The Opium Wars: Massive Loss of Properties and Life

The Opium Wars involved two wars which were fought in the mid-19th Century between the Qing dynasty that was ruling and the Western countries. Notably, these two wars were both fought in China. The first Opium war was fought between China and Britain from 1839 to 1842. This war was fought on behalf of the drug traffickers by the British forces. It resulted in opening up of the lucrative China trade to many British merchants. The subsequent Opium war also referred to as the “Anglo-French war against China” or the Arrow War was fought by the France and Britain against China (Hanes & Sanello, 2007) . It is worth noting that in these two wars, all the foreign powers against China triumphed and as a result, they gained commercial privileges as well a territorial and legal concession in China. However, these conflicts brought about the unequal treaties and several inroads on the sovereignty of Qing which propagated the weakening of this dynasty and favoured the formation of the Republic of China. In light of the above, this paper aims at creating and describing an exhibit that is on the Opium Wars. 

The Opium Wars 

Essentially, the roots of the Opium war were basically in trade disputes between the Chinese dynasty and the British merchants (National Army Musuem, 2018) . At the beginning of the 19th Century, trading of Chinese goods such as silks, tea, and porcelain was very lucrative for the British traders. However, a problem arose when the Chinese people effused to but items from the British merchants. They could only accept silver in return for the goods which were bought by the British people. Consequently, this resulted in a lot of silver leaving British and being accumulated in China. 

A Fort on the Canton River, 1 st China War, 1840 (National Army Musuem, 2018) 

This picture depicted one of the most important waterways in China used for trading activities. It linked Canton with Hong Kong (National Army Musuem, 2018) . The portrait was made during this period as per the request of the British merchants in order for them to have souvenirs to bring back to their countries. This is was due to the fact that the Chinese people were refusing to buy their goods and as such, they did not have many things to show their people once they returned to the Chinese culture. The Chinese people, therefore, agreed to paint their local scenes using the western style. Nevertheless, a majority of them did not sign off their work making it difficult to identify the exact person who painted the picture (Hanes & Sanello, 2007) . In making these portraits, the Chinese b0rrowed heavily from the European prints such as the drawing of William Alexander (1767 to 1816). Many such portraits were made to preserve the image of how the trade was during this period. 

In addition to the above, the British merchants alongside the East India Company started smuggling the opium into China (National Army Musuem, 2018) . In return, they demand that the Chinese people pay them in silver. They wanted to ensure that the silver leaving British was having an avenue to go back. Also, the silver which they managed to get from the trade paid for the tea and other good which they purchased from China. As at 1839, the opium sales by the British merchants to China were used to cater for the tea trade. Consequently, a majority of Chinese became addicted to opium which was being smuggled in the country by the British. In 1840, there were over 10 million Chinese who were addicted to opium, and this number increased significantly over the subsequent years (Fay, 2000) . They smuggled the Bengali opium more as the locals in China termed it as being of high quality, unlike the one which was being produced in China. One of the major causes of conflict was the efforts by the British to legalize opium trade in China. 

Opium Pipe 1860(c) 

This opium pipe was acquired by one Private Blagden Russell, during the second opium war in the year 1860 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

The Opium had some medicinal values as it helped to reduce pain and would assist individuals to reduce stress and sleep. As such, this made it popular among many people in China and thus efforts to stop this trade were faced with a lot of challenges (Hanes & Sanello, 2007) . However, the desire to stop the trade was fueled by the fact that a majority of people were already addicted and the fact that this trade was eroding the balance of trade which had once been favourable for both parties. At first, the Chinese efforts became successful as the British Chief Superintended who oversaw trade n China was forced to hand over the opium stock at Canon to the Chinese to be destroyed. Nevertheless, this action sparked range and became a source of conflict. 

The British were committed towards opening China to trade with other states. However, there was a hostile relationship between these two countries which made these efforts to be delayed (National Army Musuem, 2018) . Basically, the Chinese were suspicious of the British intention and thus refused to commit themselves fully to any diplomatic relationship with them. This came about at a period in which the British and refused to kowtow before the emperor in accordance with the Chinese protocols. Kowtows refer to the act of individuals bowing or kneeling in a manner that the head touches the ground as a sign of respect. The British had not been accustomed to such traditions and thus found it difficult to do so before the emperor. 

