The Opium Wars In China

In the 1700’s, during the age of European imperialism in China, British forces attempted to establish the foreign trading of opium, a highly addictive substance extracted from the juice of the opium poppy (“Opium and Heroin”) . The Chinese were opposed to this enforcement due to its negative effects among the Chinese economy and civilians. As a result of this prolonged dispute between British and Chinese powers, British troops eventually attacked numerous Chinese villages, leading to the commencement of the Opium Wars in the mid-18th century (Pletcher). The Opium Wars, as a result of British imperialism and the attempted enforcement of opium trade, were beneficial to the current Chinese establishment of foreign relations that are continuously
The confiscation of the 20,000 chests of opium in 1839 thoroughly angered the British. Although the Chinese offered to establish a free foreign trading port near Chuenpo, a Chinese fort, the British refused and instead set out on an expedition towards China in 1840 (Pletcher). After arriving in Hong Kong in June of 1841, the British began attacking multiple Chinese villages . In order to fight against British forces, Zexu appointed and paid Chinese civilians what would currently be equivalent to 6 dollars each month. Zexu also invested in different pieces of “westernized” weaponry, such as cannons and ships. However, the Chinese were unable to successfully defeat their enemies, who had access to stronger and more advanced artillery and weaponry. After arriving in Beijing in 1841, Charles Elliott, Britain's superintendent of trade and leader of the British expedition, negotiated with Chinese forces, but was still unable to establish the allowance of the trading of opium in China (“The
The establishment of the Treaties of Tianjin, which concluded the Opium Wars, resulted in westernization and free foreign trade in China. This treaty provided foreign representatives with property in Beijing, permitted Christian missionaries and foreign traders to travel freely in China, and demanded that the Chinese pay Britain a total amount of 80 grams of silver. These treaties also established the opening of 11 new foreign-trade ports in China (“The Second”). Following the signing of the Treaties of Tianjin, an outburst of revolts and rebellions among the Chinese spread throughout China, due to its inequitable conditions (Roberts 41-42). This resulted in the eventual revision of the Treaties of Tianjin in 1860 (Roberts 42). These revisions, referred to as the Convention of Beijing, was also considered an unequal treaty because of new requirements of the Chinese: the opening of Tianjin as a trading ports, and the ceding of the Jiulong or Kowloon peninsula to British forces (Roberts 42). Subsequent to the passing of these treaties, in 1860, the trading of opium in China was legalized (“The Second”). Although sometimes referred to as an “unequal treaty,” the Treaties of Tianjin marked the official allowance of opium trade in China, which lead to an overall increase of foreign trade in China, and the strengthening of China’s multiple foreign