Opium Essay

Opium and Trade Opium as a topic of discussion can lead to many arguments either for or against the introduction of the drug into the Chinese society. Initially, these opinions began to circulate upon its initial presentation to the people of China in the late eighteenth century and late nineteenth century when its popularity and reputation were rather miniscule and mysterious. On one side, arguments favored its legalization and actually praised its distributors because of the positive impact

As for East Asia, opium became extremely profitable, although it put many of the population(s) at extreme

see how the demand for a single commodity can cause a war. The Opium Wars were a direct result of England’s obsession over tea. In order to make a fair trade for tea without losing any money, England began to trade opium for tea. As China’s people became addicted, the large demand for opium had to be address by the Chinese government. The government’s destruction and banning of opium cause a problem for England and so began the Opium Wars. This was so interesting to me because China’s current economic

The Opium Trade became an immense part of the prosperity and wealth for the British during the nineteenth century. It became clear that their European influence had rapidly dominated, thus making countries such as China vulnerable to their control, especially during the opium trade. Multiple historians have argued that it was highly unlikely that countries that were so geographically apart have any influence on each other, but as seen with the British opium trade in China, it showed the strength

The Opium Wars (1841-1842) The Opium Wars did not work out well for China in the end it is still important to know about the uprisings in the British empire during the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 18th century British and other foreign traders illegally exported Opium, a highly addictive drug, from India to China. The trade became popular in about the 1820’s. The addiction to Opium caused China many social and economic disruptions. The Chinese government wanted to do something about it so they

The Opium Wars, despite being a small footnote in history books, is a complex war that heavily based itself on the concept of trade. It involved two different nations, China and Britain, and how both sides bickered and argued over trade to the brink of war. China, with clear power in its trade over Europe, implemented a new trade system which restricted the flow of goods from Europe to a single port named Guangzhou or better known as Canton. Worst, the Chinese would only accept opium as a form of

The Opium Wars -- two conflicts between the British and the Qing Dynasty that took place nearly two decades apart. Although, the main goal of the conflicts remained consistent; British desire for extraterritorial power through the trading of a restricted drug, and the Chinese Empire's refusal to allow the British this power. The modern history of China commences with The Opium War, in which China is often portrayed as a victim of western imperialism in Eastern Asia. This interpretation of Chinese

DBQ: Opium in China 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

Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821), English author Thomas De Quincey chronicles his addiction to laudanum (a popular opium cocktail of the time) and the growing impact it had on his life. The first major work De Quincey published, it explores themes of addiction, drug culture, and the way addicts are treated in society; it is one of the first works to deal with these topics in modern times. It was controversial in its time for its overall positive depiction of the pleasure of opium, although De Quincey’s

The Leading Causes of the Opium Wars 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