The Opium Wars and Modernization of China Because of economical, social, and political effects still seen today, the Opium Wars were successful in the westernization of China. They successfully opened trading with others and forced the country to be exposed fully to the countries of the west. In the late 18th century, Great Britain was making a huge profit off of trading the drug opium with Chinese silver. Opium was banned in Britain, but was eventually traded by loopholes and smuggling. In China, it was used for traditional medicines. As time went on, the Chinese had become addicted to the drug. Not only was this trade depleting the silver of China, but it was disrupting the health of the people. Therefore, Chinese rulers came together …show more content…
Lin Zexu even sent a concerning and passionate letter to Queen Victoria to explain that China had the right to ban opium because Britain had a ban too. In his letter, he said, “Let your highness immediately, upon the receipt of this communication, inform us promptly of the state of matters, and of the measure you are pursuing utterly to put a stop to the opium evil.” His letter never reached the Queen, and his efforts eventually led to the clash of British and Chinese ships a year …show more content…
The treaty claimed that Beijing would become a British territory, China would open up all of its ports to British ships, and they would have to see the British as equals and grant them favorable trading status. It didn’t take long, however, for the second Opium War to break out. The Chinese were swiftly defeated again, and even worse than the last time. The Chinese suffered defeat after defeat. Finally, the new treaty to end the wars made China legalize Christianity and opium, send indentured servants to the U.S., and pay eight million silver dollars for
Before the emergence of silver, Chinese society isolated themselves from the global economy. Due to Confucian teachings and heavy voyage expenditures, Chinese officials restricted foreign interaction and trade. Also, being
Allingham,, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60." The Victorian Web: An Overview. 24 June 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2011.
Perdue, Peter C. "The First Opium War: The Anglo-Chinese War of 1839-1842: Hostilities." MIT: Visualizing Cultures. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
In 1839, Lin Zexu wrote The letter to Queen Victoria, in attempt to stop the evolving addiction to opium in China. The letter expressed China's desire for a peaceful resolution to the opium trade. He the limited and quite incorrect knowledge he had on the issue in hopes to gain sympathic understanding. Lin used Confucian teachings, historical events, plus forceful reasoning on moral grounds in order to persuade the English monarch that he would not ask of them anything he would not be comfortable doing himself. The letter created an ultimatum made by Commissioner Lin on behalf of the Qing Emperor to the English monarch, delivering the clear message that he and the Qing government were determined to ban the selling and smoking of opium once and for all at any cost.
China’s monopolistic system of trade caused great frustration for the British. The incompatible British and Chinese views on trade resulted in the First Opium War.
Opium had first arrived in London as a new medicinal trade product. It was new, compact, easily transported, and non-perishable. Trade with China proved very profitable and flourished for more than twenty years uninterrupted, until in 1835 China passed its first laws prohibiting the importation of opium (1). In the years following this prohibition, England responded simply by shifting the drop off points to other ports in China. China resisted these efforts, by England, to continue trade and began attacking their ships. These acts were seen as aggressive in the eyes of the English and the first opium war resulted. The war ended with the treaty of Nanking, which ceded China to Britain. The second opium war between 1856 and 1858 ended with the treaty of Tientsin (2). These two wars were prime examples of commercial imperialism, not only through the opening of treaty ports but through British control of Chinese customs which the 1842 treaty established, and continuing opium trade without restraint (3). All these acts on the part of British and the Chinese prove that there was real awareness of the depth of the opium problem.
One of the most important aspects of imperialism is the take over of government. The English accomplished this in several ways. Some of the “Unfair Treaties” forced the Chinese to allow the English ships into their ports and to allow them to have a major role in the trade market. The English wanted tea, porcelain, and silk from china. The Chinese however didn’t want to gods the English offered in return. The English began trading opium in return for the goods. Although it was illegal, many of the money hungry merchants excepted the opium in return for the things that were valuable to the English. Because of this, the first Anglo-Chinese war erupted. China underestimated the power of England and was defeated. At the end of the war, they were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing (1842). The treaty was one of the first treaties known as the “Unfair Treaties.” Under this treaty, china gave up the island of Hong Kong, abolished the licensed monopoly system of trade, granted English nationals exemption from Chinese laws, and agreed to give England whatever trading concessions that were granted to other countries then and later.
There have been many different types of ordinances and laws that have been put into place to limit the use of either drugs or alcohol targeting minority groups in particular such as the Temperance Movement targeting African-Americans or even the San Francisco Opium Parlors city ordinance. The Temperance Movement was put in place to limit and regulate alcohol consumption. In the year of 1875 in the city of San Francisco, there were more than eight opium parlors within three city blocks of city hall; this would eventually lead to the first ordinance of its kind. The efforts of both the Temperance Movement and that between state and local levels of government who sought to control the use of opium amongst the Chinese could be defined as racially motivated.
Foreign imperialism during the 1800s drastically changed China’s politics and government. The two Opium Wars were both humiliating defeats for China, which resulted in the unequal treaties forming between China and foreign imperialist powers. The Treaty of Nanking ended the first Opium War and forced China to open five ports, lower taxes for the British and establish free trade with them. The second unfair treaty,
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.
The British Empire economy was partially helped by Opium; it contributed to its prosperity during the 19th century by giving them the opportunity to obtain profits out of Opium trade and maintain their wealth. British are tea addicts and lovers, and consumed it in large quantities; they also had a great demand of other Chinese commodities such as silk and porcelain, they had to import all this from China. The imbalance in commerce betw...
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.
The treaty established the Rio Grande River, just south of Texas, as the border between Mexico and America. In addition the treaty ceded California and New Mexico to the United States. With the acquisition of California it opened a path to the pacific for the United States. Now the United States could open trade through the Pacific ocean which would eventually lead to trade with Japan and Asia. Also with all the new land it would allow for the production of a transcontinental railroad which would taxi miners to California during the California gold rush.
That was one really bitter downfall for China. They basically had to pay for their own war for a total of $21 million and opium was still traded, not even stopped. I think Britain making those conditions was an act of karma for China’s part. Once the five new trading ports opened, China was confined to learning how to trade with the rest of the world. That was how China became what it is today, rich, powerful, and large.
Throughout the years Britain had always tried to use the Chinese markets to their advantage. This is what was seen as the biggest and only cause towards starting the First Opium War. Although the British were gaining a profit from selling their own goods to Chinese consumers, they were not making enough to counter the massive amount of spending they were doing on Chines...