Opium Wars
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The Opium Wars were two conflicts waged between China and Western powers during the mid-19th century.
Image: Destroying Chinese war junks, by E. Duncan (1843)
Image: La bataille de Palikiao
British bombardment of Canton from the surrounding heights, 29 May 1841. Watercolour painting by Edward H. Cree (1814–1901), Naval Surgeon to the Royal Navy.
The 98th Regiment of Foot at the attack on Chin-Kiang-Foo (Zhenjiang), 21 July 1842, resulting in the defeat of the Manchu government. Watercolour by military illustrator Richard Simkin (1840–1926).
Qing dynasty
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The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. The dynasty, proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636, seized control of Beijing in 1644, which is considered the start of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty lasted until 1912, when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With over 426 million citizens in 1907, it was the most populous country in the world at the time.
Manchu cavalry charging Ming infantry battle of Sarhu in 1619
Sura han ni chiha (Coins of Tiancong Khan) in Manchu alphabet
Dorgon (1612–1650)
The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire