2. Short-response prompt (15 points) Read the following excerpt from "Letter to George III, 1793":
If you assert that your reverence for Our Celestial dynasty fills
you with a desire to acquire our civilisation, our ceremonies and
code of laws differ so completely from your own that, even if
your Envoy were able to acquire the rudiments of our civilisation,
you could not possibly transplant our manners and customs to
your alien soil. Therefore, however adept the Envoy might
become, nothing would be gained thereby.
Swaying the wide world, I have but one aim in view, namely, to
maintain a perfect governance and to fulfil the duties of the
State: strange and costly objects do not interest me. If I have
commanded that the tribute offerings sent by you, O King, are to
be accepted, this was solely in consideration for the spirit which
prompted you to dispatch them from afar. Our dynasty's majestic
virtue has penetrated unto every country under Heaven, and
Kings of all nations have offered their costly tribute by land and
sea. As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all
things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have
no use for your country's manufactures.
Interpret the implied meaning beneath the Emperor's words, citing a direct example
from the excerpt. Then, explain how the message would have likely been received by
the British imperialists, supporting your answer with evidence about the general
imperialistic attitudes in Britain at the time.