Hello, I'm Mr. Marchin, and thank you for joining me for today's history lesson.

My job today is to help guide you through our history resources in the lesson, and I'm gonna be working to make sure that by the end of our time together, you can securely meet our lesson objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the British Empire where we've been asking ourselves to what extent was the British Empire transformed in the mid-19th century? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the importance of gunboat diplomacy for the expansion of the British Empire in East Asia.

There are five keywords which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are merchants, opium, gunboat diplomacy, treaty, and customs. Merchants are people whose job is to buy and sell goods.

Opium is an addictive drug.

When countries try to achieve their foreign policy aims by using the fret of military force, this is called gunboat diplomacy.

A treaty is a written agreement between two or more countries approved and signed by their leaders.

And customs are taxes paid on trade.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts and we'll begin by focusing on trading with China.

In the early 19th century, the British Empire was much less powerful in East Asia than in some other parts of the world.

By the beginning of the 1830s, the British did not have any colonies under their control in the region.

So thinking about what we've just heard, I want you to change one word to correct the following sentence.

Britain had many colonies in East Asia in the early 19th century.

So think about which word seems like it's incorrect in that sentence and what it should be changed to.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the incorrect word was many and that it should actually be no.

Britain had no colonies in East Asia in the early 19th century.

The most powerful state in East Asia in the early 19th century was the Qing Empire.

The Qing Empire ruled over China and other areas such as parts of present day Mongolia and Russia.

The Qing Empire was also one of the richest and most populated states in the world.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we just heard.

Which country was considered the most powerful state in East Asia in the early 19th century? Was it Britain, France, Japan, or the Qing Empire? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was D.

The most powerful state in East Asia in the early 19th century was usually considered to be the Qing Empire, which ruled over China and parts of what we'd consider to be modern day Mongolia and Russia.

Britain wanted to increase its trade with China in the early 19th century.

However, two major barriers limited the extent of British trade with China at this time, Chinese interest and Chinese restrictions.

We'll think about both of these barriers to trade in turn.

So let's start by considering Chinese interest.

Britain was interested in buying many different goods from China, such as tea, silk, and pottery.

The British hoped to trade products they manufactured such as clocks, textiles, and weapons in order to gain items such as tea, silk, and pottery from the Chinese.

However, the Qing emperors were uninterested in trading with Britain.

In fact, in the 1790s, the Qing emperor stated that his empire, "Lacks no product within its borders.

There is therefore no need to import the manufactured products of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce." In other words, the Qing emperors turned to Britain's efforts to increase trade and said, "We're not interested." So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

Which statement is most accurate? The British king rejected Chinese attempts to increase trade in 1790.

The Qing emperor rejected British attempts to increase trade in 1790, or the British king and Qing emperor agreed to increase trade between their countries in 1790.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

The Qing emperor rejected British attempts to increase trade in 1790.

In fact, the Qing emperor said there was no item which China couldn't already get from within its own borders.

And another barrier to British trade with the Chinese was Chinese restrictions.

Britain was able to conduct some trade with China, but this was heavily restricted.

European trade with the Qing Empire could only be carried out through a single port, Canton.

Europeans could not enter the rest of the Qing Empire to trade.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

Where could European merchants trade in the Qing Empire at the start of the 19th century? Was it only in Canton, in any coastal port, or anywhere in the Qing Empire? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was A.

In the early 19th century, all European trade, including Britain's, that was carried out with the Qing Empire could only happen at the port of Canton.

The only product Britain could sell, which the Chinese were actually interested in, was opium.

However, because of opium's dangerous effects and the risk of addiction, the Qing emperor banned the sale of opium in his empire.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

What was the main products sold by British merchants in China in the early 19th century? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was opium.

Opium was the main product sold by British merchants in China in the early 19th century.

But because of its dangerous effects and addictive properties, opium was banned in China by the Qing emperor.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about trading with China into practise.

I want you to study the following statements.

They say Britain had multiple colonies in China in the early 19th century.

