The Great Opium War - A History of China

China was in decline relative to the western powers, who had enjoyed all the benefits of this industrial great leap forward. Thein ustrial revolution that ran from the 17 sixties to the 18 forties is when our story takes place. For centuries on end, china's external enemies had always been to the west and the north. But the barbarians at the gate, now coming in droves to china's southern coast were completely unfamiliar to the china court.