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
Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition suspended from a 36 mm wide silk moiré yellow ribbon, at its center, the name of the city of Peking woven in blue Chinese characters. Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition The Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition () was a military award of the Second French Empire to reward soldiers and sailors who participated in the Anglo-French expedition to China during the Second Opium War. It was created by imperial decree on 23 January 1861, by Napoleon III. The British Empire had been engaged in an ongoing conflict with the Qing Dynasty since 1856 over legalizing the