Opium Wars Unfolded And Their Effects On Others

Also, citizens became addicted, and the drug eventually killed thousands of people. China’s actions angered Britain politicians even though opium was illegal in Britain as well. But was a result, war started between the two countries. In 1842, the treaty of Nanking ended the war. It was the first unequal treaty with Britain and it said that Chinese had to give up Hong Kong to Britain for ninty-nine years, the British would live in China by extraterritoriality at four ports, distribution of opium would continue and Christain missionaries will be set up throughout China. When China couldn’t meet the ridiculous requirements of the treaty, the second Opium War began in 1956. As a result, Britain won again by the Treaty of Tientsin. The treaty asked to open more ports to outer nations, let foreign leaders into the capital Beijing, and legalized the distribution and use of opium. Their situation was dangerously bad.

China has 5000 years of history which experienced wars, collapses, failures and successes. The Opium War in the year 1839 and 1856 marked the changing point of China’s trade policy with foreigners, especially with British in opium and tea. China changed from getting tributes to being forced to sign the Nanjing Treaty and Tianjing Treaty with British and French. Due to China’s over confidence and unwelcome attitude toward foreigners and opium, it caused the British to declare the Opium War to China which made Chinese suffer for many years, but at the same time it also forced China to open its doors to the foreigners.

While westerners in China pushed to claim rights and generally oppose Chinese reformers who worked to better China, Chinese government and society faced internal problems. Being a main target for imperialism, China faced much western influence. One of the events that marked the beginning of intense western influence was the case concerning the Opium Wars. A main imperialistic power, Great Britain, began trading China opium, a heavily addictive drug, in exchange for tea and silk. At first, it seemed like a positive idea – the Chinese

Drugs first surfaced in the United States in the 1800s. After the Civil War opium become very popular and was used medicinally. Following opium was cocaine which was also used as a health remedy but near the end of the 19th century opium and cocaine abuse peaked and local governments began to prohibit opium dens and importation. In 1914 the first federal drug policy, the Harrison Narcotics act, is passed and drugs are no longer seen as harmless remedies. The act aggressively regulated the manufacturing of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and morphine. During the 50’s more federal drug policies were passed and drugs began to become more criminalized. The 60’s saw a rise in counter-culture and substances such as marijuana and LSD saw widespread use. The demand for drugs skyrocketed in the 1960s. In 1971 President Nixon declared drug abuse America 's number one enemy and proclaimed that we must wave a all out offensive. After President Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971, the United States has spent more than a trillion dollars on this failing policy that not only has had no effect on the amount of drugs being used in the United States and has increased the number of people incarcerated on drug charges from just 50,000 to over half a million, but also has helped fuel drug cartels and foment violence and death through overdoses from uncontrolled drug potency and turf wars between street gangs.

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

China and British perspectives on the opium trade were contradistinctive and ultimately became the foundations of the Opium Wars in 1839-42 and 1856-60. The clash of opinions were not based around the narcotic opium itself but stemmed from a misunderstanding of cultures, conflicting economic behaviours and different ethical ideologies.

Opium wars-Opium Wars is two wars that between china and Britain over the endeavors of the Chinese government to stop the increase of foreign created opium imported by Britain. California Gold rush-fast inundation of fortune searchers in California that started after gold was found at Sutter's Mill in mid-1848 and its climax in 1852 Transcontinental railroad-The First Transcontinental Railroad in North America was built in the 1860s, connecting the rail route system of the East drift with California. Civil War- War between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, the Union formed their own country to protect the institution of slavery.   Chinese immigrants- Chinese immigrants migrated to the United States in the

The Opium War was a major part of China’s history. There were many economic issues, (the high cost of importing opium), political issues (disobedience of Chinese ban on opium imports) and consequences of the British victory (Britain’s greater power over China) that precipitated the Opium war, but the British victory had the greatest impact on China because the extension of British power reduced China’s autonomy and made them more dependent on Europe. The high cost of importing opium had major consequences that weakened the Chinese economy and was a leading cause for the Opium War. Document A is a record of the British Imports and Exports at the Port of Canton.

