the threat was not significant compared to internal forces that were vying for territory

[@jesse89625]

When lion is weak, European wild dogs always find a way to take a bite

[@robertjoppenhimer388]

“Colony” it was probably only the size of a Chinatown in Europe today lol

[@ooliu]

在天津因为八国侵略中国里面有这个国家

[@ooliu]

​@@robertjoppenhimer388你不知道的是，在那里中国人不允许进入并且还侮辱中国人说中国人和狗不能进入，李小龙有个电影就说的是这种事情

[@vaqueroman9406]

2:42 love the tintin reference

[@dansmith4077]

Great video

[@somedude1502]

I love the little Blue Lotus nod with Tintin in the Opium house.

[@wyattfairley8185]

I'm a History nerd and this is for sure my fav history channel

[@henryburvee3028]

I have to give a 30 minute presentation on Chinese geopolitics for my Geopolitics class tomorrow. This video came just at the right time!!

[@user-zg2he4vk6r]

那你运气可真不错

[@xaviermadrazo7249]

Thank you for covering this topic ❤ Very very interesting

[@Jungleland422]

2:44 OMG ITS TINTIN! LMAO! I love the Tintin reference 10/10! This made my day!

[@zabiniec770]

Literally I saw video abaut exact same thing on GTBT like 3 days ago 😅

[@OmniaDeus]

The video didn't fully explain the opium trade and British involvement. At the time, there was a massive trade imbalance between China and the European powers. The Europeans really wanted Chinese goods like tea and porcelain, but the Chinese, as the video stated, was self reliant and didn't need European imports. As a result, the Europeans were quickly running out of silver to pay for Chinese goods - they didn't want to be the ones paying anymore. The British then thought of a "great" idea - "Why not sell drugs and get the entire country addicted? Once they are addicted, they will buy more and more and we'll make more money!" And so they planted huge plantations of opium in India and Ceylon, then sold them to China to "right" the trade imbalance. Then when the Chinese tried to crack down on their illegal drug trade, the British placed the blame on them and declared war. As to why the video thinks resisting illegal drug trade is "repression against British traders", I have no idea. TLDR: The British ran out of money to pay the Chinese, so they sold drugs and got the entire country addicted. After that they declared war saying that they should be able to sell drugs illegally in another country.

[@ooliu]

yes

[@Swenywendad]

This is happening all over again now … the propaganda has started and the second phase sanctioning has started and still can’t bring it down then the next phase will try to China monetary system and if it still cant bring it down and most likely they will invade again … the west never changed even after so many years… but china is well prepared this time to defend itself ….

[@Golfdoggie_X]

Ironically, now the U.S. is up to its old tricks, wanting to buy cheap Chinese goods and worried about the trade deficit, so it imposes tariffs for various reasons. Now you know why the Chinese don't like or even hate Americans?

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

Late to the party but Happy I’m here!

[@Ryanflees]

very nice quality animation to show the history, love your work.

[@DonTitoNYC]

Good video.

[@capncake8837]

Let’s go, I was just learning more about this in college.

[@stonecoldgamer5222]

I have been waiting for you to do this boxer vs united alliance.

[@truongquoctuan9]

I love the Tintin reference, very nice touch.

[@user-gh7st3co7s]

really good video man i love it. Heres a suggestion aswell how about the American-Fillipino war idk if there where more but i watched a movie called Goyo and i thought it would be cool if yall made a video about that war. Anyway good job man tell you're team that too

[@MicheleDiBiase-wd4sh]

Every Philippine parent and child should see the movie about Goya as a lesson of the US manipulation of a nation

[@codyshi4743]

I guess in one way or another the Chinese Boxer rebels are similar to the Palestinian Hamas. Both are really nationalist about their own individual home country.

[@ooliu]

A very good opinion

[@user-yl9em9xj2v]

是的，我们中国人是这样评价义和团的。义和团因为是封建时代的农民运动，所以有很多不够完善的地方。但是他们拿起武器反抗侵略者。这种行为是完全正义的。

[@Kossumies6]

I see that Tintin there at 2:43. Nice little detail ;3

[@XIXCentury]

It's great you posted this while I'm making a video about the Qing in the 19th century.

