The belief was that there was a distinct
<span>order of</span> living
things:
Chinese,
barbarians, and
beasts. That's why they made all foreign diplomats bow down to the Emperor and why they completely isolated the country to show that it's self sufficient.
He attacked on Christmas. Puritans in the New World did not celebrate Christmas, but the Hessians (German mercenaries used by the British) certainly did. So the Americans launched a surprise attack on the Germans who were...ahem...celebrating, to put it mildly
