The first Opium War took place between the British and the Qing Empire in 1839 until 1842. The British viewed the war to be caused by the Qing emperor and its officials’ refusal to permit the importation of opium into its territory. In the war, Britain defeated the Qing. (The Earth and Its People 540-543) Now, you might wonder what does the Opium War have anything to do with Hong Kong; however, it was during the war, that Britain first occupied Hong Kong, on January 25th of 1841, for a purpose of military staging point use. (Szczepanski) This gave a start to the journey of the British Colonization of Hong Kong. The British officially colonized Hong Kong in 1841 and decolonized the peninsula in 1997, the British colonization benefitted Hong Kong by helping them escape from the two biggest disasters China experienced during that time.
The Opium War was what really gave a start to British Hong Kong, and furthermore, the treaty of Nanking implemented the British colonization. The British could be considered as one of the firsts to discover the opium as such a profitable trade. Chinese merchants later started profiting from distributing the drug as well. Therefore, the addiction of opium quickly spread to everyone in the Qing society not long later, even high-ranking officials were involved with the addiction. Ironically, the first Qing law that was set in 1729 happens to be banning all opium imports. However, as the Qing emperor and officials start coming to realize the addiction of opium, they debated whether to continue the banning and make it stricter or to legalize and tax the drug. They soon came to a conclusion of continuing the banning of opium and making the law stricter. This decision immediately alarmed the British, as the...
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Szczepanski, Kallie. "Why Did China Lease Hong Kong to Britain." About.com Asian History. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. .
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At the end of the eighteenth century, China’s goods were much desired by Britain. However, the Chinese saw Europeans as savages and did not want to trade with them. During trade, there was an imbalance in China’s favor, because the Europeans were forced to buy Chinese goods using silver. The Western Imperialists began to grow opium poppies from in India, and then smuggle them into China. China soon became addicted to the drug and spent most of it’s money on the purchase of it from the Europeans and Americans. This shifted the balance of power to be in Europe’s favor.
British Imperialism in India and China Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance, Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effect on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so.
Later, the Qing refused to accept European goods and demanded bar silver as payment. As a result, The Western powers began experiencing an outflow of silver to China. The countries, especially Britain, needed to find a way to reverse the flow of silver so the trade was even. So the British resorted to opium, a drug from the sap of the opium poppy. Originally used as medicine in western countries, opium was sold to China as a recreational dr...
A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.
Authorities of the Qing dynasty banned the import of opium, but this only made the demand for the drug increase, due to its addictiveness. They were able to smuggle this drug into and around the city of Guangzhou due to assistance from Chinese middlemen and corrupt officials. The Qing became alarmed by the quick spread of this illegal drug, as its usage undermined public morals, promoted corruption among officials, and the outward flow of Chinese silver that allowed the British a favorable trade balance over the
When Afghanistan was beginning its formation as a nation in the 1700s, two of that era’s major world powers were advancing toward Afghanistan: Britain westward from India and Russia moving eastward. “England was busy conquering India between 1757 and 1857, Visalli writes, “and Russia was spreading its control east, and was on Afghanistan’s border by 1828.” One of the most lucrative products that England exported from its new colony, India, was opium and by 1770 Britain had a monopoly on opium production in India and saw to it that cultivation spread into Afghanistan as well (the boundary between the two was ill-defined until 1893). In 1859, England took control of all Afghan territory between the Indus River and the Hindu Kush, including Baluchistan, denying Afghanistan access to the sea. England invaded Afghanistan again in 1878, overthrew the ruling monarch, and forced the new government to become a British protectorate, i.e., rendering Afghanistan dependent on and under the rule of the British monarch, subjected to war, plunder, land grab, economic/development crippling, occupation.
At the end of the Opium War, China was left defeated. While the loss severely undermined the Qing Dynasty's power, little did they know that their loss would have serious repercussions. The emperor signed a treaty with the British that would later be known as one of the “Unequal Treaties” made in China during this period. The treaty in question was named the treaty of Nanjing (also known as the treaty of Nanking). This treaty would have lasting effects even into recent history.
Allingham,, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60." The Victorian Web: An Overview. 24 June 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2011.
During this period, Qing officials overlooked the foreign brokers. By the early 1800’s, however, Great Britain began bartering for Chinese goods in non-monetary funds, opium.... ... middle of paper ... ... The Chinese culture witnessed poverty, social unrest, drug addictions, and government bankruptcy when foreign exploitation emerged.
Hong Kong has always remained a very unique city, one which is said to have ‘a Western past, an Eastern future’. Since its colonisation by the British in the 1860s, it has maintained to a very large extent its Chinese identity and its connection to its Motherland, while at the same time, has frequent contact with the Western world, politically, economically, and culturally. Hong Kong’s unique position has made the city a vibrant international metropolis that acts as a bridge between East and West. Yet after it was returned to China in 1997, this former British colony has been constantly reassessing its British past, struggling to find its new position and redefining its identity.
The second major movement began in 1958 and lasted through 1959. It was the "Great Leap Forward." This movement was one of the most destructive to China. It was a movement that w...
It seemed as if tea was a drug for the Europeans because for them it was just so addicting, to the point they would do anything just to get more and more. The only things that were worthy of trading with the Chinese were gingko (type of plant), shark fin, a soft type of wood (used for incense) and silver. As the demand for tea rose, Britain gradually ran out of silver to trade with, and was desperate to find what China wanted. Then, the British resorted to trading in opium. China was very picky about their opium.
Opium was introduced to America when Chinese immigrants came to California in the 1850’s to work in the gold mines and on the railroads (DEA Museum). It didn’t take long for American’s to become addicted to opium. Opium dens became common in communities and women and young people started to take pleasure in the far off land of euphoria that opium provided. Due to the overgrowing popularity and concern of the affects this drug had taken on the population the government tried to implement taxes. “Initially, opium was taxed, then licensed, then discouraged, and ultimately made illegal for most us...
Many foreign powers ravaged China in search of wealth, brutally destroying land and violently fighting people. After much of the devastation, the Dynasty was ‘forced’ to acquiesce to the foreign powers (-only after they assured Cixi that her position and power would be held in place). The results of these was called the Boxer Protocol – which would later be considered one of the “Unequal Treaties.” Among the stipulations of the Boxer Protocol, China would have to pay an enormous amount of money, for indemnity, to about 14 countries (in different proportions). Furthermore, foreign powers were given the right to seize and inhabit certain places in China.
"All the leadership had spent their early years in England. They were influenced by British thought, British ideas, that is why our leaders were always telling the British "How can you do these things? They're against your own basic values.". We had no hatred, in fact it was the other way round - it was their values that made us revolt." -Aruna Asaf Ali, a leader of the Indian National Congress. (Masani, quoted in Wood, 32, 1989)