The Opium Wars, also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars, consisted of two 19th-century conflicts between Britain and China over their trade relations. The first war (1839-1842) began when the Qing dynasty attempted to end the importation of opium into China. The second war (1856-1860) came about due to the Chinese government’s refusal to open up further trade with the British.
The underlying causes of the Opium Wars trace back to China’s lack of globalized markets and need for foreign currency. During the 1750s, the Qing court initially allowed foreign traders to establish ports and warehouses along the southeastern coast in Canton (modern day Guangzhou) for limited trade. As England shifted from mercantile mercantilism to free trade, the imbalance of trade led to a deficit in silver imports, resulting in English silver flooding the Chinese market.
In order to fill the gap between Chinese exports and English imports, British maritime merchants turned to selling opium from India. Initially smuggled by illegally, the East India Company eventually secured a monopoly on opium by 1833. The sale of opium was so lucrative that it accounted for 40 percent of the Qing court’s total tax revenue.
Due to the social effects of opium use, the Manchu court issued a ban on its importation in 1799 and declared it illegal by1838. Nevertheless, the British continued to smuggle opium, leading to increased tensions between the two states.
In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor appointed imperial commissioner Lin Zexu to restore control in Canton and confiscated more than 20,000 chests of opium from foreign merchants.In response, the British launched a punitive expedition against the city and destroyed Chinese warships in the Pearl River Delta. This incident initiated the First Opium War, which lasted from 1839-1842. After a series of military campaigns, the Qing Empire was forced to make several concessions, including opening further ports to foreign trade and a payment of an enormous sum of 21 million silver dollars as reparations.
The unequal treaties imposed upon the Qing court provoked increasing discontent among Chinese officials and people, leading to the outbreak of the Second Opium War in 1856. England and France launched three military campaigns in 1856,1858, and 1860. In the end, the weakened Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Tientsin, ceding even more land to foreign powers and allowing foreign traders even greater access to Chinese markets.
The result of the Opium Wars was disastrous for the Qing court and for the Chinese people. It marked the beginning of a “century of humiliation” for China, as the country was subjected to intervention from foreign powers until the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The Opium Wars had an immense impact on the history of China and still reverberates today in contemporary international relations.