On the other hand, the British viewed the Chinese person as uncooperative as they had only allowed one of their ports to be used for the trade activities, that is, port Canton (National Army Musuem, 2018) . Therefore, the British saw the dispute created between them as an ideal opportunity which would help to open up China. 

A British Factory at Canton 

The above is a lithograph which was made by Picken T, and published in June 1848, by Henry Graves and Co. The British have only been allowed to work in the Canton port (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

There were several skirmishes which arose during 1839 which led to a fight between the British and the Chinese. As a result, the British defeated 29 Chinese Vessels using the HMS Volage as well as the Hyacinth (Hanes & Sanello, 2007) . This was done during the evacuation of refugees of British origin from the Canton. After a short while, on June 21st, 1840, a naval force was sent to Macao under the command of Sir Gordon Bremer. It bombarded the port of Ting-hai on 5th July the same year which was being occupied by a General George Burrell a brigadier. 

The diagram below is a lithograph made after Colonel Sir Harry Darell, a Lieutenant and was published by Day and Son in the year 1852 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

British taking over the Chusan Island in 5 th July 1840 

Thereafter, there were negotiations which were made between the Chinese emperor and the British. The British foreign secretary, Lord Palmerstone, demanded the Chinese to compensate then by granting them an access to an island that was off the coast. They intended to make the island a trading station for the British merchants. However, the Chinese refused to conform to their demands on January 7th, 1841 (Fay, 2000) . As a result, the British forcefully captured the Bogue forts of Chuenpi as well as the Tycocktow which guarded the Pearl River mouth (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

Entrenchments and the storming of Forts and Chuepi (January 7 th 1841) 

This is a lithograph AFTER FJ White by Dickenson which was published in 1841 by Dickenson and Son (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

The Chuenpi was captured when the royal navy, as well as the army, combined efforts. The army was under the command of Major Pratt JL. Of the soldiers engaged in this entrenchment, only 38 casualties were reported (National Army Musuem, 2018) . In the Chinese case, everything was quit the opposite. The Chinese had 13 war-junks, among these 10 were captured and all their flagships destroyed. 

The diagram below shows the East India Company steamship which was termed ‘Nemesis’ on its escapades to destroy the Chinese war junks in the Anson’s Bay. It is accompanied by boats of Calliope and Larne. The Nemesis was British’s first ocean-going warship made of iron whose ability to enter rivers was necessitated by its shallow draught. During the second Chenupei battle in January 1841, the Nemesis was able o capture a key Chinese fort after which it attacked a fleet of 15 junks belonging to China (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

Nemesis steamship with boats of Larne, Sulphur and Calliope destroying war juks belonging to Chinese at Ansons’s Bay (National Army Musuem, 2018). 

Following the hefty blow on the Chinese part, the Admiral Kuan Ti decided to call for a truce. The Chinese had realized that they would not match up to the British strength and thus decided to sign an agreement on 18th January 1841. According to the terms of the agreement, Hong Kong was made a British territory (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

In spite of the truce called forth by Kaun Ti, the Chinese refused to comply to all the demands by the British government. As a result, the British continued to advance in the Pearl River by using military personnel under the command of Sir Hugh Gough a, Lieutenant-General. Their efforts made them capture the Canton port in 1841. Nonetheless, they withdrew an understating the Chinese people would be obligated to pay £60,000 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

Below is oil on canvas painting of 1850 showing lieutenant-general Hugh who commanded the British troops in China (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

Sir Viscount Hugh Gough., Lieutenant-General (1850) 

Subsequently, on August 26th and 27th, 1841, the British moved to the North once more and captured Amoy. On 10th October 1841, they were able to re-posses Chusan which had been taken by the Chinese (National Army Musuem, 2018) . Additionally, on10th October, they were able to capture Chinhai but suffered a loss of three British men who were killed by Chinese. Also, there were 16 British soldiers who founded wounded. 