China’s people and officials regarded the British as barbarians which was a lasting effect. Another effect of the opium trade had been the Opium Wars. During this time Lin Zexu had been a senior official that was sent by the emperor Daoguang in order to suppress illegal trade of opium. Zexu sates that “by what right do they … use this poisonous drug to injure the Chinese people?” (Document 4). A lasting effect of the opium wars are laws that were placed between Britain and China as well as the treated that was signed. This treaty was known as The Treaty of Nanjing. It lists the processes of how the merchandise is handled as well as the countries that can handle the merchandise. It also discusses the price of the opium and how it is to be dealt with. The treaty also states that “Her Britannic Majesty’s forces will retire from Nanjing and the Grand Canal and will no longer molest or stop the trade in China” (Document 5). This is another effect of the first Opium War. These are some aspects of the lasting effects of the opium trade between Britain and

In 1729 China banned the distribution of opium. This ban was not heavily enforced. At this time Britain began growing opium as a cash crop. In 1773 Britain imported 1,000 chests of opium to China. The Chinese people became addicted. In 1832 Britain imported another 20,000 chests of opium to China. Then in 1836 China closed all main ports as an attempt to keep opium out of the country. Chinese officials then openly burned large amounts of confiscated opium. This sparked The First Opium War. This war lasted 4 years and ended with the Treaty of Nanjing which opened all of China’s ports and made Hong Kong a British colony. This was beneficial to Britain because they made money importing opium to China, as well as forcing China into a war that Britain knew that they could win and gain land from.

The Opium War from 1839 to 1842 was the beginning of Modern Chinese history. The Opium War was not about opium because the Treaty of Nanjing does not state a single thing about opium. The treaty was between China and England in 1842, stating in the first Article that there should be peace between the two countries. The Treaty of Nanjing does not include any articles about opium being a reason for the war but it includes agreements of both countries to continue trade. Opium was part of the reasons for the war but it did not cause the war. Opium can be said to provide the occasion of the war rather than the cause of the war because it was both a political and social issue that affected China and Britain’s motives that led to the outbreak of the war.

The Civil War was a time period of four years in which the confederacy and union fought over the abolishment of slavery. The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended on May 9, 1865. The president of the confederacy was Jefferson Davis, and their capital was Richmond, Virginia. The president of the Union was Abraham Lincoln, who gave his famous Gettysburg Address speech on November 19, 1863. In the spring of 1865, General Robert E. Lee of the confederates, surrendered their last major army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. In the Battle of Gettysburg, there were approximately 51,000 casualties, and throughout the war, there were approximately 620,000 deaths. There were many diseases

(1839-1842) and (1856-1860) The British traded tea with China, in return, they had little to offer expect for Opium which grew mostly in India. However, the Chinese outlawed Opium and wanted little to do with trade between the British. The British didn’t want to lose control of trade with China, so war was declared to force the Chinese to allow trade. The British won due to their superior navy, and the trading system continued between the two. As a result of such strong British power with China, they gained the island of Hong Kong, which was turned into a major port and center of South China shipping. It is a significant event for the British showing imperialist powers in foreign affairs and humiliating the powerful Chinese empire.

The Opium Wars were a series of three wars between the Chinese and the British; primarily fought in regard to the illegal trade of opium in China during the 19th century. They manifested the conflicting natures of both nations and demonstrated China’s misconceptions of its own superiority. The Opium Wars resulted in the humiliating defeat of the Chinese to a country they considered to be “barbarians”.

Opium- an addictive drug originally used as a painkiller. It is obtained from the unripe seeds of the opium poppy and can be made into substances that a person can smoke causing relaxation, alleviated anxiety, and a state of euphoria. Continued use of the drug also induces deterioration to the mind and body of a person eventually causing death. The substance was therefore stated illegal in China during the late 18th Century yet consistently smuggled into the country via British merchant ships. As the Chinese placed more restrictions on trade in an effort to abolish the importation of opium, the battle against the drug raged on until war was unavoidable between England and China. It is this war that lasted from 1839-1842