During the period of 1850 to 1920 CE, China embraced Westernization in a way that it had never done before. The most important catalyst for this change were the Opium Wars. The First Opium War ended in 1840 with the defeat of China, and the Treaty of Nanking (1842). The treaty ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain and allowed the importation of opium. As the use of opium increased, many social problems followed, including social unrest and the weakening of the government.
This situation created the conditions for many other problems, such as the Taiping Rebellion, the Punti–Hakka Clan Wars, the Nian Rebellion, the Dungan Revolt, and the Panthay Rebellion. The cost of putting down these rebellions further weakened the government. A weak government was unable to stop the influence of imperialist nations. Nations such as Japan, France, Great Britain, Germany and Russia wanted to expand their sphere of influence in China, and this influence encouraged westernization within the country. Westernization also developed due to trade, as China began to depend more on Western supplies to defend against its many internal conflicts.
