The Chinese Revolution

After Marco Polo traveled to China in the early 1200's the Chinese called westerners "hairy, white barbarians". Portuguese "barbarians" then named what is now Taiwan Formosa in the 1590's. In 1644 the Manchu people invaded China and established the Qing dynasty. They were the last dynasty. In 1793 King George III of Britain send lord Macartney to negotiate a more open trading system with China. In 1796 there was a rebellion because of political dishonesty. It lasted until 1804. …

…The KMT started a violent war against the communists known as the Autumn Harvest Uprising. In 1934 the CCP started the Long March to Shaanix because the KMT forced them out of their bases. During the march Mao Zedong became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1949 the CCP took over mainland China and established the People's Republic of China. The significance of October 5, 1999 is that it marks the 50th anniversary of the Communist Party.