Military force and occasional diplomacy by the British and French and diplomacy and occasional military force by the United States and Russia caused much unrest in the complex of lands and governments the Europeans called "China." In parts of the country, Chinese economy was stagnant, and, by Western standards, governments were untrustworthy and the society "backward" and "primitive."

Many upper-class Chinese, naturally, did not agree with such evaluation of their civilization and wanted to remain independent of outside influence and control. The main goal of the Western World was to "open" China to profitable trade—profitable for Europe and the United States. "Opium Wars," largely instigated by the British, soon forced Indian opium into China as a step in trade relations involving, among many things, deals in silk and porcelain, silver and tea.

Upper-class and ruling Chinese considered Europeans, and most North Americans, "drug lords" and, simply put, "barbarians." But, for the most part, the Chinese could not oppose Western weapons. The Chinese lost control of major ports and tariff protection, foreigners were largely exempt from local law, and Christianity was forced on the country in the form of a guarantee of missionary entry and safety. Many economically and socially lower-class Chinese were delighted by the simple promises of Christian beliefs (which they combined with their native religions) and the changing economic times (for some, tomorrow could only be better).

Open ports and legal exemptions guaranteed trade profits to Westerners; Christianity undermined Confucian beliefs, which were the basis of Chinese leadership.

Inside China the power of local government weakened. Internal problems included everything from economic depression to civil war. Confucian-Taoist-Buddhist-Islamic-Christian conflicts paralleled ethnic and cultural frictions. Periods of relative peace alternated with street gang fights and organized warfare.

When gold was found in California hills in mid-century, news spread to China, and not a few people decided to either try prospecting on their own or to provide labor. At the time Chinese could enter the United States—particularly the wild and just-acquired West Coast. In 1850 some 25,000 Chinese sailed from Hong Kong to California. Such numbers were small compared to European emigration to the United States, and most of the migrants did not think of themselves as permanent settlers. Generally, the first came from southern China.

While economic conditions were not good in many regions of China in the 19th century, recent studies have shown that the Canton area was fairly prosperous. Economic hardship there was, lack of land was common, wars and revolutions had hurt the economy—but these were not the only reasons for emigration. For some Chinese, they were not the main reasons.

The Pearl River Delta region, in the mid-19th century, was an area that needed to import food but not because of starvation. The population in the area was heavily engaged in commerce rather than traditional agriculture. Canton (today's Guangzhou) was, from the mid-17th century through the Opium Wars in the 19th, China's only international port.

To Canton had come Yankee traders since 1784 and missionaries after 1830. From Canton had traveled businessmen to San Francisco. The area received raw materials from America's West Coast and returned silks, tea, furniture, building stone, fruits, and fish.

Many Chinese in the Canton area had heard about the United States because at this port United States business people and missionaries concentrated. The United States had already become the "Flowery Flag Country," and after the gold strikes California became Jinshan, the "Gold Mountain."

In the southern delta many Chinese, mostly young men, not only knew about conditions in the United States but were also well aware of the trans-Pacific trade. And they had money for the trip. Some left family behind, most sent money back, and fully a third returned to China.

Certainly, American businessmen were quick to attract men with no economic prospects with the labor contracts of the late 19th century, but many southern Chinese came in expectation of a better life rather than running from starvation.

The first significant Chinese migration to their Far East was under way.