China, still part of the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century, was a period when all facets of culture flourished. With an abundance of natural resources and a strong governmental system, China was at the top of the world. But by the late 18th century, China’s huge population led to its own downfall. By the 1800s, the population had doubled from 150 million to 300 million, and eventually reached 450 million in the late 1800s. China ran out of land for their people and for proper crop growth and cultivation. As a result, China’s political control over its people was weakening as well because the size of the bureaucracy was stagnant as the population multiplied. With China’s administrative powers diminishing, power was handed from the central government to lowly district magistrates. These low-level leaders were held responsible for the control and welfare of about 250,000 people each.
During this time, the industrializing European states were attempting to bring China into the new world economy through trade. However, China consistently refused, believing that they did not need any resources from those outside nations. The only thing China wanted was guns, which played a key role in separating Western military power from China’s primitive arms. Using military force, China was forced to sign a series of unfair treaties that exposed Chinese ports to Europeans, and eventual American and Japanese traders. As if this humiliation was not enough, China was also forced to surrender legal jurisdiction over areas of these port cities and their respective citizens, and allow Western Christian missionaries to preach in the interior of the country. Between the Opium war of 1839-42 and the early 1900s, the British, Americans, French, German, and Japanese fought to maintain spheres of influence within the vulnerable Chinese nation.
China (1830-1911)
The Opium Wars (1839-1860)
The first opium war started in 1839 stemming from trade disputes between the British government and Qing China. For years, China had dictated the terms of their trade with foreign powers. Creating a strict, tightly controlled system that benefitted China greatly. It was filled with corruption and restrictions by Chinese officials which made it very difficult for Europeans to trade for the valuable Chinese goods that were so prized back in Europe. A British merchant named James Flint then travelled to the emperor to voice his concerns and was promptly arrested and held in prison for three years. China then made trade even more difficult for European merchants by allowing them only one Chinese port at which they could trade. For the British, this caused a huge trade deficit with China. With growing demand at home, Great Britain knew they needed more control of the far-east trade.
Opium, a highly addictive narcotic, was known in china for its medicinal purpose but the Chinese also knew its dangers. By the 18th century China had already banned its use for anything other than medical treatment. Even though it was banned, there was still great Chinese demand for opium as a recreational drug. Britain and other European countries resolved to meet that demand. In 1836, Britain smuggled 8 million pounds of opium into China, effectively erasing their trade deficit and reversing the balance of the Sino-Western trade. Opium quickly exceeded all other foreign products in value and China was immediately hooked. Importation of opium had grown from around 4,000 chests of opium a year to more than 20,000.
By this time, China had had enough, they emperor appointed a man named Lin Zexu as imperial commissioner for frontier defense. Zexu took aggressive action to disrupt the sale of opium which Britain interpreted as an act of war. Britain retaliated with military force and in 1840, the first opium war began.
The British destroyed the Chinese military, their superior technology and tactics quickly overwhelming the Qing forces. The Chinese lost thousands of men while the British lost only a few dozen. The war ended in the Treaty of Nanjing (1842). The Treaty of Nanjing redefined the terms of trade between Britain and China. The terms included the opening of new Chinese ports, the end of trading tariffs imposed on the British, and also ensured that all British citizens were subject to only British laws, even if their crimes were committed in China. What the Treaty of Nanjing failed to mention was opium. Nothing in the treaty restricted, banned, or affected the opium trade at all, and so the opium trade continued.
The second opium war, also called the Arrow War began in October, 1856 when Chinese officials, in pursuit of a pirate, boarded the Arrow, a Chinese ship. The British consul decided that British rights had been violated by the search of the Arrow and ordered the British navy to fire upon the Chinese government offices in Guangzhou. However, instead of giving into the British demands, the governor-general Ye Mingchen halted all foreign trade within the port. A year later, another British force arrived from India and promptly occupied Guangzhou. France then became involved because of the murder of one of their missionaries in Guangxi and sent forces to aid the British campaign.