Britain was more interested in trading with China than the Qing Empire was interested in trading with Britain.

Britain and other European merchants traded all across China and Britain mainly sold tea to the Chinese.

So I want you to do two things in response to these statements.

Firstly, you need to identify whether each statement is true or false.

And then secondly, I want you to correct any of the false statements.

You should provide additional details to support your corrections.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So firstly, I asked you to identify whether each of our four statements was true or false.

You should have said that the first statement was false and that our second statement was true.

Britain was more interested in trading with China than the Qing Empire was interested in trading with Britain.

For example, the Qing emperor rejected British trade offers in 1790.

For our third statement, you should have said that that was false.

And for our final statement, you should have also said that that was false.

So secondly, I asked you to correct any of the false statements and to provide additional details to support your corrections.

So your answers may have included, Britain had no colonies in East Asia in the early 19th century.

British and other European merchants were not allowed to travel through China.

The Qing Empire restricted foreign trade to a single port at Canton.

And Britain mainly sold opium to the Chinese, although this had officially been illegal in the Qing Empire since 1729.

So really well done if you identified each statement as true or false correctly and if your corrected statements looked something like those models which we've just seen.

So now we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today where we're going to think about the Opium Wars.

From 1839 to 1842 and again from 1856 to 1860, Britain and the Qing Empire were at war.

These conflicts have become known as the Opium Wars.

Historians consider the Opium Wars to be a key example of British gunboat diplomacy.

Despite the fact that opium had been made illegal in the Qing Empire in 1729, Britain had continued to sell opium to China.

In fact, the amount of opium Britain was selling to China actually increased over the first decades of the 19th century.

In 1839, this led to a crackdown by the Qing government.

Foreign ships in and around Canton were searched, and over 1,000 tonnes of opium were confiscated before being burned.

However, the actions of the Chinese were considered unacceptable by the British government.

Lord Palmerston, the foreign secretary at the time, argued that Britain would fight for freedom of trade in East Asia and sent the Royal Navy to fight the forces of the Qing Empire.

The ships sent to China included Britain's first oceangoing steam-powered warship, a gunboat called the Nemesis.

The Nemesis was able to easily defeat the Chinese ships which opposed it.

By 1842, the conflict which had become known as the first Opium War ended as the Qing Empire signed the Treaty of Nanking.

This treaty required the Chinese to pay large amounts of money to Britain for the opium which was destroyed in 1839, to open four new treaty ports to European traders, to transfer control over Hong Kong, a small island along China's coastline to Britain, and to allow British citizens in treaty ports to face trials and punishments under their own laws rather than those of the Qing Empire.

So let's reflect on everything that we've just heard.

We've got a statement on the screen that reads, British and Chinese forces proved to be equally strong during the first Opium War.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Britain ships, especially the Nemesis, easily defeated those of the Qing Empire's navy.

And the second says that Chinese ships, especially the Nemesis, easily defeated those of the Royal Navy.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was A.

We can tell that British and Chinese forces were not equally strong during the first Opium War, because Britain ships, especially the Nemesis, easily defeated those of the Qing Empire's navy.

And let's try another question.

What island did the Treaty of Nanking signed in 1842 transfer to British control? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the island transferred to British control by the Treaty of Nanking was Hong Kong.

The Treaty of Nanking did not require the Qing Empire to change its laws on opium, which remained illegal.

As British merchants continued to sell opium to the Chinese and ignore other Chinese laws, disagreements between Britain and the Qing Empire continued.

When one of these disagreements escalated to violence in 1856, Lord Palmerston, who by now had become Prime Minister of Britain, supported a war against the Qing Empire once again.

During the second Opium War, the British Navy and Army, which was also supported by troops from France, was able to defeat Chinese forces once more.

After this second military defeat, the Qing Empire signed the Treaty of Tientsin.

As part of this treaty, the Chinese agreed to pay large amounts of money to Britain to transfer the Kowloon Peninsula, part of the Chinese mainland located next to Hong Kong, to Britain.

