American Imperialism Dbq

Opium came from opium poppy seeds, which were grown and sold under British ruling in India. The British East India Company developed a monopoly which took place in effectively growing opium and making profits and/or trading it with the Chinese in exchange for their premium good such as silk, porcelain, and tea. According to Memorials on the Legalization and Elimination of Opium by Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, they explained how the rise of opium prompted many debts and death around China. Opium became an addiction for many, from the poor to officials in government positions. Cutting off all access of trading opium would’ve started issues in the trading network, not just with Britain but with the Western countries as well. Instead of passing laws to completely ban opium, they reverted to only permitting the barbarian merchants to import opium to pay duty as a medication. This made it unacceptable for money to be involved with the product. According to Xu Naiji, smokers of opium were lazy, with no purpose in life and if they were caught smoking it, the only punishment was getting the opium confiscated. However, if any officer, scholar, or soldier were found smoking opium, the would be immediately dismissed from public employ. Yuan Yulin, a minister, believes that the expansion of opium is the government’s fault, being that they cannot decipher right from wrong; he thought it was unfair that prohibition of smoking opium only applied to the officers of the government, scholars, and military but not the common people. The British capitalized on the effects of opium, because many of China’s population were going to put forth their money, goods, etc. for

The Opium War was a war fought by two countries Great Britain and china in 1839. The war was fought over the drug opium which was used by the Chinese for hundreds of year to relieve pain. opium is a habit forming narcotic made from the poppy plant. In the late 1700’s the British was smuggling the drug into China for non-medical use. The navies of the two countries mostly fought the battles of the opium war at sea. Within three years the Chinese’s old ships were simply no matches for the brand new British ships. In 1843 the Chinese and the British signed the treaty of Nanjing. This treaty gave the British the island of Hong Kong. In 1844 the United States of America and other countries gained extraterritorial rights. Which this

The First Opium War was conducted from 1839 to 1842, and was between China and Britain. The reasoning for the war occurring was caused by China’s attempts to withhold the Opium trade. It was over diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of foreign nationals in China. Opium was illegally being imported into China, through India, by the British. They grew the opium on their plantations in India. At first, the British were addicted to stimulating Chinese tea. Trade imbalance occurred due to the Chinese buying few European products and demanding Gold or Silver in return. The reverse flow of Silver and the increasing number of opium addicts alarmed Chinese officials, and resulted in over 20,000 chests of opium to be confiscated. As opium was being imported into china, it caused unrest in society, the local consumption to increase, and the decrease in the price of the drug. Being a stimulant drug, Opium spread throughout the country, badly affecting its nation.

The Opium War sparked as the Chinese tried subdue the opium trade. British sellers made large quantities of money illegally selling the drug grown in India used for Chinese teas. The drug began to be a troubling addiction in China, the addiction was causing problems in China’s social and economics. The Chinese government banned opium, killed Chinese dealers, and asked the British traders to stop. But the British didn’t agree to stop trade and demanded free trade. Later on in 1839 the war began due to Chinese warships clashing with British sellers. Advanced British gunboats attacked Chinese coastal and river ports, Chinese had no choice but to fight back with outdated war tactics making them an easy victory for the

What caused the First Opium War to take place? From attempts to suppress the Opium trade, diplomatic relations on China’s and Britain’s conflicting viewpoints and foreign nationals of justice for the administration, resulted in the commencement of the First Opium War. Silk, porcelain, and tea throughout the European market for Chinese goods was placed on high demand throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, creating a trade imbalance as of the virtually non-existent market for Western goods in China. In the mid-17th century, when the Canton system was established, China gained large amounts of European silver, in which the trade to Canton confined the sea. The British East India Company (EIC) had an extremely identical or similar trade to the British. In the increasing exchange for silver, opium grown in India by the EIC was undertaken by auctioning off the opium to foreign independent traders. To middlemen on the China coast, the drug was transported then retailed inside China. From India to China throughout the 18th century, the British illegally exported opium, resulting in economic and serious social disruption as of the widespread addiction to the drug. With the act of confiscating and destroying 20,000 opium chests in 1839 throughout March, the Chinese government, which led to being warehoused

Around the early 19th century, China began to have many issues with a drug called opium. British merchants longed for Chinese goods, but the Chinese did not want many of the goods that they had. This situation caused a trade imbalance to occur between China and Britain (3). In order to pay for the Chinese luxuries that they wanted, the British increased the production of opium in India and began to trade Bengal opium in China (2). The Chinese empire objected to the opium trade many times, but the demand for opium kept increasing (2). The drug caused many problems in China because much of the population became addicted and many economic issues occurred (2). In 1839, Commissioner Lin attempted to end the foreign trade on opium in China by

During the 18th century, the British began trading opium to the Chinese. They had finally found a commodity the Chinese were willing to buy. Opium was an illicit drug with addictive properties. As demand on opium increased, the British traders made huge profits and the trade imbalance was reversed. There was now a steady flow of silver leaving China. In 1796, the Ch’ing government banned the importation of opium. This did not stop the British, who continued the trade illegally. As well, extensive corruption amongst Chinese officials allowed the opium trade to flourish.

