Opium Wars facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Opium Wars |
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The Opium Wars were two big wars between China and Western countries like Britain and France. They happened during the Qing dynasty in China. The first war was from 1839 to 1842, mainly between Great Britain and China. The second war, from 1856 to 1860, also included France. These wars were mostly about the drug opium and opening China for trade with Europe and America. The wars made the Qing dynasty weaker.
The East India Company, a British trading company, brought opium to China. They got it from the Bengal region of India. They used opium to pay for Chinese goods like porcelain.
Opium is a natural substance found in the seeds of the opium poppy. It was often smoked for its effects. By 1787, the East India Company was sending about 4,000 boxes of opium each year. Each box weighed about 77 kilograms (170 pounds). This trade grew even more in the 1800s.
Contents
How the Opium Trade Began
British merchants started selling opium in China. At that time, opium was grown in India, not China. Opium had been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. It helped treat some diseases. However, opium can also be used as a psychoactive drug. This means it changes how a person thinks or feels. Opium is also a drug that can cause addiction.
When the British brought in large amounts of opium, more Chinese people started using it for its mind-changing effects. Many people became addicted. This meant the British could sell more and more opium. By selling this drug, the British began to make more money from their sales to China than they spent on Chinese goods. British opium exports to China grew a lot. They went from about 15 tons in 1730 to 75 tons in 1773. Opium was shipped in "chests," with each chest holding about 67 kilograms (140 pounds) of opium.
The First Opium War (1839-1842)
In the early 1800s, British merchants brought opium into China. In return, they took Chinese tea back to Britain. In 1839, China said that the British could not bring opium into their country. Chinese officials found a lot of opium in Canton (now Guangzhou) and destroyed it.
The British were angry about this. In 1840, they sent warships to attack Chinese cities along the coast. China did not have strong enough weapons to defend itself. So, China lost the war.
China had to sign the Treaty of Nanking and the Treaty of the Bogue. These treaties forced China to open some of its ports for trade with Western countries, not just Britain. British people in China also got special rights. This was called extraterritoriality. It meant that if they were accused of a crime, they would be tried by British officials, not Chinese ones.
Finally, China had to give up Hong Kong Island. It became a British colony. Britain did not have to give anything back. Because of this, these treaties were called "unequal treaties". Other Western countries soon signed similar treaties with China.
The Second Opium War (1856-1860)
The Second Opium War was also known as the Arrow War or Anglo-French War in China. French soldiers also played a big part in this war. It started when the Chinese took over a British ship called The Arrow in the port of Guangzhou.
Britain and France, along with troops from Russia and the United States, attacked more Chinese cities. This included the Battle of Canton in 1857. In 1860, the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) in Beijing was burned to the ground.
At the end of this war, the Chinese had to sign more "unequal treaties." These treaties made opium legal in China. They also forced China to open all its ports for trade. China also had to give part of the Kowloon Peninsula to the British. This area became part of the Hong Kong colony.
In 1898, after the First Sino-Japanese War, Britain took control of the New Territories. This was under a 99-year lease. At the end of the 99 years, Britain would return all of Hong Kong, including the leased land, to China. This happened on July 1, 1997. Hong Kong then became one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China.
Images for kids
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Depiction of the 1860 battle of Taku Forts. Book illustration from 1873.
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The 98th Regiment of Foot at the attack on Chin-Kiang-Foo (Zhenjiang), 21 July 1842, showing the defeat of the Manchu government.
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British bombardment of Canton from the surrounding heights, 29 May 1841.
See also
In Spanish: Guerras del Opio para niños