The Chinese also agreed to open seven new ports to foreign trade to allow foreign ships to sail and trade freely along the Yangtze River in China, and for British and French citizens as well as Americans and Russians to travel freely within the Qing Empire.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of everything we've just heard.

Which statement regarding the consequences of the Opium Wars is most accurate? That the Qing Empire willingly granted Britain greater trading access to China, that the Qing Empire was forced to grant Britain greater trading access to China, or that the Qing Empire refused to grant Britain greater trading access to China.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

Because of the Opium Wars, the Qing Empire was forced to grant Britain greater trading access to China.

Although it had initially refused this, its defeat in both the First and Second Opium War forced the Chinese to change their policies.

And let's try another question.

Which two agreements were part of the Treaty of Tientsin? Was it that China became a British colony, that several new Chinese ports were opened to foreign trade, that British merchants could travel freely throughout China, or that British laws had to be followed across China? Remember, you're looking for two of these answers which are correct.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answers were B and C.

As part of the Treaty of Tientsin amongst other agreements, the Qing Empire agreed that several new Chinese ports would be open to foreign trade and that British merchants should be able to travel freely throughout China.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about the Opium Wars into practise.

So I want you to answer the following question.

Why are the Opium Wars an example of gunboat diplomacy? Your answer should refer to what were the aims of Britain and how did Britain act during the Opium Wars? So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you why are the Opium Wars an example of gunboat diplomacy? And your answer may have included the Opium Wars can be considered an example of gunboat diplomacy because violence was used to pressure the Qing Empire and achieve Britain's trading goals.

Britain hope to gain better trading access to China, but faced resistance from the government of the Qing Empire.

For instance, British opium was seized and destroyed by Qing officials in 1839.

Britain responded to these restrictions from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1856 to 1860 by fighting against the Qing Empire until the Chinese were forced to sign the Treaties of Nanking and Tientsin.

Both of these treaties involved the Qing giving into some of Britain's demands such as opening up new ports for trade.

So really well done if your own response looked something like that model we've just seen.

What was really important is that your answer referred to both the aims of the British, that they were looking to open up China for trade and the methods they used to achieve that, that they used force, fighting against China in two wars.

So, we're now ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today, where we're going to think about formal and informal empire in East Asia.

Gunboat diplomacy during the Opium Wars helped the British Empire to grow in East Asia.

However, Britain's imperial expansion involved more than just gaining new colonies.

Many historians have suggested that gunboat diplomacy also helped Britain to develop an informal empire in East Asia.

So let's think about what we really mean when we talk about formal and informal empire.

So if we start by considering formal empire.

Formal empire involves the creation of colonies.

Colonies in a formal empire are officially controlled by another country.

So for example, something like Hong Kong being controlled by Britain.

And now we can think about how that's different to informal empire.

Areas in an informal empire are heavily under the influence of another country, i.

e.

because of the way that trade happens between those two countries, but are not officially ruled by them.

These places in an informal empire are not actually colonies themselves.

So let's check our understanding of what we just heard.

Which type of empire involves increasing a country's influence in an area but not creating colonies? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was informal empire.

When there's an informal empire, a country will increase its influence in an area, but it does not actually turn those areas which it has heavy influence over into colonies.

Britain's formal empire expanded as a result of the Opium Wars through the acquisition of Hong Kong, whereas there were no British colonies in East Asia in 1830.

By 1860, Britain ruled over Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula on the Chinese mainland.

Hong Kong was well-located as a colony, helping Britain to trade with locations elsewhere in the Qing Empire.

However, Hong Kong itself was very small.

In terms of its surface area, the colony was smaller than Britain's capital city, London.

Furthermore, by the early 1860s, Hong Kong's population was less than 10% now of the United Kingdom and less than 1% the population of Britain's Indian colony.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that reads, Britain expanded its formal empire during the Opium Wars.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Britain gained large and highly populated colonies like Hong Kong, and the second says that Britain gained Hong Kong, though it was small in size and population.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was B.