[@prfwrx2497]

European imperialism is just as diverse as the nations that practiced it. In the case of British Imperialism, however, it is ironically a product of circumstance more than an engineered attempt at global empire building. In plain language, Britain stumbled it's way into possessing the world's largest oceanic empire. Oversimplification - British foreign policy was all about trade, and sorting out their trade deficit. British holdings and protectorates in Africa post-Atlantic Slavery was all about facilitating Transoceanic trade. Coaling stations, ports, resupply. The British holdings in India was a complete fustercluck that arose out of pure happenstance; the East Indian Company's takeover of India was a purely capitalistic venture, which only "succeeded" in the way it had due to the breakdown of the Mughal empire. As Mughal influence retreated, the Company simply took over the power vacuum with no regard for domestic statecraft, only concern for profitable trade (hence why Indian human development essentially receded during the era of Company rule). The British Raj in India, for all its inequities, was the result of the British public being outraged at how poorly (in terms of human development) the EIC governed India through their local proxies. Only from the era of the British Raj and onward did British policy of empire building was made official state policy, and with it the state sanctifying the popular notion of a "civilization mission", in all it's folly. This shift in policy, though originating in India, would then also spread throughout the rest of British overseas holdings in Africa and later Singapore, Malaya, and Hong Kong as well. Of course, having an empire isn't exactly a profitable enterprise. Human development is an investment. The cost of administering and developing the Raj (Indianization) served as a policy deterrent against any future empire building in China, hence why the British were very adamant about not colonizing China the way they did India. Britain was not keen into stumbling into having another colony it could ill afford. For the state, trade is profitable, and human development is a liability - if albeit a necessary one given public pressure from the politically active class within the empire.

[@bobdollaz3391]

They certainly lusted after the wealth the Boer Republiks accrued

[@kylezdancewicz7346]

@@bobdollaz3391To be fair, both sides of that conflict were effectively imperial colonizers, and the boers were supporters of slavery so I feel in this situation the British weren’t horrible, not good, but not bad.

[@bobdollaz3391]

@@kylezdancewicz7346 the Bantus had slavery and committed genocide and Colonized the Northeastern region during the Mfecane.

[@poopkljok8342]

Britain did not colonize China like India because both Russia and Japan regarded China as their sphere of influence. Looking at the map, Russia and China have a borderline of more than 5,000 kilometers. In the Japanese version of the Monroe Doctrine, Korea and China are Japan's Latin America. Whoever wants to colonize China must defeat Russia and Japan at the same time. This is also the main reason why China was not completely colonized by other countries.

[@abdiganiaden]

Britain game plan is a game plan followed by US today. They are both an island that does not want large continental empires from usurping their neighbors, this allowed British to land close by and team up with smaller guys to defeat big guy. Same for US.

[@recurse]

Great to see more videos on Chinese history, and also, surprisingly descent job pronouncing Empress Cixi's name! I was expecting something like /ˈsɪksi/ (uncomfortably close to Empress Sexy lol) rather than /ˈsiʃi/. Not perfect, but respectable!

[@user-pj4lf5eq7y]

慈禧, I prefer her name, 叶赫娜拉 This person is very hilarious. She declared wars to 13 countries simultaneously.😂😂😂

[@PETAisFraud]

Mexican Cartels: I am somewhat related to you. British Empire: What do you mean? Mexican Cartels: *Soy tu hijo papi!*

[@teddyn240]

Please do a video on Manchukuo.

[@hamishsewell5990]

Great vid! Noticed the Tintin reference in the opium den

[@EntropyAlchemist]

Noticed the nice Tintin Easter egg reference there in the opium den scene there.

[@THEFIRE360]

2:41 Is that a Tin TIn reference? I loved those comics

[@davidw.2791]

The titular Blue Lotus was an opium den. 👍🏼

[@robert5167]

Do somethink about Wallachia and Vlad the Impaler next please!

[@rainbowchaser7703]

Never guessed there could be a tintin cameo! A true man of culture.

[@nicholaswoof88]

Love the part showing the opium part where Tintin from the Blue Lotus appear

[@masteroutlaw100]

Watching this as I come in from tending to my poppy field

[@HoH]

Interesting topic - it's something I noticed Professor Mearsheimer warning about in nearly every lecture regarding China's geopolitics I've come across. Beautiful maps & camera movement!

[@ooliu]

American empiric scientist, china's old rival, but his theory is worth learning, and he also has fans in china

[@alispeed5095]

Its crazy how the world works. Once britain ruled the world. But look at them now? Chinese people must be proud whenever they read such history. They have come far.

