Southeast Asia Dbq

The 19th and 20th century were mainly filled with violence, war, and corruption in Southeast Asia. During the mid-19th century, China was the strongest country in East Asia, Korea was strongly influenced by the Chinese, and Japan was starting to open up relations with foreign powers (mainly the west). However, by the end of the mid-20th century, everything changed: China gained a new political system, Korea was annexed and freed of Japanese rule, and Japan suffered a major loss. So, how did everything change so quickly and within only one century?
Ironically, the end of the Qing Empire and the end of Choson Korea was roughly around the same time. The Qing Empire was able to hold onto their position over China until 1912, and Choson Korea was …show more content…
However, Choson Korea’s and the Qing Empire’s relationship was not always a happy one. When the Qing Empire first conquered China, Choson Korea was not all accepting. At first, Choson Korea had resented the Qing Empire the same way they had rejected the Japanese Empire. The differences between the Qing Empire and Choson Korea ended rather quickly: once the Manchus had physically seized the Choson monarch and other hostages, the officials agreed to fall under the Qing Empire the same way they had for the Ming Empire. During the Japanese invasion of Korea (1884), the Qing Empire was trying to maintain their influence over Korea strong by sending military support. They also sent General Yuan Shikai to handle Korea’s diplomatic and commercial relations, which to be honest, it did not seem like a good idea. Although Choson Korea agreed to follow the Qing Empire’s desires and to treat them as if they were superior to everyone else. It does not make any sense to allow another country to decide what relations one is able to have with others. This is primarily one of the reasons Choson Korea ended. In perspective, it seemed as though Korea relied way too heavily on the Qing army. They relied on the Qing army to handle the Japanese invasion not only once but multiple …show more content…
Towards the end of the Qing Empire, there was a lot of corruption and multiple revolts. The end of the Qing Empire was the result of a revolution: the 1911 revolution, led by Sun Yat-sen. The 1911 revolution brought the end to a 2,000-year-old monarchial reign, but it did not accomplish what it was meant to do. The revolution was supposed to change China’s government to a democracy, which it did, however, it did not last very long. Once Yuan Shikai passed away, China was left in a constant civil war, and it did not end until China’s new communist party stepped in. Although it was technically the 1911 revolution that ended the reign of the Qing Empire, there are also many outside reasons for its end. While Japan and the western world was getting ahead in progression, there was constant talk in China whether they should reform their government or not. The Qing Empire was facing brutal humiliation by not only being defeated by Western powers but also by being defeated by the Japanese Empire. While some seemed to agree with the reforms of the government, it has been said that many conservatives, including Empress Dowager, were against the reforms. They may have believed that they did not need to reform their government to get their place back as being the strongest country in East Asia, but in the end, it did not work out for the Qing