Imperialism in Asia: British India, China's Opium Wars and Meiji Japan

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a summary in our words, written today, from the State Department's Office of the Historian: Western traders wanted silk and tea from China, but China wanted few Western goods. The British found a market for smuggled opium, and for the first time China imported more than it exported. Card B, a summary in our words, written today, from Columbia University's Asia for Educators: British demand for Chinese tea was paid for with opium from Bengal, despite repeated Chinese bans. Silver flowed out of China. In 1838 the emperor sent Lin Zexu to Guangzhou to end the trade. Card C, a summary in our words, written today: The First Opium War ran from 1839 to 1842, and British ships were victorious by summer 1842. The Treaty of Nanjing of 1842 was the first of what are called the unequal treaties. France and the United States signed similar treaties in 1843 and 1844 and Russia in 1858, with extraterritoriality, which put foreigners under their own countries' laws. Some terms of the unequal treaties were not voided until 1943. Card D, a summary in our words, written today: By 1844 five ports were open to foreign trade: Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai. One source dates the Second Opium War from 1857; another gives 1858 to 1860.

2. 1.

   Card A comes from a US history office and card B from a Columbia University site. Ari wants the reasons Chinese officials gave for banning opium. What can the two cards do?

   • Report the ban and Lin Zexu's mission, not the officials' own reasons, which need their own words
   • Nothing, since modern summaries cannot report decisions made at the Chinese court in the year 1838
   • Give the officials' reasons, since a university site would state why the emperor sent Lin Zexu
   • Explain British demand for tea, since card B says opium from Bengal was sent to pay for that tea
3. 2.

   Card A says that "for the first time" China imported more than it exported. Bo treats that as a complete trade record. What is the sound use?

   • Use it to show that Britain bought less tea, since imports and exports changed places that year
   • Cite it as the office's summary; a first time needs trade figures that the card does not give
   • Treat it as a complete trade record, since a government history office would check the figures
   • Leave it out, since a claim about a first time is a superlative and cannot be checked against records
4. 3.

   Card C calls the Treaty of Nanjing the first of the "unequal treaties." Esme asks who first used that name. What do the cards allow?

   • The Chinese court used it in 1842, since the treaty was imposed on China after the war ended
   • The British used it in 1842, since they signed the treaty and wrote its terms for the occasion
   • No one can say anything about the name, since a label is not a historical fact to be traced
   • They do not say, so the name may be a later label, and the card's use of it is its own
5. 4.

   Cards A and B. Jun lists tea and silk purchases, opium smuggling and the outflow of silver. Which order of cause and effect fits the cards?

   • Demand for tea and silk, little Chinese demand for Western goods, opium as payment, then silver out
   • Silver flowed out first, so opium was sent to bring the silver back to China and restore trade
   • The silver outflow caused the ban, and the ban caused the opium trade to begin in Guangzhou
   • Opium was sent first to create a market, and demand for tea and silk grew from that market
6. 5.

   Card B says China banned opium repeatedly. Kira says the bans stopped the trade. What do the cards show?

   • The bans worked, since the emperor sent Lin Zexu in 1838 to finish a trade that had mostly stopped
   • The bans caused the war, since a war began soon after the last ban was announced in Guangzhou
   • The bans were unneeded, since silver was already flowing back into China from the opium trade
   • The bans were repeated and the trade went on, so bans alone did not stop it, and war followed
7. 6.

   Card C: France and the United States signed similar treaties in 1843 and 1844, Russia in 1858. Milo says only Britain gained rights. What do the cards show?

   • Other powers gained similar rights within a few years, so the terms spread beyond Britain
   • Britain alone gained rights, since the Treaty of Nanjing followed a victory by British ships
   • China gained the same rights in those countries, since extraterritoriality was meant to run both ways
   • The other powers fought wars too, since similar treaties follow similar wars with the Chinese court
8. 7.

   Card D: five ports were open to foreign trade by 1844. Noah says that meant China was colonized. What does the card support?

   • China was colonized, since five open ports mean that a foreign power ruled the coast and its trade
   • Traders gained access to five ports; the card does not say China lost its government or land
   • Britain governed the ports, since the Treaty of Nanjing was a British treaty signed after victory
   • Nothing changed, since China could trade with foreigners at Guangzhou before 1844 on similar terms
9. 8.

   Card C says some terms of the unequal treaties were not voided until 1943. Pia says they lasted 101 years, from 1842. What is accurate?

   • The treaties as a whole lasted 101 years, since 1943 minus 1842 gives the full span of the treaties
   • Some terms lasted until 1943, about 101 years; the card does not say the whole treaties did
   • The terms ended in 1842, since the Treaty of Nanjing replaced the earlier trade rules for good
   • The treaties lasted 11 years, since 1844 minus 1843 gives the span of the later treaties with France
10. 9.

    Card D: one source dates the Second Opium War from 1857, another gives 1858 to 1860. How should Ren report this?

    • Use 1858, since the later date is likelier once the fighting was under way in the ports
    • Leave the war out, since sources that disagree on a date cannot be used in any account of it
    • Give the average of the two dates, 1857 and a half, since an average is the safest start year
    • Report both dates, 1857 and 1858, and say that sources differ about when the war began
11. 10.

    Zee says the war was only about opium. Which part of card A weakens that?

    • Opium was smuggled, which shows the war was about smuggling law and nothing wider than that
    • China imported more than it exported, which shows opium was the one trade between the two sides
    • Traders wanted tea and silk while China wanted few Western goods, so opium was the way to pay
    • The British found a market for opium, which shows opium started the trade in tea and silk