Americans today live in a world shaped by our Civil War. The war guided until its end by Pres. Abraham Lincoln. The war ended in February, 1865, and Lincoln was assassinated almost a month later in a plot to over throw the Federal government. The sectional rivalries that existed then are still evident today as states maneuver on their own perceived tracks to destiny.
As Americans fought their bloody battles that stretched from border states to the Mississippi River region, a civil war in East Asia was entering its own bloody phase of violent confrontations. Known in the West as the Taiping Rebellion, this most violent civil war would last another 4 years. How bloody was it? At least 20 millions died during the conflict. Think of it: in America, approximately 365,000 Americans died as a result of combat. Many died of wounds and disease. Ten times the number would be 3.65 million. So
me scholars put the Chinese numbers above 30 millions. 30,000,000. Thirty millions. Hmmmm.
What happened? Why is this conflict hardly mentioned in America, yet this conflict was just a prelude of what was to come in less than 50 more years. The Qing dynasty had ruled for more than 200 years; these rulers were Manchus, from Manchuria. They were generally despised by the population and recognized as not really Chinese at all. As more and more Westerners entered east Asia with many Christian missionaries afoot, the Chinese population began to think differently about their government and their rulers. Dissension seeped in among the people. By the 1850's, protests against the ruling dynasty became overt, and the military arm of the rulers began to take action.
For the next 5 years, the future of China was in question. How would all the players fair whenthedust settled? It appeared that the rebels would be successful. However, foreign interests played a significant role, especially our favorite imperial power: England. Commercial interests in London and England's Parliament had been conducting business in East Asia and China for decades. It was very lucrative for the parties involved. At a time when cotton was king in America, cotton was also a significant commodity in the mills of England. The American South sold much of the slave-produced cotton to the English. As the American war began, southern US ports became closed and cotton could not find its way across the Atlantic Ocean.
Part II
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