The 18 th Regiment of Foot August 1841  

A colored lithograph, after Hayes MA, by Lynch JH which was published by William Spooner in London in 1841 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

Amoy was among one of the five treaty ports which were opened to facilitate the British commerce by a treaty of Nanking that saw an end to the 1st Opium War in 1842 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . The other ports included Foochow, Guangzhou, Ningpo, and Shanghai. This treaty made the Chinese to commit to a free trade. The trade in opium was also considered in this treaty as the Chinese had to include it in the free trade. 

On May 1842, the British captured Chapu in an operation where the Chinese put up great resistance (National Army Musuem, 2018) . However, they were forced to surrender after their defenses were breached and when they saw that their enclosures had been set on fire. The British had used rockets to set them on fire. This period saw many of the British soldiers being killed and over 55 being wounded. Among this was the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Tomlinson, Nicholas who was the commander of the 18th Regiment. 

Death of Colonel Tomlinson 1842 

Sir William Parker, alongside Gough, went on to capture Shanghai on 19th June 1842 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . Major-general Lord Saltoun a first Brigadier continued to the Yangtze and engaged the Chinese on 21st July at Chinkiang. He managed to capture the city and well as its military commander Hai-Lin and ordered him to be burnt while in-house. The British causalities were modest as compared to that of the Chinese people. Only 34 British soldiers died and 107 of the soldiers were injured. This attack posed a threat to the Chinese of an assault occurring on Nanking thus the Chinese people pursue peace. 

Below is a colored engraving after Thomas Allom by Starling JM published by Fisher, Son &Co, in Paris and London 1842 (National Army Musuem, 2018) . 

West Gate of Ching-Keang-Foo 

The first China war came to an end on the 17th August 1842, with the formation os the Nanking treaty which enabled the British to continue with their mercantile transactions with whosever they pleased. ‘ 

The second opium war broke out in the year 1856 and continued until the year 1860 when both France and British captured Beijing and forced China to an era of indemnities, and unequal treaties (Asia Pacific Curriculum, 2018) . In addition to this, it led to the opening of about eleven more treaty ports. This, therefore, led to the legalization of the opium trade and Christian missionary work also began in the area. Many people from a different class in China comfortably took the opium which in turn had massive consequences on their body as shown in the image below. 

It is worth noting that even though the ports were opened up to British traders, the Chinese took a long time to implement these agreements. As such, the legal trade with China was to a large extent limited. In October 1856, the Chinese authorities arrested a “Chinese Crew of a ship” which was operated the British (Asia Pacific Curriculum, 2018) . They used this to coerce the Chinese government to open up even further to the British traders. The French, on the other hand, joined efforts with British to make Chinese open up more using a case where a French missionary had been executed by the Chinese. As a result, the joint effort of British and French led to the capturing of Guangzhou before advancing to capture the city of Tianjin to the north. In 1858, the Chinese made some agreement on paper to comply with the demands of the western on treaties. However, they refused to ratify these treaties and as such, more hostility broke between the Western and China. 

In 1960 the French and British troop captured Beijing and all negotiations did not bore fruits. Thus, the British high commissioner ordered the British troops to loot the ‘Imperial Sumer Palace’ and destroys it completely (Asia Pacific Curriculum, 2018) . This is where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty handles the country’s affairs. The war came to an end with the Qinq Dynasty being weakened and China was forced to accommodate relations with other countries. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, there are paintings and artifacts which can be used to showcase the events of the Opium war. Some of them have been used in this paper and include; opium pipe, and several lithographic paintings, as well as images from galleries which describe the events of the opium war. Notably, the opium war was crucial to it significant advantages and disadvantages to the countries which took part in it. For instance, it led to the opening of China to trade ut there was massive loss of properties and life. 

References 

Asia Pacific Curriculum. (2018). The Opium Wars in China | Asia Pacific Curriculum. Retrieved from https://asiapacificcurriculum.ca/learning-module/opium-wars-china 

Fay, P. (2000). The Opium War, 1840-1842 . Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

Hanes, W., & Sanello, F. (2007). The Opium Wars . Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks

National Army Musuem. (2018). The Opium War | National Army Museum. Retrieved from https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842