Chinese Opium War - Case Study Example

Opium War Two forces during the 19th century including western forces and the Qing dynasty fought the opium war whose occurrence was in two phases. The first cited to be from 1839 to 1842, and the second one, which is also the Arrow War happened from 1856 to 1860. Britain and the Qing dynasty of China fought the first war whereas during the 2nd war, France joined the Britain against China. From these two clash cases, the foreigners comprising the Britain and France both emerged as being victorious and in turn enjoyed various benefits like concessions in China that are both territorial and legal as well as commercial benefits. These disagreements marked the commencement of a period of unequal treaties. In the Chinese account, these unequal treaties involved any series of pacts whereby the foreign states coerced China to surrender many of its rights both territorial as well as sovereignty rights. These unequal treaties started when the armed conflict between china and Britain started during the first opium war. The opium wars entered China into a new platform with its relation between them and the West nations. The defeat in the war forced the China leaders to put down treaties and agreements, which opened ports for foreign trade. Under these treaties, there were proscriptions that were uplifted including the imposed restrictions under the Canton system. Opium was an illegal substance according to the prohibitions by the imperials but after the treaty, it became one of the common goods of trade and its consumptions were widespread as it went through all over the society (Perdue, 2011). This became possible because, before the Canton system minimized the number of traders who were in business with the foreigners, but with this treaty on the table, the foreigners would be able to access a larger number of traders and this in turn led to the widespread of the opium and other trade goods. Under these treaties were the diplomatic protections, which allowed Christian missionaries to invade many villages and in turn hostility was on the rise. This actually was not really trade, but it was more of the foreigners having uncontrolled trade of drugs in particular the Britain who catalyzed everything. The Qing dynasty came up with the Canton trade system so that they can regulate trade during the 18th century. In this system regulation, the west foreign traders had restriction, which prevented them from trading in Guangzhou. Through the maximum supervision of trading relations by the Qing officials, only businesspersons who had the license to trade had the permission to trade under the guidance of a monopoly guide. The western traders conducted their businesses through western companies, and they had a strong tie with the Chinese merchants. However, the trade grew and the British in particular asked for more access of market in China and the British got concerned on how china was taking much of their silver hence it would drain in short time. Therefore, they decided to find another alternative to match up the tea and porcelain and that is when they saw opium, which was in large amounts as the best candidate for trade. The British traders felt that the Canton system was a barrier for their trading business and they tried to convince the Qing regime for more access to trade centers and ports. This failure left the British with no choice other than using force so that they can have access to more orts in China (Perdue, 2011). The British introduced clipper ships in their fleet for transporting cargo between trading centers. They preferred these ships for they were faster, hence proved to be the most convenient way of smuggling the opium to China. These ships transported opium from Calcutta to Canton fast thus doubling the profits of the owners by making two sea trips every year. The opium trade was fast growing in China due to its high profits prompting the low class joining the venture besides other Chinese merchants cooperating with the foreigners in quest to facilitate smuggling process. Towards 1830s, a high percentage number of Chinese were into this business and its consumption including local, government, as well as low-level officials. Opium found its way into the Qing military forces and all courts alarmed its effects on the defense sector. The widespread business prompted the silver currency to losing its value in a staggering pace thus compelling courts advocate for stricter regulations on dealers and merchants. The emperor, Daoguang, was in support of this prohibition and in 1839 sent Lin Zexu to Canton for then he was an influential official (Perdue, 2011). The emperor chose him because of his dedication to work for the welfare of the people he governed besides his good reputation based on good works he did in the different provinces he ruled. The emperor made Zexu the Imperial Commissioner and he had every power at his disposal in the fight against opium and its trade in different Chinese provinces. Due to this, he came up with strategies and policies that were very methodical in destroying any equipment or source that supported drug trade and use. The British merchants started feeling the frustrations because of what the Chinese officials imposed on the new Chinese trade laws. This yielded to rebellions by refusing to cooperate with the officials since they had a routine of using torture. The special emperor’s envoy, Zexu, did a good job and had heavy repercussions on the merchants caught as well as their accomplices by confiscating the crates of opium and making numerous arrests. Despite attempts of negotiations to have an understanding by the British trade superintendents, Zexu was nonnegotiable. He even ordered for more capture of opium from factories controlled by foreigners and at the same time arresting all the foreign