Why did China find it so difficult to modernize in the 80 years after the First Open War?

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Why China found it so Difficult to Modernize in the 80 Years after the First Opium War

Introduction

The 19th century was characterized by the need for China to reinvent herself and come forth as a key player in global political and economic affairs (Moise 17 . However , as is evidenced by her constant losses in battle and failure to modernize in spite of many attempts to do so these efforts were largely unsuccessful . But it was the aftermath of

the First and Second Opium Wars that set China on a path of underdevelopment (Grasso , Corrin Kort 341 . Having lost in both the wars , China found it real difficult to modernize even though modernization seemed the only way through which nations were rediscovering themselves in preparation for a better future . For China , there are two specific factors that hindered her modernization efforts for at least eighty years after the First Opium War of 1839-1842 came to an end . These factors form the basis of this paper 's discussion

The Unequal Treaties

The most important reason which has been cited as having hindered China 's modernization efforts after the First Opium War is the fact that China was forced by Western governments , led by Britain against whom the First Opium War was fought , to ratify treaties which were largely unequal in the sense that the signatories were not equal players (Grasso , Corrin Kort 27 . China , having lost in this war , was under...