[@notvvell9442]

Rather than feeling proud, what Chinese people have learned from these sad histories is "if you fall behind, you will be beaten." That's why Chinese people are working so hard today.

[@purplefloyd1513]

Tintin chilling in the Opium lounge was a super cool Easter Egg

[@film57r7]

did you trace the image of Qing archer? I’ve seen that image before

[@1Chinese]

One big mistake in your map of Qing China is the omission of Outer Manchuria. It refers to the land south of the Stanovoy Range, east of the Ussuri River, plus Sixty-Four Villages East of the River and Sakhalin Island, totaling more than one million square kilometers. It's the ancestral home and breeding ground of the Manchu people before they ruled China. Historically, this land has also been ruled by the Fuyu, Shiwei, Heishui Mohe, Jurchen and other tribes, as well as the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. However, in the mid-19th century China was again defeated by the British and French in the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion swept the entire country. Tsarist Russia fully took advantage of the Chinese weakness and forced the Qing government to cede Outer Manchuria during the Amur Annexation in the 1858 Treaty of Aigun and 1860 Treaty of Peking. They are the two most humiliating unequal treaties in modern Chinese history, causing China to lose the most territory. 你清代中国地图上的一大错误是遗漏了外满洲，它是指外兴安岭以南、乌苏里江以东、加上江东六十四屯和库页岛的土地，总计超过一百万平方公里。历史上，它是满族人的祖居和龙兴之地，也曾被扶余、室韦、黑水靺鞨、契丹、女真等民族与唐、辽、金、元、明和清朝等朝代统治过。 但在19世纪中叶，中国在第二次鸦片战争中再次惨败于英法联军之手，同时太平天国运动席卷全国，沙皇俄国乘人之危，趁机大肆吞并“阿穆尔（黑龙江）”流域地区，强迫清政府签订了1858年的《瑷珲条约》和1860年的《北京条约》，割让外满洲。这是中国近代史上最大的两个不平等条约，使中国失去了最多的领土。

[@ignisilluminati]

But the history of Manchurians are not the history of China. The nomads have independent history until they enter the Chinese mainland and establish an empire. Manchurian history becomes Chinese history only after they are sinified (Qing).

[@ooliu]

​@@ignisilluminati Wrong, there was a government in the Ming Dynasty, the founder of the Qing Dynasty and even the officials of the Ming Dynasty, by the way, there was a government in the Tang Dynasty

[@denismourenas4876]

Hahaha! Nice Tintin reference! 😉👍

[@dinohunterking3238]

When i woke up today I was not expecting to see the 19th Century Megazord.

[@berniekatzroy]

Enjoyed the tintin blue lotus reference and the thumbnail being an actual existing political cartoon.

[@davidw.2791]

Victoria: “What do you think you’re doing, Grandson Wilhelm?!”

[@smor8346]

2:52 Tintin perhaps

[@andrewpritchard5080]

is tintin!

[@ryanconstantinechong4346]

Nice Tintin reference you have there.

[@AnarchyJesus]

UK "hey isnt that the nerd we used to knock around in middle school?" Japan "SHHHHHHHHH! dont let him hear u! dude is fkin..."

[@meilinchan7314]

Watching the Chinese autotranslation from 10:37" was awesome. Fun to see it translate "Hakka" as "哈卡" (it's actually 客家 LOL).

[@davidw.2791]

It's like how to this day the official Chinese for (Sherlock) Holmes is Fu'ermosi, lol

[@anghuy4297]

2:40 yo is that my boy TinTIn???

[@dmitriyrozhdestvenskiy2826]

That's great! For 555 time I was watching and listening the song "55 Days at Peking " and here's the movie! 🎥 Thank You Armchair Historian! I appreciate Your Channel and huge historical objective research! 😃🙂😃❤❤❤ Like and subscribe as usual!) Hope to do more)

[@ismaelfleurine2620]

The artist who created the thumbnail did a fabulous job

[@nia1waifu107]

Please cover both the Warlord Era & Chinese Civil War next!!!🙏🙏🙏😇😇😇

[@thenewongoam2486]

I recommend reading the Graphic novel Boxer and Saint and Guene Luen Yang about the story of China during the Century of Humiliation.

[@2packrm781]

Thanks, I'll write it down for my next book to read.

[@Mr110074]

I did not expect a Tin Tin cameo. The Blue Lotus is definitely one of the best stories.