The Opium War was a crucial moment in Chinese history. It began in 1839, when the British government decided to take military action against the Chinese government in order to open up the Chinese market to opium and other Western goods. The conflict lasted until 1842 with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking, which established Hong Kong as a permanent British colony and opened five Chinese ports to foreign trade. It also granted the British extraterritoriality in China, meaning that British citizens could not be tried by Chinese courts.
The roots of the Opium War can be traced back to the early 19th century, when the United Kingdom sought to increase its control over the trade between the Chinese people and foreign merchants. As part of this effort, the British East India Company began to transport opium from India to China in order to create an artificial trade imbalance, which allowed Britain to reap huge profits. This led to rampant addiction among Chinese people, further fueling the British government’s efforts.
In response to the increasing importation of opium, the Chinese government attempted to crack down on the drug. In 1838, the emperor Daoguang issued an edict banning the importation and sale of opium, and in March of 1839, Lin Zexu was appointed Imperial Commissioner of Trade and entrusted with the task of eliminating the opium menace. A number of confrontations between Chinese and British forces ensued as Lin attempted to stamp out opium smuggling in Canton and beyond.
Throughout 1839 and 1840, tensions between the two countries mounted. On April 6th, 1840, the British government sent a strongly worded letter to the Chinese court demanding that all opium be returned, or else the situation would escalate. When the Chinese government refused to comply, Britain declared war on the Qing dynasty.
Equipped with superior weapons, ships and tactics, the British forces soon gained the upper hand in the conflict. Over the course of 1841 and 1842, Britain seized several cities along the coast of mainland China, including Amoy, Ningpo and Shanghai. This prompted the Chinese court to begin negotiations for peace.
On August 29th, 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed in Nanjing, bringing the Opium War to an end. The treaty granted Britain trading rights in five treaty ports and established Hong Kong as a permanent British colony. In addition, it granted extra-territoriality to British citizens in China, allowing them to be tried by British courts rather than Chinese ones.
Despite ceding significant amounts of territory and autonomy to the British, the Chinese were able to restore much of their integrity through the signing of the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858. However, the tensions between China and the West had been made painfully clear, as had the strength of European military power. The Opium War marked the first in a long line of foreign incursions into China that would shape the nation’s history for the next century and beyond.