First Opium War

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Template:History of Hong Kong The First Opium War or the First Anglo-Chinese War was fought between Great Britain and the Qing Empire in China from 1839 to 1842 with the aim of forcing China to import British opium. It is often seen as the beginning of European imperial hegemony towards China. The conflict began a long history of Chinese suspicion of Western society that still has remnants today.

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Background

During the 19th century, trading in goods from China was extremely lucrative for Europeans. In the case of Britain imports of tea incurred a substantial trade deficit. This necessitated the sale of commodities that would balance the deficit. Silver was one, to the extent that the drain on European specie metals was noticeably affecting the economy. In casting about for other possible commodities, the British soon discovered opium, and production of the commodity was subsidised in the Empire's Indian domains. Between 1821 and 1837 imports of the drug to China increased five-fold. The drug was produced in India under a British government monopoly (Bengal) or in the Princely states (Malwa) and was sold on condition it was shipped by British traders to China.

The Qing government attempted to end this trade on public health grounds, since numerous opium addicts were appearing in trading ports throughout China. The effort was initially successful, with the official in charge of the effort Lin Zexu, who wrote a letter to the Queen of Great Britain in an unsuccessful attempt to stop this illegal trade which had poisoned thousands of Chinese civilians. He eventually forced the British Chief Superintendent of Trade in China, Charles Elliott to hand over all remaining stocks of opium for destruction in May 1839.

However, in July 1839 rioting British sailors destroyed a temple near Kowloon and murdered a Chinese man Lin Weixi who tried to stop them. The British government and community in China wanted "extraterritoriality", which meant that British subjects would only be tried by British judges. When the Qing authorities demanded the guilty men be handed over for trial, the British refused. Six sailors were tried by the British authorities in Guangzhou (Canton), but as the court had no legal authority they were immediately released. Charles Elliott had been told by the British government that without authority from the Qing government he had no legal right to try anyone.


The Qing authorities also insisted that British merchants would not be allowed to trade unless they signed a bond promising not to smuggle opium, agree to follow Chinese laws, and acknowledging Qing legal jurisdiction. Refusing to hand over any suspects or agree to the bonds, Charles Elliot ordered the British community to withdraw from Guangzhou and prohibited trading with the Chinese. Preparing for war, they seized Hong Kong (then a minor outpost) as a base. In late October 1839 the Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Guangzhou. This was owned by Quakers who refused to deal in opium and the captain believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority in banning trade. In order to prevent other British ships following the Thomas Coutts Elliot ordered a blockade of the Pearl River. Fighting began on November 3, when a second British ship, the Royal Saxon, attempted to sail to Guangzhou. When Volage and Hyacinth fired a warning shot at the Royal Saxon the Qing navy attempted to protect the British merchant vessel. They were out-classed by the Royal Naval vessels, and many Chinese ships were sunk. The next year, the British captured the Bogue forts which guarded the mouth of the Pearl River --the waterway between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. By January 1841, their forces commanded the high ground around Guangzhou, then defeated the Chinese at Ningbo and the military post of Chinhai.

By the middle of 1842, the British had defeated the Chinese at the mouth of their other great trading river, the Yangtze, and had occupied Shanghai. Thousands of innocent civilan lives were lost under the advanced British weapon power. The Qing Dynasty government was proven its incapability of protecting China from the West. The First Opium War marks the beginning of the darkest period in China modern history. The war finally ended in August 1842, with the signing of the China's first Unequal Treaty, the Treaty of Nanjing. Gen. Sir Anthony Blaxland Stransham led the Royal Marines during the Opium War as a young officer, and as the 'Grand Old Man of the Army', was awarded two knighthoods by Queen Victoria.

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Settlement

The Treaty of Nanjing committed the Qing government to nominal tariffs on British goods as well as granting the right of extraterritoriality. Hong Kong Island was ceded to the UK, and the Treaty Ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou (Foochow), Shanghai, and Ningbo were opened to all traders. The Qing government was forced to pay reparations for the British opium and war costs. There was also a most-favoured nation clause, stating that whatever rights the Qing government were to grant to any nation, Britain would automatically be entitled to those rights.

Full text of the Treaty can be found here

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Legacy of the War

The ease with which the British forces had defeated the Chinese armies seriously affected the Qing Dynasty's prestige. This almost certainly contributed to the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1862). For the British, the success in First Opium War allowed them to resume the immoral trade of toxic opium to China. Also it paved the way for the opening up of the lucrative Chinese market and Chinese society for missionary purposes. The First Opium War was an immoral war which some historians feel was initiated by the British to gain the great profit from the trade of toxic opium. The British government still refuses to apologize to China. Instead this kind of invasion was encouraged and awarded by Queen Victoria in the following conflicts in China and the rest of Asia. It remains a major factor in Asian resentment towards Western countries today. This resentment was used by the Japanese to drive away Western countries from Southeast Asia in the World War II.

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See also

de:Erster Opiumkrieg fr:Première guerre de l'opium it:Prima guerra dell'oppio ja:阿片戦争 pl:Pierwsza wojna opiumowa fi:Ensimmäinen oopiumsota zh:第一次鸦片战争 he:מלחמת האופיום הראשונה

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