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Start of Opium Trade
The British purchased the drug, opium, from India and then sold it to China. Britian used the profits they recieved from the sell of opium to purchase goods such as porcelain and silk. Overtime the consumption of the drug grew dramatically. This led to widespread addiction to opium in China that troubled not only society, but also China's economy. image from: http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/ModernWorldHistoryTextbook/Imperialism/section_5/secondopiumwar.html -
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The Opium Wars
The Opium Was were two seperate conflicts that took place in China. Each war was between Britain and China. The first Opium War occured when Britian illegally traded the drug, opium, to China in order "to purhcase such Chinese luxury goods as porcelain, silk, and tea, which were in great demand in the West", (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). China, upset with the amount of addiction occuring, tried to put a stop to the trade. -
Putting a Stop to the Trade
The Chinese government destroyed more than 1,400 tons of opium that was kept in Canton, China in order to stop the trade and get their country back on their feet. This act only angered the British and caused them to want to get back at China. A few days after this first act, a few drunk British sailors attacked and killed a Chinese civilian. This caused even more hostility between the two countries. Image from: Opium Clipper "Water Witch" (1831) National Maritime Museum, London -
Counterattack
Several months after the Chinese government burned large amounts of opium, the British finally attacked. Great Britain's warships wrecked a Chinese blockade near the Pearl River. The Bristish then proceeded on to Hong Kong where they planned on attacking. Image from: https://romanticopium.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/nemesis.jpg -
Attack on Hong Kong
British forces attacked Hong Kong in May of 1841. The fighting continiued on for a few more months and after the British successfully supressed forces sent by the Qing Dynasty, they were able to captured Nanking, China which resulted as the end to all the fighting. -
The Treaty of Najing
The Treaty of Najing (Nanking) was signed which enlisted that China pay provisions to Britain, give Britain a large portion of Hong Kong, and increase the number of treaty ports that the British were allowed to exhange and reside in China. Shanghai became one of the new ports available to the British and it allowed new access to foreigners which caused it to become such a successful commercial port. Image from:"British Colonial Genocide in China"
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Begining of the Second Opium War
The Brtish wanted to extend their trading rights within China, so when Chinese officials went on to a British shipand arrested a few Chinese crew members; the British decided to start attacking Canton, China which housed British and Chinese troops. -
Tensions Rise
After the British began bombing Canton, China the Chinese government decided to strike back.The Chinese in Canton burned down trading warehouses that the British would use, which upset the British more. -
French Influence
Britain and France (who had recently joined the war after the murder of a French missionary) began miliary missions. They took control of Canton, overthrew the governor of Canton, and brought in their own official that would do as they said. -
Treaties of Tiajin
British forces reached Tiajin and forced the Chinese to negotiate with them. The treaties of Tiajin enlisted that the Britsh have residence in Beijing for foreign trade, that eleven new ports were open to Western trade, and the right for the British to travel all over China, not just to foreign ports. Image from: https://eastasianhistory.wordpress.com/category/treaty-of-nanking/ -
Legalization of Opium
After further negotiations from the Treaties of Tianjin, the opium importation was legalized in Shanghai. The British later tried to ratify the treaties in their favor, but the Chinese would not budge from thier previous agreements.
