Geography of China Japanese junior high textbook minimized the atrocities of Nanjing stating that the massacre was an "incident". The textbooks transgression sent thousands of Chinese citizens out to protest and three weeks of state sanctioned protest led to rising tensions between Japan and China. Due to the opium wars between the British from 1839 to 1842, the British were able to make demands to the Chinese government before removing blockades and stopping bombardment on key ports. The Chinese agreed to cede the island of Hong Kong which in the control of the British, witnessed phenomenal growth. The population grew from 1,500 to
Western imperialism in Asia China vulnerable to Western, Meiji period Japanese, and Russian imperialism. In 1839, China found itself fighting the First Opium War with Britain. China was defeated, and in 1842, signed the provisions of the Treaty of Nanjing which were first of the unequal treaties signed during the Qing Dynasty. Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain, and certain ports, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, were opened to British trade and residence. In 1856, the Second Opium War broke out. The Chinese were again defeated, and now forced to the terms of the 1858 Treaty of Tientsin. The treaty opened new ports to