Opium Wars Consisted of Two Separate Conflicts,

Opium Wars consisted of two separate conflicts, the first between 1839 and 1842, the second between 1856 and 1860. Ostensibly these wars were fought over the fear that British- opium would have a drastic effect on the economy of China. On a deeper level, the conflict was over the invasion of Western influences into the Asian markets and the need for China to remain a major economic figure in the world. After global colonization, China was the last remaining Eastern country to have no foreign influence in their government or their economy. To the people of the West, who considered themselves superior beings, this was unacceptable. The resources of China should be open to Western colonizers as had all the other Asian nations, such as Japan and India. Although ostensibly about the decline in Chinese economy due to the issue of opium in the country, the Opium Wars were really about China's trying to retain autonomous power against foreign nations. Despite losing the Opium Wars and being forced into accepting trade with the western world, the opening up of China resulted in a complete economic and sociological alteration which resulted in China actually becoming a stronger nation in the aftermath.

The Chinese people desired to remain as isolated and apart from the outside world as possible. Part of this separation was a belief within China that their country was the center of the universe, that the land they possessed was the best in the world and that they had to protect themselves and their land from outsiders. To this end, the government limited the amount of interaction the population could have with foreign people and the amount of merchandise imported into the country. The idea was that with limited imports, the foreign nations would remain on the periphery of society and the inclusion of their goods would be seen as a luxury, not a necessity. In 1838, the Director of the Court of State Ceremonial, Hwang Tsioh-Tsz complained that the influx of foreign opium was causing China to decline financially, which in turn was having a negative effect on the rest of the country.[footnoteRef:1] Before the Opium Wars, trade with China was closed to the countries of the west. Decisions regarding trade were strictly controlled by the Chinese government. The only portion of China which was accessible to the outside world was the port of Canton. Merchants who came to the port to trade would be met by government officially-appointed merchants called Gong Hang. The Gong Hang controlled how much foreign merchandise could be brought into China and how what the value was for these goods.[footnoteRef:2] These men were, for a time, able to ensure that the influence of foreign countries was as limited as was at all possible. [1: Parker, Edward Harper. Chinese Account of the Opium War. (New York: Leland Parson, 1888). ] [2: "The Opium War and the Opening of China." historyliterature.homestead.com/files/extended.ht]

China was not able to grow or process opium in their country. However, that did not prohibit the Chinese citizens from desiring the narcotic. The desire for the drug was such that the Gong Hang and other traders were unable to keep up with the demand.[footnoteRef:3] Prices for foreign opium continued to skyrocket and China could not export enough materials to cover the trade debts over opium. "Virtually all men under 40 smoked opium. The entire army was addicted. It affected all classes of people, from rich merchants to Taoists. The total number of addicts in China in the 1830's was as high as 12 million."[footnoteRef:4] With this kind of dependency on a foreign substance and paying for the product becoming more and more difficult, the situation was rife for the forced inclusion of foreign governments and influences on the Chinese people. To put this dependency into perspective, in the year 1839 alone, the Chinese opium addicts spent 100 million taels on the drug and the entire government's annual revenue was a mere 40 million.[footnoteRef:5] That same year the emperor's special emissary Lin Ze-xu went on a mission to attempt to destroy or at least hinder the illegal import of opium into China. This resulted in 1,600 arrests, and the seizing of 20,000 crates of the drug.[footnoteRef:6] Also, the port of Canton was closed to all foreign vessels. Already at odds with foreign nations over the competition to sell opium, China was then overwhelmed when these nations used force to demand the opening of trade routes between their countries and the east. The British forces sank several Chinese vessels. Their naval forces decimated the Chinese ones and forced the Chinese people into capitulation. [3: Polachek, James M. The Inner Opium War. (USA: Harvard, 1992).] [4: "The Opium War and the Opening of China." ] [5: "The Opium War and the Opening of China." ] [6: Allingham, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60." (Ontario: Lakehead). Last modified 24 June 2006.]

At the end of the Opium Wars, the Chinese government was forced to trade with western nations. The Treaty of Nanjing, the signing of which ended the conflicts, required China open both ports and markets to the western countries.[footnoteRef:7] The Treaty also forced China to pay 21 million Mexican dollars to the British government as well as hand over Hong Kong which provided Great Britain a "base for further military, political and economical penetrations of China."[footnoteRef:8] The Treaty was more or less punishment to China for trying to refuse the West for so long. In addition to the aforementioned inequities in the document, China was also forced to eradicate the Gong Hang and all customs fees had to be agreed upon by other countries. Also, import duties in Chinese ports were lowered from 65% to 5% which shattered internal Chinese industries because imported goods could now be acquired so cheaply. Most disturbingly, the Treaty exempted any British citizen from Chinese law, an exemption which was also extended to any Chinese people working for British citizens leading to mass crime which could not be punished, and allowed one British warship in each port.[footnoteRef:9] [7: "The Opium War and the Opening of China." ] [8: "The Opium War and the Opening of China." ] [9: Hanes, Travis and Frank Sanello. The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. (Illinois: Sourcebooks, 2002).]