In 1858, Chinese forces finally signed the Treaty of Tianjin, opening another ten Chinese ports to foreign trade and establishing permanent British and French embassies in Beijing. However, the treaty was never established because when the French and British forces returned to implement the treaty, they made the mistake of travelling along a route that they were forbidden to travel on. Qing forces attacked the group and forced them back. A series of battles followed with the Qing forces inflicting heavy casualties and even capturing an entire foreign delegation, but in the end the French and British forces entered the capital city, burning the Emperor's summer palaces, and winning the war.
The treaties resulting from the opium wars created a system of foreign domination over china. However, the wars did not lead to the downfall of the Qing Empire. The Empire continued to rule China, albeit with huge influence from Britain. The British gained many new trading ports, and for the first time, a favorable trade relationship with China where Britain dictated the terms of trade and the Chinese were forced to comply. This was the beginning of a century of foreign domination by the British.
China (Previous to the 19th century)
China (1830-1911)
The Opium Wars (1839-1860)
The first opium war started in 1839 stemming from trade disputes between the British government and Qing China. For years, China had dictated the terms of their trade with foreign powers. Creating a strict, tightly controlled system that benefitted China greatly. It was filled with corruption and restrictions by Chinese officials which made it very difficult for Europeans to trade for the valuable Chinese goods that were so prized back in Europe. A British merchant named James Flint then travelled to the emperor to voice his concerns and was promptly arrested and held in prison for three years. China then made trade even more difficult for European merchants by allowing them only one Chinese port at which they could trade. For the British, this caused a huge trade deficit with China. With growing demand at home, Great Britain knew they needed more control of the far-east trade.Opium, a highly addictive narcotic, was known in china for its medicinal purpose but the Chinese also knew its dangers. By the 18th century China had already banned its use for anything other than medical treatment. Even though it was banned, there was still great Chinese demand for opium as a recreational drug. Britain and other European countries resolved to meet that demand. In 1836, Britain smuggled 8 million pounds of opium into China, effectively erasing their trade deficit and reversing the balance of the Sino-Western trade. Opium quickly exceeded all other foreign products in value and China was immediately hooked. Importation of opium had grown from around 4,000 chests of opium a year to more than 20,000.
By this time, China had had enough, they emperor appointed a man named Lin Zexu as imperial commissioner for frontier defense. Zexu took aggressive action to disrupt the sale of opium which Britain interpreted as an act of war. Britain retaliated with military force and in 1840, the first opium war began.
The British destroyed the Chinese military, their superior technology and tactics quickly overwhelming the Qing forces. The Chinese lost thousands of men while the British lost only a few dozen. The war ended in the Treaty of Nanjing (1842).
The Treaty of Nanjing redefined the terms of trade between Britain and China. The terms included the opening of new Chinese ports, the end of trading tariffs imposed on the British, and also ensured that all British citizens were subject to only British laws, even if their crimes were committed in China. What the Treaty of Nanjing failed to mention was opium. Nothing in the treaty restricted, banned, or affected the opium trade at all, and so the opium trade continued.
The second opium war, also called the Arrow War began in October, 1856 when Chinese officials, in pursuit of a pirate, boarded the Arrow, a Chinese ship. The British consul decided that British rights had been violated by the search of the Arrow and ordered the British navy to fire upon the Chinese government offices in Guangzhou. However, instead of giving into the British demands, the governor-general Ye Mingchen halted all foreign trade within the port. A year later, another British force arrived from India and promptly occupied Guangzhou. France then became involved because of the murder of one of their missionaries in Guangxi and sent forces to aid the British campaign.
In 1858, Chinese forces finally signed the Treaty of Tianjin, opening another ten Chinese ports to foreign trade and establishing permanent British and French embassies in Beijing. However, the treaty was never established because when the French and British forces returned to implement the treaty, they made the mistake of travelling along a route that they were forbidden to travel on. Qing forces attacked the group and forced them back. A series of battles followed with the Qing forces inflicting heavy casualties and even capturing an entire foreign delegation, but in the end the French and British forces entered the capital city, burning the Emperor's summer palaces, and winning the war.
The treaties resulting from the opium wars created a system of foreign domination over china. However, the wars did not lead to the downfall of the Qing Empire. The Empire continued to rule China, albeit with huge influence from Britain. The British gained many new trading ports, and for the first time, a favorable trade relationship with China where Britain dictated the terms of trade and the Chinese were forced to comply. This was the beginning of a century of foreign domination by the British.