The first opium war arose from qing emperor daoguang min sus decision to put an end to the opium trade, a hugely profitable commerce through which the british sought to recapture the silver they spent on chinese goods by smuggling in the drug from india and encouraging widespread addiction among the. The winner of the 1997 golden rooster and 1998 hundred flowers awards for best picture, the film was screened in several international film festivals, notably cannes and montreal. The illegal opium trade was a mere incident to the dispute. Instead, it argues that the war was started by a group of british merchants in the chinese port of canton in the 1830s, known. Opium addiction destroyed lives, and the drain of silver was causing fiscal problems for the qing government. Macdonald fraser, and amitav ghosh, all of which focus on the opium wars, and. The british went to war because of chinese military threats to defenseless british. According to reports issued by the official movie zodiac on weibo, chinese zodiac had a record breaking opening day in china, with a box office of 43. Opium war game online opium war game chineses opium. The two opium wars 18401842 and 18561860 prompted the qing. On the one hand, the chinese perspective on the cause of the war is about britains immoral poisoning of china with opium from smuggling, while on the other hand britain holds the view that the war was as a result of chinese. The opium wars in the mid19th century were a critical juncture in modern chinese history. Narcotic culture had many interesting points and ideas, however there are three emphasized topics that come to mind.
Part of the opium wars history of china humans have lived in. Desperately short of funds, french intelligence and paramilitary agencies took over the opium traffic in order to finance their. Introductionthe opium wars, also known as the anglochinese wars, divided intothe first opium war from 1839 to 1842 and the second opium war from1856 to 1860 between china under the qing dynasty and the britishempire. The british wage two wars on china to have better access to chinese markets, especially to sell opium grown in british india. The second opium war was fought from october 23, 1856, to october 18, 1860, and was also known as the arrow war or the second anglochinese war, although france joined in. The opium war was a war fought by two countries great britain and china in 1839. This opium war game is based around the trade the british made buying up opium from india, transporting it to china, then using the monies made to buy up much wanted goods such as silk to take back to britain. Opium wars article about opium wars by the free dictionary. The opium war lost in compensation l history of china duration. The first third of the book looks at the spread of all substances and opium before the war, the war on opium, as well as the consumption and uses of opium following the war. Opium wars definition, a war between great britain and china that began in 1839 as a conflict over the opium trade and ended in 1842 with the chinese cession of hong kong to the british, the opening of five chinese ports to foreign merchants, and the grant of other commercial and diplomatic privileges in the treaty of nanking. The opium war overview, links to primary sources and other sites harvard law school china.
They reported on the opium wars and the taiping rebellion. Some five thousand people were killed in the war last year, including a hundred and ninetyone foreign troops and at least a thousand civilians. The opium war, now at the kb janus, turns out to be a relic as well as curiosity. The opium crisis had become as much of an irritant to china as the refusal of equal status was to britain pelissier, 1967. The 184042 anglochinese war the socalled opium war is almost universally believed to have been triggered by british imperial rapacity and determination to sell more and more opium into china. The war was fought over the drug opium which was used by the chinese for hundreds of year to relieve pain. Treaty of nanking first of the series of unequal treaties the treaty offered only compensation from china to britain and nothing in return the conditions were. Opium wars synonyms, opium wars pronunciation, opium wars translation, english dictionary definition of opium wars. Mismanagement in the aftermath of the british east india companys loss of its monopoly in 1834 abstract the histories of the opium war, of which there are many, have posited that the roots of the conflict are diverse and interconnected, ranging from cultural differences to conflicting perspectives on trade. Significant causes of the opium war professor essays.
Treasures with a troubled past a section of the ruins of the old summer palace as they stand today captain, later colonel, harry lewis evans, a picture dated 1857, three years before the culmination of the second. The first opium war 183942 was fought between china and britain, and the second opium war 185660, also known as the arrow war or the anglofrench war in china, was fought by britain and france against china. The opium wars were two wars which were waged between the great qing and the british government in the mid19th century, triggered by the british governments imposition of the opium trade upon china. The resulting concession of hong kong compromised chinas territorial sovereignty. Leading people involved was qing emperor, lin zexu, captain elliot and queen victoria.