It wasn't until 1839 did Emperor Qin ban the opium after the death of his son from addiction. When Britain continued to trade opium Emperor Qing appointed Lin Zexu as the Governor of Canton. His job was to cease all opium coming into China. When a blockade was broken and the opium ships came sailing back in Lin, convinced Charles Elliot, the British superintendent of all trade in China, to handover all the opium. It is referenced in ‘Cultural China (2010) First opium war’ “Lin banned the sale of opium, asked that all opium be surrendered to the chinese authorities” Lin then destroyed it all, thus sparking the First Opium War. The letter that Lin sent to Queen Victoria stating what would happen to anyone who would continue the trade, it is clearly shown that Lin is very angry at the Queen: “ May you, O king, Check your wicked and sift your wicked people before they come to china, In order to guarantee the peace within your nation.” Unlike most letters this one is written with sarcastic comments and insults. Yes, China did spark the Opium Wars by blowing up the opium, but if it weren't for Britain's continuous trade, they would have never

Their ignorance as a government in the 1730’s led them to take extreme steps to stop the illegal trade by burning the British opium and trying to destroy the British ships in the 1830’s. China’s justification for allowing opium to be legal in 1729 can be viewed as the root of the opium wars.

Conflict between China and Great Britain over the growing opium trade. It grew from the port of Canton and ended soon after the British captured Nanjing."

When India brought opium to China, India was put into a whole lot of trouble. Since opium is very addictive, it was hard to stop using this product- just the same as using marijuana or tobacco. The Chinese Emperor was furious with the British for getting a majority of the Chinese people hooked onto opium, so this resulted in the Opium Wars. These wars were fought against Britain and China, and became a big problem for the Chinese. The trade of opium was just as big as the tea trade- the estimated amount of addicts was about 10 million. Foreign merchants were confronted and forced to surrender because of these sales, but China could not keep the British out. Regardless of any rules that were passed, people would still continue to buy and sell opium.

By 1606 C.E., Elizabeth I was demanding the drug be purchased and transported back to her lands (Opium, 1998). It was this Western and later Eastern demand for the drug and cries for free trade pitted against the adverse societal impacts seen in China that eventually led to the first of the Opium Wars. In 1729, Chinese emperor, Yung Cheng, began limiting the sale of opium and by 1799, Emperor Kia King placed a complete ban on the sale and growth of the drug (Opium,1998). The British, who had been importing goods from China for over a century but rarely exporting to the nation, had now found a new way to increase their wealth- exporting opium to China (Brown,

The Opium War of 1839 was the first large scale military conflicts between the Qing Empire and western imperial powers. With the official prohibition of opium in 1836 in China, the Qing government launched a campaign to confiscate all foreign imported opium in Canton. In 1839, commissioner Lin Zexu seized over a million kilograms of opium and burned them. The British Empire responded by sending in the military and initiating the first Opium War. The result of this war not only lead to China’s lost of Hong Kong Island, but also revealed the military weakness of the Qing government. Up to this point western imperialist powers have been wary of the Qing Empire, but after this conflict, China begins to experience a series of disadvantageous economic

The Opium Wars were a series of conflicts that eventually led to China’s decline through the trade and abuse of the drug opium. The first of the Opium Wars (1839-42) was fought between China and Britain, and the second war (1856-1860) involved France as well. In both wars, the foreign powers triumphed over China, causing havoc, causing the fall of the Qing dynasty. Prior to the Opium Wars, China was full of rich culture, remarkable goods, and useful inventions. They had invented gunpowder, kites, and porcelain, all of which were in demand. The Qing dynasty had believed that they were superior to other countries, and refused to let any foreigners access any Chinese territory. There was only one area where trade was permitted, and it was

As drug prohibition laws came into action, a black market for newly illegal drugs became prevalent. In 19th-century China, the two “Opium Wars” broke out because of disputes between the British and Chinese. Decades earlier, the British produced large amounts of opium in Bengal, in Northeastern India, and illegally exported it to China; the Chinese Emperor became wary of the increasing use of opium and rising number of addicts. In order to control the issue, seeing as the prohibition laws had not been effective, the emperor demanded that foreign companies surrender their opium to the government. However, when the British firms refused to comply, the emperor banned all importing and held foreigners in the country until firms were forced to hand over their opium. In response, the British sent troops from India that caused havoc to the coastal region of China, initiating the first Opium War that resulted in the Treaty of Nanking. The second Opium war followed soon after caused by arguments about the Treaty of Nanking, therefore resulting in another treaty, the Treaty of