This brought about significant change in India. As a result of the First Opium War, China had ceded Hong Kong and opened five more ports to the British. This allowed the British better access to the Chinese market, and it was opium, at first from India, that they sent to trade, in particular for in-demand products such as Chinese tea. In turn, profits from opium sales in China were funneled back into strengthening the British presence in India (Biswas, 2008). As this trade with China expanded, India became more strategically important. When India was administered by the British East India Company, the primary objectives of the British on the subcontinent were to send goods from India back to Britain. It was the opening of the Chinese market that demanded change for the British in the way that they administered India. India was no longer a property strictly with economic value, India was now a territory of key strategic interest. The Great Uprising of 1857 only reinforced to the British that company rule would need to be replaced with something stronger (Ahmed, 2007).

The result was that the British were compelled to strengthen their presence, and this resulted in the creation of the British Raj. The Raj was created to take control of the subcontinent away from the company and place is squarely back in the command of the crown. The creation of the Raj formalized British control and ushered in an era of rapid expansion in Asia, including multiple wars and...

The Konbaung Dynasty in Burma was caught in the middle, and the British ultimately realized that it was to their benefit to take control of that country as well, resulting in the Anglo-Burmese War. This war in turn facilitated the strengthening of trade relations with China. When we examine the history of the 1850-1870 era in these three countries, we can see that the British were the tie that binds. Historical conjecture resulted from the ways in which British interest interacted with each of these countries. Events in one impacted events in other, via British policy and actions. The responses of Burma and China to the British incursions were conflict, but the result was defeat. This ushered in a period of acquiescence on the part of those two countries. Burma attempted to get through British rule by not resisting, the Chinese took a different path. Neither country was entirely successful, and British influence continued to grow steadily through this period.
Biswas, S. (2008). Opium financed British rule in India. BBC. Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7460682.stm

Ahmed, I. (2007). The 1857 uprising. Academy of the Punjab in North America. Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/news-20/