Imperialism in Asia

Between 1750 and 1900, both China and Japan endured pressures from their foreign counterparts make themselves open to trade and relations. In the beginning both China and Japan were resistant against foreign domination, but in the 19th century Japan progressively accepted foreign domination to achieve the goal of modernization while China continued to resist foreign control and remain true to their ancient way of life..

In the 1700s, both China and Japan viewed the West as conflictions against their way of life and had perceived them as barbarians believing that their way of life was far more superior. When European ambassadors were sent to their lands in valiant attempts to negotiate trade with China and Japan, the emperors mocked them and boasted about how they possessed no need for Western influence. The Japanese originally developed an interest in trading with the Europeans, but the Jesuit missionaries who followed the traders arose hesitation that ultimately affected their decision to succumb to Western influences in the sense of preserving their beliefs and cultures. The Jesuits main goal was converting Japanese to their religion, which the Japanese did not approve of. In China, the Jesuits argued with the emperor over the conversion of Chinese people to their foreign religion, which resulted in the extrication of the Jesuits and their European counterparts from Chinese society. In an attempt to preserve their ways of life, China and Japan endured a long period of isolationism.

After the overthrow of the shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji restoration, Japan ended their policy of isolationism because they quickly came to the realization that in order to fully ensure its future and prosperity, they had to modernize, which meant establishing alliances with the West. In order to obtain a substantial amount of knowledge about the West, the Japanese exported their brightest minds to western countries. The Japanese utilized this newly obtained