How Did The First Opium War Affect China

Western imperialism in China was very significant, costed the lives of millions of people, but also helped shape China into a much stronger country than it was before, being ruled by the Qing Dynasty. Imperialism is a country extending its power and influence through the use of military force. There were two wars between the imperialists and China, the first and second Opium wars. The result of these wars was the weakening of the Qing Dynasty and led to a time of rebuilding, which was a great struggle, for China. The Europeans wanted to trade with China because of the great opportunity that they saw in the market. China’s population, which was 430 million, was seen as a fast and easy way for the Europeans to make a lot of money. The

However, opium became such an addictive substance in South China that all the money from South China’s treasury was given to the British East India Company. Because of this, the Qing wanted to prohibit the trading of opium which the British did not like, and caused a three year long war. In result, it turned the Chinese away from wanting to learn the methods of their society because they saw them as the barbarians that released fire power on them and went against their Confucianism way of life. The dynasty of China also failed because there was a lot of internal unrest that was occurring with its people and the Western imperialists. The book states, “In the ensuing Treaty of Tianjin, the Qing agreed to humiliating new concessions: legalization of the opium trade, the opening of additional ports to foreign trade, and cession of the peninsula of Kowloon to the British”(Duiker, 51). In order to try and help with this, the Qing rulers tried to do self-strengthening which was an attempt to adopt the new technologies of the Western world while still trying to keep their Confucian way of life. This reform actually lasted for decades for the Chinese foreign and domestic policy.

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

British merchants were disappointed after a British missionary was unable to establish further trade rights with Britain so they looked

This was a major example of imperialism as these treaties favored foreign trade but China didn’t gain any concession from the foreigners. This in turn weakening the economic power of china and the governments control over the country weakened.

A picture of the Chinese naval fleet being destroyed shows us that the Chinese chose to go to war due to the opium trade with England. Depending on who made the picture, either the British were trying to show their naval power or the Chinese were attempting to show how much damage Britain was inflicting on their country. Imperial China’s government responded violently and politically to British trade, doing everything they could to get the merchants out of their country.

While most of the Western Hemisphere was undergoing drastic advancements, such as former colonies gaining their independence and transforming into more modernized nations, a lot of mishaps were occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere—China, specifically—a nation that was notorious for its isolation from foreign influences. European nations began to greedily eye China’s abundance of desirable resources, such as tea, porcelain, and silk. However, China had very little need or desire for European goods. In an attempt to resolve the trade imbalance Britain began importing opium into China, which would prove to be disastrous for the Chinese population. The dispute over the importation of the drug eventually led to the

In the beginning of the 19th century the British began to trade opium, an illegal drug, for tea with China which caused, “...the first Opium War...which resulted in a Chinese defeat and the expansion of British trading privileges...”This discrepancy in the trading relationship between the Chinese and the British caused China’s to forfeit their trading territory to the British. The outcome of the Opium War was a setback for the Chinese. Places where the Chinese previously conducted business was no longer available. Economical wars were not uncommon: “During the mercantilist period…a military...would deter attacks by other countries and aid its own territorial expansion.” The focus of many governments became to protect their economy by constantly gaining more territory to increase business. The change of China’s trade routes could have negatively affected the economy. If the Chinese economy were to weaken it could affect the economies of other countries that China interacted with. The Columbian Exchange, a network of trade routes throughout the world, caused the environment to change as, “ ...Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips...raveled west across the Atlantic, and New World crops...traveled east to Europe.” The exchanging of crops between the New World and the Old World, two different geographical areas,

Over the period of 1792 to 1990, England and China's relationship drastically changed because of the trading of opium. China didn’t want to trade opium, but it would mess up England's economy if they were no longer trading opium. China also started to feel the need to westernize, unlike before. China’s need for westernization released tension between the two powers, causing a change in their relationship. China and England's relationship was continous from trade. Even though it was unbalanced in the beginning, it was never cut off. During this time period, in other parts of the world, industrialization was starting to take place. England was one of the leading countries in this age of Industrialization. England used their advanced technology

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.

In the early eighteen hundreds, Britain and other European countries demanded more and more Chinese commodities, especially tea and silk. However, only the port in Canton was opened to foreign countries, and Chinese would not take any other form of payments besides silver. The desire to make China into a free market that foreigners have more access to and the increasing, though illegal, European opium import to China eventually created tension between the European countries, especially Britain, and the Chinese government (Allingham Par. 1-2). The two battles fought and won by European powers were known as the Opium Wars. China’s politics, economy, and intellects were both positively and negatively

The appointment of Lin Tse-hsu as Imperial Commissioner at Canton was the catalyst that changed the trajectory of Chinese-British relations. Tse-hsu immediately began to shut down the opium trade at its source by exposing and punishing corrupt officials and seizing opium supplies without compensation. He wrote a letter to Queen Victoria requesting Britain forego further opium imports to China, citing Britain's banning of its use and trade within its own borders (Hooker). The Queen's refusal enraged Tse-hsu and he threatened to end trade with Britain altogether. Britain responded by using their superior military might to compel them to keep trade channels open and to remove the many trade restrictions currently in place, thus beginning the first opium war. It is important to note that the opium trade was merely the final straw amongst a heap of British-Chinese tensions. With a decisive victory in 1842, the Chinese were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking, which significantly reduced their autonomy and awarded the British favorable trading conditions. However, by 1856, the British felt China was not abiding by the terms of the treaty and launched another campaign, the second opium war, that ended in 1860, and reduced China to something more

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”.