The Opium Wars are two armed conflicts that occurred in China during the mid-19 th century. Both conflicts were between forces of the Western nations and the Qing dynasty, which was the Chinese ruling power from 1644 to 1911/12. The first Opium War took place from 1839-1842, and it was between China and Britain. The second Opium War was a conflict between both France and Britain against China, and it happened from 1856-1860.
The second Opium War is also known as the Anglo-French war or the Arrow War in China. In both wars, the foreign powers emerged victorious, gaining legal and territorial concessions, and other commercial privileges in China. The conflicts also saw to the beginning of an era of unfair treaties on the Qing sovereignty, which was key to the weakening and eventual toppling of Qing dynasty during the onset of the 20 th century. 1
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The First Opium War
For a long time, China used Opium for the treatment of some ailments. However, during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a large number of Chinese people from different social classes began using Opium for recreational purposes. The Opium war resulted as a result of the attempts by China to suppress Opium trade. Since the 18 th century, foreign traders (precisely British) were illegally exporting Opium from India to China, as a result of the recreational use of the drug. Consequently, there was a widespread addiction to the drug in China, which resulted in a severe social and economic disruption. 2
To suppress Opium trade, the Chinese government seized and destroyed over 20,000 chests (1,400 tons) of Opium which the British merchants had warehoused at Guangzhou. A few days later, some drunk British men killed a Chinese resident. However, the British government refused to turn the assailants over to the Chinese courts, since they did not wish their nationals to be tried through the Chinese legal system. As a result, the antagonism between these nations was fueled further. 3
Several months later, British soldiers wrecked a Chinese blockade at the Pearl River estuary in Hong Kong. The soldiers successfully attacked and subdued the city in May 1841. Over the following year, the British soldiers performed several attacks, and though the Chinese troops were determined to counter attack, the Qing forces were too weak for the British troops. In late August 1942, the British captured Nanjing, bringing an end to the war.
Soon after, there were peace negotiations, which saw to the Treaty of Nanjing, which was signed on August 29. The treaty required China to pay the British government large indemnity, surrender the Hong Kong to be a British territory and establish five treaty ports which allowed the British people to trade whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted to. Later in October 1843, the British Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue was signed, which gave British citizens the right to be tried through the British legal system and also gave Britain the most-favored-nation status. Other Western nations followed suit, demanding similar privileges. 4
The Second Opium War
Later in 1850, the Qing government was caught up trying to subdue the Taiping Rebellion, which took place from 1850-64. During this time, the British were seeking to increase their rights to trade in China, and in the process, they found a reason to renew the hostility between the nations. The British felt that the Chinese had violated the requirements of the previously signed treaty. The Chinese boarded and seized a British-register ship, Arrow, which was docked in Canton and captured the crew members for smuggling opium and piracy. The British used this as an excuse to renew their hostilities, and for this reason, the second Opium War is also known as the Arrow War.
This time, France joined the British expedition under the excuse that a French military was killed in China in early 1856. There were delays in assembling both forces in China, and as a result, the military operations began in 1857. The troops began by capturing Canton, then overthrew the City’s stubborn governor, and replaced him with a more cooperative official. The British warship troops had reached Tientsin (Tianjin) in April 1858, forcing China into negotiations. 5
Following the negotiations, treaties of Tianjin were signed in June 1858. The treaties provided foreign envoys with residence in Beijing, required new ports to be opened to Western residence and trade, gave the right to foreigners to travel to the interior of China, and also offered freedom of movement and owning property for the Christian missionaries. Further negotiations that took place later in the year at Shanghai required legalization of the importation of opium.
The Opium wars marked the onset of an era of long servitude and subjugation to foreign powers by the Chinese people. China, clearly defeated, was forced to accept unbalanced and unfair terms of trade with foreign nations, exempt foreigners from the Chinese legal system, and open up the Yangtze River and more Chinese seaports to foreign trade. China’s independence was deeply curtailed during that period that the Opium Wars are still viewed as a national disgrace to date. 6
Bibliography
"Opium Wars Facts, Information, Pictures | Encyclopedia.Com Articles About Opium Wars". 2017. Encyclopedia.Com . http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/south-asian-history/opium-wars .
Cleary, Vern. 2017. "Thefirst Opium War (1838-1842)". Webs.Bcp.Org . http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/modernworldhistorytextbook/imperialism/section_5/firstopiumwar.html .
"Opium Wars | Chinese History". 2017. Encyclopedia Britannica . https://www.britannica.com/topic/Opium-Wars .
"Period7-1Imperialism10 - Causes And Results Of The First Opium War". 2017. Period7-1Imperialism10.Wikispaces.Com . https://period7-1imperialism10.wikispaces.com/Causes+and+Results+of+the+First+Opium+War?responseToken=0c0e36fde3f4f026cb2639829ef1dcabc .
"The Opium Wars: From Both Sides Now | History Today". 2017. Historytoday.Com . http://www.historytoday.com/julia-lovell/opium-wars-both-sides-now .
"The Opium Wars: The Bloody Conflicts That Destroyed Imperial China". 2017. The National Interest . http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-opium-wars-the-bloody-conflicts-destroyed-imperial-china-17212 .
1 Things were getting out of hand in China as the levels of addiction to Opium were on the rise. There was a major economic slowdown. Efforts by Chine to suppress Opium trade resulted in the Opium Wars.
("Opium Wars Facts, Information, Pictures | Encyclopedia.Com Articles About Opium Wars" 2017)
2 (Cleary 2017)
3 Seeing that Britain is a superpower, chances of China winning the War were limited. Therefore, when the British soldiers seized Nanjing, China had no choice but to surrender.
("Opium Wars | Chinese History" 2017)
4 ("Period7-1Imperialism10 - Causes And Results Of The First Opium War" 2017)
5 When China failed to live to the agreements of the treaty of Nanjing, Britain found an excuse to renew the existing hostilities. This time, France joined Britain, and thus the war is also known as the Anglo-French War.
("The Opium Wars: From Both Sides Now | History Today" 2017)
6 The Opium Wars were very humiliating for China, leaving them on their knees and helpless. To date, it is still viewed as a national disgrace.
("The Opium Wars: The Bloody Conflicts That Destroyed Imperial China" 2017)
