The Opium War, also known as the First Anglo-Chinese War, was a battle fought between Great Britain and the Qing Empire in China from 1839 to 1842; even more interesting is that they were fighting because the British wanted to reserve their rights to recreationally use opium. At the end of the 1800s, China had expanded in population and power, gaining Turkistan, Burma, Tibet, and eventually, Nepal. Foreigners in the West were irritated by the customs taxes that the Chinese forced them to pay and China’s attempts to put an end to the growing opium trade, which supplied the Western civilizations with a cure for diarrhea and a form of recreational pleasure. Most of the opium was being shipped out of Turkey and India, and in 1800, its import was forbidden by China’s imperial government. Of course, that didn’t stop recreational opium users.
Privately owned opium vessels gained profits from Chinese addicts, so much so that Peking government commented that foreigners were intent on ruining the Chinese by encouraging opium addiction. The trade balance eventually turned against China in the 1830s, and the British took this opportunity to force the issue of increased trade rights. Opium trade was the point of conflict, and in the spring of 1839, Chinese authorities in Canton confiscated and burned a collection of opium, and in response, the British occupied positions around Canton.
In the war that followed, the Chinese were no match for the superior technology and tactical skills of the British; in 1842, China agreed to the Treaty of Nanking, and ports opened to British residence and trade. The British and the French defeated China in the second opium war in 1856, and by the terms of the treaty of Tientsin, signed in 1858, the Chinese opened new ports to trading.
Privately owned opium vessels gained profits from Chinese addicts, so much so that Peking government commented that foreigners were intent on ruining the Chinese by encouraging opium addiction. The trade balance eventually turned against China in the 1830s, and the British took this opportunity to force the issue of increased trade rights. Opium trade was the point of conflict, and in the spring of 1839, Chinese authorities in Canton confiscated and burned a collection of opium, and in response, the British occupied positions around Canton.
In the war that followed, the Chinese were no match for the superior technology and tactical skills of the British; in 1842, China agreed to the Treaty of Nanking, and ports opened to British residence and trade. The British and the French defeated China in the second opium war in 1856, and by the terms of the treaty of Tientsin, signed in 1858, the Chinese opened new ports to trading.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War
http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/heroin/opiwar1.htm
1 comment:
Hello!
My topic was the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty was ruling China during the time of the Opium Wars. The leaders, the Manchu, were the ones who first signed a treaty with Britain to begin importing Opium. When it got out of hand—after thousands of farms became opium plantations and over half the Chinese population became addicted—the Qing rulers banned opium from being imported by the British. Opium was Britain’s connection with China, and this severed that connection. They were angered, and the Opium War began.
-The Qing Dynasty
http://theqingdynasty.blogspot.com
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