European Imperialism in China in the 19th Century - Essay Example

Tension further arose between China and the British because China would accept only silver from the British. Opium addiction was also the main and direct cause of the wars. During this time, opium addiction was an epidemic for the people of China. The British took this advantage of the high demand and began illegal exportation of opium which angered the Chinese.

Furthermore, the trade was considered disrespectful to the emperor and was in violation of Chinese law. The tension then built more, and none of the countries was willing to compromise. All was as a result of China spoiling trade for the British, and they engaged in the war to show their frustration. The consequences of the Treaty of Nanjing were more like the impact of the Opium War itself since the Treaty was a result of the Opium War. In the treaty, the British as a country were given Hong Kong free access to five ports.

The ratification humiliated China, and their demand was never considered. According to the ratification “…. The Emperor of China agrees to abolish that practice in future at all Ports where British Merchants’’ (Article V). This was more like a humiliation as apart from the port accusation China was compelled to pay a huge sum of fine. In these five ports, the British Nationals had the right of extraterritoriality. This is to say, they were not subject to the laws of China. In the immediate resolution, these were not all that significant.

Moreover, they represented the start of a series of humiliating episodes in where the Chinese were forced to open up more to the West. The treaty, for instance, has been considered significant in modern-day Sino-foreign relations (Wang, 2005). There are various historical lessons that one can learn from the opium war. The war is important as it humiliated the Chinese. Chinese still considered themselves a successful and powerful empire at this time so this was more than a surprise. The war was a clear example that the Chinese could be pushed up and down by distant foreign powers. “ …..

China becomes more open to the West” according to one of the speakers at Melvyn Bragg discussion of Opium Wars. One can agree that despite the many years of aggression after the war, China was more open to the western world more than before. The final historical lesson from the war is that despite the British having their way, they developed a more human rights approach to solving their later conflict as opposed to the aggressive approach they previously preferred.