ABSTRACT
If we take the same bird’s eye view of the world in 1800, a very different picture emerges (Appendix Map 5). In the year 1800, China had already been under foreign rule for more than 150 years, having been invaded by the nomadic manchu from the northern steppes. Under the Manchu, Chinese territory had been expanded significantly, and now included Outer Mongolia, parts of Inner Asia and the Tibetan highlands. Agricultural developments had made tremendous population growth possible, and although precise figures for the rate of that eighteenth-century growth
1735 Qianlong Emperor’s reign in China begins 1756-63 Seven Years War 1775-83 American War of Independence 1776 American Declaration of Independence 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution 1793 English King George III’s ambassador snubbed by China 1800 Chinese population estimated at 360 million 1803 Acquisition of Delhi by the British 1807 Britain outlaws the international traffic in slaves Portuguese monarchy flees to Brazil 1808 Napoleon deposes the Spanish king Ferdinand VII 1839-42 Opium War
remain elusive, the estimate of 360 million Chinese in 1800 is widely accepted. The Qianlong emperor, who had reigned from 1735, had just been succeeded by the Jiaqing emperor. Under Qianlong, the state had embarked on a number of vast cultural projects, including the anthology known as the Four Treasuries which was to include China’s entire literary heritage. Books and manuscripts from the whole realm were gathered at the capital, housed in a special pavilion, reviewed by teams of scholars and copied into the 36,381-volume anthology, excluding all texts deemed unsuitable or unorthodox. The project presented its imperial sponsor with an opportunity to gain legitimacy and to weed out any remaining opposition among the population. The cultural brilliance of the eighteenth century, however, would not continue. Qianlong snubbed King George III’s ambassador in 1793, indicating that the Chinese were not interested in formalizing trade relations with Britain. China had closed itself off from official naval exploration and expansion, and focused its resources on defending its northern borders against invading nomadic troops, until forced to open to foreign trade by the Opium War of 1839-42 (Mote 1999; Box 1).
