Thursday, October 9, 2008

The Qing Empire in the Era of European Global Hegemony

Demographic growth compounded by fiscal crises, and poor administration placed significant pressure on the economic and political system and provided a substantial body of evidence that the Qing was in decline in the early nineteenth century. The arrival of less benevolent powers than Britain in East Asia demanding exclusive trade concessions and spheres of influence.

Where did imperial adventure and colonial power fit into the rapid technological and economic transformation of the late nineteenth century? The emergence of the global economy and the reworking of more and more areas of the world under a capitalist framework abetted by improved communication systems certainly played a role. The structure of the international system also abetted it. A synergisitc realtionship also emerged among technological change, corporate capitalism, and expansive European nation-states: the rise of the miltiary-industrial complex. To ensure security for possessions, sometimes this meant an offensive-defense. Interaction in China seen as securing the industrial world's surplus reduction: curing it thus forever from the woes of the market.

Whether driven by the rules of the market or the interests of particular classes in perpetuating their power, Western politcal, economic, and cultural forces marched inexorably into formerly alien lands deep in the heart of China. A consistent British policy of deterritorialization yielded to the instability of capitalism and global power politics and hampered British efforts. Western views on spheres of influence and partition led to a new China map.

Qing officials still retained their snobbery yet not their prestige over parts of their empire as more diffuse and decentralized power as regional governors built regional bases independent of central authority. The weak Qing state in the 1890s eroded British confidence in its viability and provoked a rupture in relations. Westerners claiming treaty rights came into conflict with resentful and suspicious locals. The Chinese government seemed oblivious. To many, the dynasty still resided in a fantasy world.

Foreign perceptions were limited to coastal observation. Measures of improvement and empire rule can be measured outside of the modernity narrative. The Qing effectively dealt with their Central Asian possessions, especially Xinjiang. China able to play the great game independent of Western influence, but judgments against it quite harsh.

New literature on China now part of a broader discourse on race and civilization common in Europe and North America. Race transformed in the 1860s and 1870s to biological determinism. Westerners sought to manipulate what they saw as deficient Asian characteristics. This led to a collapse of the optimism in hoping for cooperation. Yet Russian advances eastward worried the British and in their realism sought to prevent the Qing from ever seeking succor from the Tsar.

No comments: