China under the Ming dynasty.
China is a country in East Asia, the most populous in the world, and the site of one of the world's oldest civilizations.
Civilization first arose in the Yellow River plain around the turn of the second millenium BC. The semi-mythical Hia dynasty was succeeded by the historical Shang dynasty in the seventeenth century BC. All of China was united by the Han dynasty late in the third century BC, marking the start of the Chinese Empire. A period of disunion followed the fall of the Han dynasty in 220, and the Chinese Empire was not reunited until the triumph of the Suy dynasty in 581. Another period of disunion in the tenth century ended with the rise of the Sung dynasty in 960. Conquest by the Mongols led to the founding of the Yuen dynasty, which was overthrown by the founder of the Ming dynasty in 1368. The Ming were succeeded by Manchu conquerers in 1644. At the time of the North American Rebellion of the 1770s the Manchu dynasty was at the height of its power.
During the Ming dynasty European trading vessels began to reach China, starting with the Portuguese in 1517. Chinese efforts to drive the Portugueses away failed, and in 1557 the Portuguese were ceded control of the port of Macau. The Portuguese were followed in the seventeenth century by the Dutch and the English.
The Ming Empire at its height in the fifteenth century was the most powerful, most technologically advanced country in the world. However, when the Manchus came to power they pursued a policy of isolationism at a time when Europe was undergoing a rapid advance in technology. By the nineteenth century, Manchu China found itself facing several European nations, including the recently-created Germanic Confederation, that were intent on carving out spheres of influence for themselves within the country. A series of military defeats at the hands of the Europeans shook confidence in the Manchu regime, and several major rebellions broke out, leaving the Manchu Empire weak and divided by the turn of the twentieth century.
Marshal Henri Fanchon came to power in France in 1909, determined to make his country a global power. While reaching out to former French colonies around the world and allying himself with Argentina, Fanchon sought closer relations with the Manchu government, possibly with an eye toward wresting Siberia from Mexican control. France's defeat in 1914 in the Hundred Day War with the U.S.M. brought an end to Fanchon's planned Sino-French alliance, and China remained at the mercy of German and Mexican exploitation.
The emergence of Japan on the world stage after the Great Northern War of 1898 - 1901 added another nation to the scramble for China. At a special Cabinet meeting called by C.N.A. Governor-General Douglas Watson on 8 May 1933, Minister for Foreign Affairs Courtney Judd warned that clashes between Japan, Germany, and Mexico over markets in China might lead to war within the next year.
Judd's predicted war finally broke out in October 1939 as Britain and Germany clashed in the Near East. A string of early German victories led Mexican President Alvin Silva to form a secret alliance with Siberia, and the two nations launched an invasion of China and air strikes on Japan on 1 January 1942. The Mexican and Siberian armies conquered Manchuria and northern China in 1942 and 1943, but were finally halted in central China in the summer of 1944. Aid from Japan and from the Philippines-based global corporation Kramer Associates allowed the Chinese to drive the Mexicans and Siberians from their country by the end of 1946.
Sobel estimates that K.A. spent over N.A. £20 billion on the effort to drive the Mexicans and Siberians from China. However, the flood of munitions left the country divided among competing warlords who fought to gain control over a powerless imperial government. Sobel states that at the time of writing in 1971, there was a new uprising in China every year or so.