Describe the key motives involved in the increased presence of Westerners in India, China, and Japan in the 1700s and 1800s

Describe the key motives involved in the increased presence of Westerners in India, China, and Japan in the 1700s and 1800s. Identify the key factors that led to Britain’s successful imposition of its presence and trade policies on China, despite communications like those from Emperor Ch’ien-lung (i.e., Qianlong) and Commissioner Lin Zexu (i.e., Lin Tse-hsu). Argue for or against the British policies regarding China in the 1800s, using analogies from our own modern times.

• The Opium Wars and Foreign Encroachment: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1750_opium.htm
• Opium Wars with visuals at http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/opium_wars_01/ow1_essay01.html
• Key documents from China at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1793qianlong.asp and http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/com-lin.html