First Opium War

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 suffered

wanted, opium. The demand for opium in China began to increase and so did the piracy and smuggling, so the Emperor prohibited opium in 1729. These restrictions angered the British and they demanded that they were changed, however, the Emperor stood firm. To get around the restrictions the British began selling opium in Calcutta, India, which is the closest part of India to China. The opium proved to be very good quality, so it was very high in demand and most people bought it. The use of opium among

References to opium as “the herb of joy” appear described in ancient Samarian Tablets excavated in what is now Iraq, dating from about 5000 BCE.(2006, Lee) It went from Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians back to the island of Cyprus. Approximately 460 BC Hyppocrates “Father of Medicine”, used opium to treat disease and epidemics. Opium is definitely the oldest drug in the world. By the 16th century Dutch traders introduced smoking of opium and tobacco to the Chinese. The habit

Preserving and developing a national identity in China has been and continues to be an ongoing commitment, most notably since the seventeenth century. A nation is an imagined community consisting of a so-called myth of common descent, where those who contribute to society share a common experience. The concept of a “national identity” is crucial in understanding the history of China as it developed into a nation. Factors that have been established to define identity can consist of the following:

politically by the western countries because the treaty of Nanking caused China to lose control over their territory and ports. In the Treaty Of Nanking China lost the island of Hong Kong over to British Control. In the article China meets the west, Opium war and Treaty of Nanking it says “Treaty also gave the British the island of Hong Kong.” This is bad for china because there is the loss of cultural effect and the Chinese government will no longer be there. Without the Chinese culture the island will

British first had to buy silver for other countries and then

answer the question. The long-term effects of the opium trade were economically harmful to the Chinese. In “An Argument for Legalization,” senior official and advisor to Emperor Daoguang,

skills and their navigational technology to enter this great area first, and start trade in the most profitable manner they could. East India Company entered as an early and old-fashioned venture, and conducted a separate business with their private stockholders. Their approach and their trade lasted for many years until year 1657 (Farrington 5), when they made their base

for more lands and power. Although some may argue that the commodities of tea and opium had little to no impact on the Imperialism in Asia, tea and opium were important to the European powers because it led to Britain seizing Hong Kong, Indian trade, and the Chinese trade as well. First, Britain seized Hong Kong from China. The Opium War of 1839-1842 was when China refused to be part of Britain’s free trade of opium, which was illegal and both nations fought each other because of the commodity. From

attention to the world around them. They did not realize that the rest of the world was waiting to conquer China and divide the winnings. When Chinese officials refused to continue trading with the British they initiated the Opium Wars. The final result of the Opium War was