Britain's formal empire did expand during the Opium Wars as it gained control over Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula.

However, Hong Kong was small in size and population.

So whilst the formal empire did grow, it wasn't growing significantly as a result of the Opium Wars.

The Opium Wars did help Britain to develop an informal empire in East Asia as well as a formal empire.

During the middle decades of the 19th century, British influence in the Qing Empire became increasingly significant.

For one, the Qing Empire was forced to remove many of its trade restrictions so that British ships and traders gained the right to travel freely in China, including along the Yangtze River where hundreds of millions of people lived.

This allowed British trade with China to increase significantly.

The Qing Empire also built up large debts to Britain, which meant it would continually make large payments to the British throughout the rest of the 19th century.

British officials even became involved in parts of the Qing Empire's government.

For example, although the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which was responsible for collecting taxes on trade, was officially under Chinese control, it was mostly staffed by foreigners, especially people from Britain.

From 1854 until 1943, the Chinese Maritime Customs Service was always led by a British inspector general rather than by any Chinese official.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

How did Britain's trade with China change after the Opium Wars? Did the amount of trade decrease? Was it that the amount of trade remained the same or the amount of trade increased? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

After the Opium Wars, the amount of trade between Britain and China increased.

This was largely because the Chinese were forced to remove many of their trade restrictions.

And let's try another question.

Which of the following is not an example of Britain's informal empire expanding? The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was led by British officials for nearly 90 years.

The Qing Empire lost control over Hong Kong, which became a British colony.

Or British merchants increased trade with China, buying and selling goods all across the country.

Remember, you're looking for the answer that is not an example of Britain's informal empire expanding.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the right answer was B.

The Qing Empire lost control over Hong Kong, which became a British colony.

This is an example of Britain's formal empire expanding.

By contrast, A and C are both examples of Britain's informal empire in East Asia being expanded after the Opium Wars.

So we're now ready to put all of our knowledge about formal and informal empire in East Asia and Britain's relationship with East Asia into practise.

I want you to explain how gunboat diplomacy helped the British Empire to expand in East Asia.

You should write two paragraphs to answer this question, and you should refer to both formal empire and informal empire as part of your answer.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you to explain how gunboat diplomacy helped the British Empire to expand in East Asia.

You may have written that the Opium Wars were an example of British gunboat diplomacy in East Asia.

Before the Opium Wars, Britain not have any colonies in East Asia.

However, during the first Opium War, British forces seized the island of Hong Kong, which was officially transferred to British control in the Treaty of Nanking.

Similarly, after the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula was transferred from the control of the Qing Empire to Britain.

These treaties, which the Qing were forced to sign as a result of their military defeats, therefore helped Britain to gain its first East Asian colony and expand its formal empire.

The Opium Wars also helped Britain to increase its influence in China.

As a result of the Treaties of Nanking and Tientsin, restrictions on British access to the Qing Empire were reduced and Britain significantly increased its trade with China.

Furthermore, although the Qing Empire remained independent, Britain was able to gain direct influence over some parts of its government.

For instance, the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which was responsible for collecting taxes on trade, was led continually by British officials from 1854 until 1943.

In these ways, the Opium Wars allowed Britain to establish and expand an informal empire in East Asia.

So really well done if your own two paragraphs looked something like those models which we've just seen.

And that means we've now reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about gunboat diplomacy and the British Empire in East Asia.

We've seen that in the early 19th century, Britain did not control any colonies in East Asia.

Britain struggled to trade with the Qing Empire due to restrictions and a lack of Chinese interest in many of their products.

Britain used gunboat diplomacy during the Opium Wars to resolve its disagreements over trade with China.

Britain gained control over Hong Kong, expanding the formal empire.

And Britain developed an informal empire in East Asia as its trade in China increased and it dominated some parts of the Qing government.

So really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources today, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future as we think further about the British Empire and continue to ask ourselves, "To what extent did the British Empire transform during the mid-19th century?".