The Opium Wars

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.

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.

The opium culture was already rampant before the CIA began their secret war in Laos, but the agency also facilitated the trade. A correspondent for Christian Science Monitor reported in 1970 that the CIA “is cognizant of, if not party to, the extensive movement of opium out of Laos.” A pilot also told the reporter that “opium shipments get special CIA clearance and monitoring on their flights southward out of the country.” One former CIA agent stationed in Laos, Anthony Poshepny aka “Tony Poe,” went on the record many years later. He said, “It was all a contractual relationship, just like bankers and businessmen. A wonderful relationship. Just a mafia. A big organized mafia.”

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.

(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 aim of this investigation is to find the extent to which the British and Chinese trade of opium into China caused the corruption and eventual downfall of the Qing dynasty. The main body of this investigation focuses on the corruption and failure of the Chinese government in controlling British incursions, which caused its citizens to rebel and thus began the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. The introductions of opium to China and the effects it had on China will be assessed in accordance to origin, value, purpose, and limitation. The British and Chinese trade in relation to opium and its role of corruption in the Qing Dynasty will be analyzed also.

The Opium Wars took place in China from 1839 to 1860, between Western forces and the Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1912. The first Opium War occurred from 1839 to 1832 and was fought between China and Britain. In the 17th and 18th centuries, European demand for Chinese goods (particularly silk, porcelain, and tea) created a trade deficit between Great Britain and Qing Imperial China. In 1839, China’s Emperor had enough of British drug smuggling and suspended all British trade with China, beginning the first Opium War. In 1842, the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking, which granted protection and immunity to Britain, and opened five treaty ports to foreign suppliers, among other things. The second Opium War, also referred to as the Anglo-French War in China, occurred from 1856 to 1860, and was fought by Britain and France against China. The failure of the Treaty of Nanking to satisfy British goals of enhanced trade and diplomatic relations led to the second war.

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

European imperialism impacted the governments and societies of Africa and Asia by treating them as inferiors, redrawing boundaries for themselves, and using them for resources to benefit themselves. European imperialism had both a positive and negative effect on the governments and societies of Africa and Asia. For example, the governments and societies became more modernized and industrialized. However, these societies lost more than they gained from European imperialism. When European countries like Britain, France, Dutch, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Holland saw Africa, they saw money and profit, not the people living in it.

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”.

20 years after the Opium Wars, China faced intermittent periods of conflict against the Western powers. According to the Chinese, the first Opium War ended in defeat; peace was equivalent to reluctant compliance and humiliation. Unfortunately, the second Opium War contributed more strife to China’s national identity. The British and French Allied Forces ravaged China’s capital city, Nanjing, forcing the Xianfeng Emperor, I-Ju, to flee to Jehol leaving the capital vulnerable. With no defense or opposing force to counter the opposition, Western powers defiled ancestral temples, devastated the populace, and seized historical relics. The utter defeat and humiliation of the Chinese brought forth humiliation to the rulers, causing them to question

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