“British subjects may reside, for the purpose of carrying on their mercantile pursuits, without molestation or restraint at the cities and towns of Canton, Amoy, Fuchow, Ningpo, and Shanghai, and Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., will appoint Superintendents or Consular Officers, to reside at each of the above-named cities or towns, to be the medium of communication between the Chinese authorities and the said merchants...”
— Treaty of Nanjing, 1842
The provisions in the excerpt best illustrate which of the following methods used by industrialized powers to assert economic dominance in non-industrialized regions?
- Acquiring commercial privileges and legal exemptions to facilitate trade without assuming direct administrative governanceAnswer
- BEstablishing direct colonial administration and formal territorial annexation to govern local populations
- CReviving mercantilist trade systems by granting state-chartered joint-stock companies exclusive monopolies over regional trade routes
- DApplying Social Darwinist theories to justify the legal segregation and civilizing of indigenous populations
Answer
Acquiring commercial privileges and legal exemptions to facilitate trade without assuming direct administrative governance
The correct option identifying the acquisition of commercial privileges and legal exemptions is correct because the Treaty of Nanjing established treaty ports and consular jurisdiction (extraterritoriality). This allowed Britain to dominate Chinese markets and trade networks without the administrative burden of annexing Chinese territory, which is a defining feature of nineteenth-century economic imperialism.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Industrialized nations used economic imperialism, unequal treaties, and spheres of influence to dominate the economies of non-industrialized states without the administrative costs of direct colonial rule.