styr

styr t1_j1ofgen wrote

When a British delegation first tried to make diplomatic contact with the Qing in the 1800s, the Imperial eunuchs told the British delegation to get the sitting Queen to come kowtow to their Emperor in person and offer tribute before even allowing the diplomats to speak their demands.

As you can imagine, such a request did not go over well with the Brits and set the tone for both considering the other "barbarians" and created hostilities almost from the get-go.

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