The Opium Wars

1. The Opium Wars Dispute between Great Britain and China

2. Growth of Opium Trade • Europeans bought silk, tea, porcelain, and spices from China • Chinese would only trade goods for silver • Drain on European finances • Opium manufactured in China since 15th century for medical purposes • Chinese government banned smoking and trade of opium in 1729 due to health and social issues

3. English East India Company • Held monopoly on production and export of opium in India • Peasant cultivators often coerced and paid in advance for cultivation of poppies • Sold in Calcutta for a profit of 400% • Buy tea on credit in Canton • Sell opium at auctions in Calcutta, India • Then it was smuggled into China through India and Bengal • 1797 began direct trade of opium into China

4. First Opium War 1834 - 1843 • 1838 Chinese instituted death penalty for native traffickers of opium • March 1839 – new commissioner to control opium trade – Lin Zexu • Lin imposed embargo on Britain unless they permanently ended the trade • Trade resumed with Britain and no drugs were smuggled

5. First Opium War • Lin demanded British merchants to sign a bond promising not to deal opium under penalty of death • Lin disposed of the opium – dissolving it in the ocean • Did not realize the impact of this action! • British merchants and government regarded this as destruction of private property • Responded by sending warships, soldiers, and the British India Army into China June 1840 • Had superior military force – attacked coastal cities, defeated Qing forces easily

6. End of the War • British took Canton and sailed up the Yangtze River • Took Tax Barges, cut revenue of imperial court of Beijing • 1842 Qing sued for peace • Ended with Treaty of Nanjing

7. Treaty of Nanjing • Referred to as the Unequal Treaties – accepted 1843 • China • Ceded Hong Kong to the British • Opened ports to British – Canton, Amoy, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai

8. Treaty of Nanjing • Great Britain received • 21 million ounces of silver • Fixed tariffs • Extraterritoriality for British citizens on Chinese soil • Most favored nation status • Allowed missionaries into interior of China • Allowed British merchants sphere of influence in and around British ports

9. Treaty of Nanjing • Unresolved Issues • Status of opium trade with China • Equivalent American treaty forbade opium trade with China • However, both Americans and British were subject only to the legal trade of their consuls

10. Second Opium War 1856 - 1860 • Also known as Arrow War • Followed incident when Chinese bordered British registered, Chinese owned ship – the Arrow • Crew was accused of piracy and smuggling • Were arrested

11. Second Opium War • British claimed ship was flying British flag and was protected under the Treaty of Nanjing • War delayed by Taiping Rebellion and Indian Mutiny • British attacked Guangzhou one year later • Aided by allies of United States, Russia, and France

12. Second Opium War • Treaty of Tientsin was created in July 1858 – was not ratified by China until 2 years later • Hostilities broke out in 1859 when China refused the establishment of British Embassy in Beijing • Fighting erupted in Hong Kong and Beijing • British burned the Summer and Old Summer Palace and looted the city

13. Treaty of Tientsin • 1860 ratified the treaty at the Convention of Peking • Br, Fr, Rus and US have rights to station in Beijing (a closed city at the time) • Ten more Chinese ports to be opened • Foreigners gain right to travel interior of China • Purpose: Travel, trade or missionary activities • China was to pay foreigners for losses • Legalized the import of Opium