The power of these foreigners was united under the power
of one overlord. Not an emperor, but a Khan. Kublai Khan overran
China, becoming the first Mongol emperor in 1294 CE. Rebellion
began only after the Mongols deteriorated in 1387, setting
up the Ming dynasty and a period of isolationism in a backlash
against the outside world.
While art flourished and Ming rule survived, the outside
world began to batter at the gates. Mongols continued to raid
the borders and the first Europeans, the Portuguese, landed
at Canton in 1517. While the Jesuits had free reign to build
up 300 Roman Catholic churches by 1610, the Manchus of Manchuria,
a mostly non-Chinese group, looked greedily at the empire.
They seized the throne in 1644, beginning the last dynasty,
Qing. Not only was this the last dynasty, it was the second
non-Chinese dynasty. Consolidating power, and taking it away
from the Chinese, was the Manchu goal. Advances in manufacturing
were ignored as increasing poverty increased the amount of
cheap labor. Anti-Manchu revolts in 1796 and 1813 all failed
to unseat the unpopular monarchs.
