http://www.britishchineseheritagecentre.org.uk/
European knowledge of anatomy arrived in China from the 17th century onwards in the form of translations by Jesuit missionaries, but without any obvious therapeutic use it would have had little more than curiosity value.
The Dutch United East India Company (Dutch:Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) was formed from various Dutch companies who had been making expeditions to Asia since 1595. This period marked the beginning of early modern trade and increased contact between Europe and Asia. The VOC soon became the largest of the early European trading empires until its liquidation in 1795.
A group of Catholic protesters aimed to restore Protestant England to Catholicism by blowing up the House of Lords to assassinate King James I. However their plans were foiled at the last minute.
For twelve years England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales were embroiled in civil war. The most divisive conflict was the English Civil War which resulted in the execution of King Charles I.
The Manchus (who invaded China from the North in 1618) finally conquered the Ming Dynasty and established themselves as the Qing Dynasty. Made up of Jurchen, Manchu, Tibetan and Mongolian banner troops the Qing Empire extended China's land mass dramatically to the North and the West. Although foreign to the Chinese majority Han population, the Qing adopted Confucian practices and became one of the longest lasting Chinese dynasties, till the Republican Revolution in 1911.
The English monarchy was restored under King Charles II.
Kangxi was the longest reigning Chinese emperor and one of the longest reigning rulers in world history. During his reign he further extended the boundaries of Qing dynasty China to include Taiwan, Manchuria, Tibet, Mongolia, as well as parts of Korea and Russia. Kangxi's reign was a period of stability and prosperity in much of China. He was also interested in Western technology and installed many Jesuit missionaries at his court which helped with the creation of the first scientific map of China. He also compiled a new dictionary of Chinese characters. His reign represented the final consolidation of Manchu Qing rule over China.
British troops captured New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed the city New York. Britain's strength as an imperial power was growing.
After the Portuguese successfully secured territorial rights in Macao and opened trading through some coastal ports in the Chinese mainland, British merchants followed in the 17th century. Their initial attempt to gain the concession to trade failed, but eventually the English East India Company managed to secure a trading post in Taiwan. This trading post was used as a base to launch direct and regular trade with the Chinese on the mainland, namely with Amoy (Xiamen), Chusan (Zhoushan) and Canton (Guangzhou). At the end of the 17th century, the base was moved to Canton. With its Royal Charter, the company was granted the privilege of the monopoly of trade in the East Indies until 1833.
The Enlightenment was a period of great scientific achievement in Europe.