Opium wars definition of opium wars by the free dictionary. Canton system which restricted trade to one port and did not allowforeign entrance to china, the british east india company faced a. Approximately 2,900 western troops were killed or wounded. Harms caused by chinas 190617 opium suppression intervention. All the questions on this quiz are based on information that can be found on the page at ancient china opium wars. The opium wars, opium legalization and opium consumption. James polacheks revisionist analysis exposes the behindthescenes political struggles that not only shaped foreignpolicy decisions in the 1830s and 1840s but have continued to affect the history of chinese nationalism in modern times. The opium war through chinese eyes the arthur waley.
K4, n4 abstract the effect of drug prohibition on drug consumption is a critical issue in debates over drug policy. The opium wars, opium legalization, and opium consumption in china jeffrey a. The british sent 42 warships from their outposts in india, beginning the first opium war 18391842. Opium war article about opium war by the free dictionary. The immediate issue was chinese official seizure of opium stocks at canton to stop the banned opium trade, and threatening the death penalty for future. Merchants of war and peace challenges conventional arguments that the major driving forces of the first opium war were the infamous opium smuggling trade, the defense of british national honor, and cultural conflicts between progressive britain and backward china. In the late 1700s the british was smuggling the drug into china for nonmedical use. In 1838, china began seizing opium stores, so britain opted for the only logical response when ones illegal drug trade is halted. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. The first opium war was fought between china and great britain from 1839 to 1942. Why did defeat in the opium war not lead ching china to a more realistic appreciation of western might and chinese weakness. The clashes included the first opium war 18391842, with the british naval forces, and the second opium war. The opium wars, opium legalization and opium consumption in china.
Opium war synonyms, opium war pronunciation, opium war translation, english dictionary definition of opium war. This massive increase in opium smuggling into china became a recipe for war. With peter bussian, joe suba, fawad samani, jawanmard paiez. Two american soldiers wounded in the afghanistan desert stumble across a russian tank which has a group of afghanis living inside.
War ad 18391842 and second opium war ad 18561860 with great britain. The first opium war overview, image, and prmary document joseph v. Opium before the war, the war on drugs, and the aftermath. For a number of years the british experimented with a var. Opium wars definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Opium espionage and operation x the french colonial governments campaign gradually to eliminate opium addiction, which began in 1946 with the abolition of the opium monopoly, never had a chance of success. The opium wars, opium legalization and opium consumption in china the harvard community has made this article openly available. The second opium war also known as the second anglochinese war, the second china war. Summer wars part 1 pdf summer wars part 1 download tue, 09 jan 2018 18. The opium war yapian zhanzheng, directed by 74yearold chinese director xie jin, was released in beijing on july 1, 1997, set to coincide with the transfer of hong kong from britain back to china. Well you know what they say, if anyone can do it, jackie can and he certainly as done it again. Xie jin described the film as a special gift for the motherland and the people.
The opium war was a conflict between britain and china. November 3, 1839 fighting began when a british ship, the royal saxon, attempted to sail to canton. Opium wars, two armed conflicts in china in the mid19th century between the forces of western countries and of the qing dynasty, which ruled china from 1644 to 191112. Opium war definition of opium war by the free dictionary. The war was the second opium war, which culminated in 1860 with the palaces being ransacked, first by french and then british troops. Using chinese sources, occasionally adding clarifications from elsewhere, he has achieved a delightful, wistful, plaintive, penetrative and endlessly readable slim volume that finally enables the nonchinese language reader to enter into what really motivated officials and simple, if middle class, chinese people in the opium war the seemingly. As in the iraq war, private companies played a huge part in the opium war, the supply chain was subcontracted out to merchants, and there was.
The term opium wars refers to two infamous imperialist wars that britain fought. The second opium war 18561860, led by an anglofrench coalition, ended in further ignominy for the chinese. This essay aims to discuss the significant causes of the opium war over which there has been much controversy. Lin zexu appointed in 1838 to stamp out opium trade zexu destroyed stocks of opium in china. This volume translates and places in the appropriate historical context a number of private documents, such as diaries, autobiographies and confessions, which explain what the opium war felt like on the chinese side. Chinas foreign journalists from opium wars to mao paul french. For webquest or practice, print a copy of this quiz at ancient china opium wars webquest print page. The film tells the story of the first opium war of 18391842, which was fought between the qing empire of china and the british. Indian soldiers, policemen and watchmen in china in the. Beijings famed old summer palace was gutted as a reprisal for the torture of a british mediation team. Evidently the first communist chinese dramatic feature to receive regular arthouse distribution in this. Much of the first opium war took place in and around xiangshan.