Convention of Beijing signed

Commissioner Lin Zexu ordered the destruction of seized opium at Humen. The First Opium War followed, exposing Qing China to coercive imperial trade and military power. A decolonial account recognizes...

After Qing defeat in the First Opium War, the treaty ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, opened five treaty ports, and imposed an indemnity. It inaugurated a sequence of unequal treaties that...

Hong Xiuquan’s movement launched an uprising at Jintian that became a massive civil war and alternative state project. Its causes included social crisis, missionary influence, and Qing weakness. The...

The Qing government signed a treaty with the United States during the Second Opium War. The treaty opened additional ports, expanded diplomatic access, and imposed new privileges for foreign powers....

After a prolonged siege, Qing forces captured Nanjing, ending the Taiping state. The rebellion had challenged the Qing order and devastated large regions. Its suppression relied on regional armies,...

Qing China signed the treaty ending the First Sino-Japanese War, recognizing Korean independence as defined by Japan, ceding Taiwan and the Pescadores, and paying an indemnity. The defeat signaled the...

The Guangxu Emperor was placed under house arrest and reform leaders were executed or exiled, ending the short reform movement. The crisis reflected struggles over state modernization under pressure...

During the Boxer crisis, the Qing court issued a declaration of war against foreign powers. The subsequent multinational invasion and occupation of Beijing culminated in the Boxer Protocol. This...

The Qing government signed the Boxer Protocol with foreign powers after the 1900 intervention. The agreement imposed a large indemnity and further military and diplomatic concessions. Its burden...