History of colonialism colonies had acquired independence during the Latin American revolutions at the beginning of the 19th century. In Asia, The Great Game, which lasted from 1813 to 1907, opposed the British Empire against Imperial Russia for supremacy in central Asia. China was opened to Western influence starting with the First and Second Opium Wars (1839–1842; 1856–1860). After the visits of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1852–1854, Japan opened itself to the Western world during the Meiji Era (1868–1912). Imperialism also took place in Burma, Indonesia (Netherlands East Indies), Malaya and the Philippines. Burma had been under British rule for nearly a hundred
Political theology in China In the 18th century, the Chinese Rites controversy had raised tension between the Vatican and Qing dynasty's Emperors. Emperor Yongzheng was formally against Christian converts among Manchu people and banned the mission again. After the First Opium War (1839–1842), with the aid of several unequal treaties, Christian missionaries were allowed to evangelize in China and continue to import the Western civilization to China. Due to an impression that missionaries were allies with foreign colonial governments, many Chinese became hostile to Christianity. This further influenced the relationship between Christianity and politics. Many anti-missionary riots ("Jiao'an"), the Boxer Rebellion, and the anti-Christian