What fueled European ability to impose unequal treaties?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The growing disparity of industrialization and technology between the Western and Eastern worlds allowed Europeans and Americans to impose treaties of trade and administration on China and Japan, in part through military supremacy, and in part by taking advantage of weaker governments such as the Qing dynasty in China. The Opium Wars between Britain and China initiated the demand by British for trade access on the defeated Chinese canton system, and extended to rights for Germany, France, and the US in trade and territory. The political weakness of China undermined the ability to resist or continue enforcement of exclusionary practices repelling Europeans. In Japan, Commander Perry's gunship presence intimidated the Japanese into allowing access for trade, but also fueled Japanese motivation for industrialization in a Western fashion.