traders. He ordered the foreigners to surrender all the opium worth millions of dollars only for him to burn them in public and went further to close Canton port from any foreign trader. Trade Superintendent Charles Elliot, retaliated by ordering his side to block the Pearl River in quest to develop a naval battle, which eventually turned out to be victorious. In 1839, the Royal Navy managed to capsize many vessels owned by the Chinese regime near Canton (Perdue, 2011). All these led to the birth of the first opium war, which came about when Chinese regime tried to suppress foreign merchants from trading opium in their land, which caused serious addiction and in turn caused disruptions, both socially and economically. This rivalry and hostility rose highly when British sailors who were drunk killed a Chinese villager in a brawl and the British regime refused to turn them in so that the courts of China can prosecute them. By 1940, the British had sent and expeditionary unit into China and they settled in Hong Kong. The British fleet then advanced upwards to the estuary of Pearl River to Canton (Guangzhou). After staying there for months trying to come to a consensus with the Chinese regime for a mutual deal, which eventually failed, they attacked and took over the city by 1841. The British also captured Bogue forts at the mouth of Pearl River and had control of a higher ground above port of Canton. Eventually the British also managed to capture Chinhai by fighting their inferior and ill-equipped enemies with ease. Despite all these victories, the British regime saw this as too lenient and moderate. This led to the succession of Charles Elliot with Sir Henry Pottinger who opted for offensive battles against Tiajin and Ningbo. They also managed to control vast majority of regions that grew rice in S. China. During the following years, British fleet had battles that are more similar and they turned out to be successful against the Qing forces that were inferior when compared to their rivals, the British (Perdue, 2011). Despite a responding attack by the Chinese troops in 1842, the British managed to fight back and eventually captured Nanking and this put an ending to the fight. After the conclusion of 1st opium warfare and China lost to Britain, the Qing regime signed a forced treaty, the Nanking Treaty. Under the Nanking Treaty of 1842, China finally accepted to open up the five ports including, Amoy, Canton, Ningpo, Shanghai, and Foochow, which the British wanted to have access for their trading. In addition, this treaty also involved the abolishment of the Canton system, which previously had the control over every trade that occurred or went through Canton (Perdue, 2011). The main complete territorial acquisition in this treaty came about when the British had the right to live in Hong Kong for an indefinite period. During the 19th century, the five ports under the Nanking Treaty started to become the largest commercial places in China with Hong Kong and Shanghai being the leading ones. The British possession of Hong Kong did not impress many people but despite these unpromising speculations, it grew to become the major commercial town in China. Other than a few slight objections, the British regarded this first opium war as a massive victory for both the nation as well as for the notions of technological and commercial advancements. In 1844, the USA and France took advantage of British’s victory by forcing the Qing government to negotiate their own treaties, which in turn internationalized the region. These three treaties pushed China to start accepting other foreigners like doctors, missionaries, traders, and even travelers to expand their movements into the interior of China. In 1856, after the Nanking Treaty, China embarked to the second opium war with Britain only that this time France was backing up Britain in this war. During 1856, when the Qing government was in an involvement to curb the Taiping Rebellion the British on the other hand were seeking to enlarge their rights in trading within China. This was another major reason to renew their hostilities and fights. In October the same year, a few Chinese government officials were on board a ship registered to the British, Arrow when it was on dock in Canton they arrested many crewmembers of Chinese decent. They also lowered the British flag that was in the ship. Later in that month, British took their war ship to the estuary of Pearl River where they started bombing Canton. This led to more fights between the British and Chinese troops. This made trading to cease while the stalemate continued. In December, the Chinese government went ahead and burnt down all foreign factories as well as their warehouses that were in Canton and this made tension to intensify. As the British continued with their expeditions, the French also joined them in the war as allies. The French’s reason to help the British in their expedition was the murder of a French missionary in the interior parts of China in early 1856. The allies of the British troops began their operations in later time of 1857 because the British troops delayed while on their way to China because they had to make a stopover in India in order to contain the violence during Indian mutiny. The capture of Canton quick with easy and this led to the overthrowing of the stubborn governor of the city with whom the British replaced with a more cooperative governor. In April of 1858, the allied troops arrived in Tianjin while on board on British warships. The allies forced the Chinese government to enter into negotiations concerning trade and invasion of foreigners. In June of 1858, the Chinese government had no option but to sign the Tianjin Treaty, which sought to provide residence for foreigner envoys in Beijing. The treaty also involved foreigners having the right to travel anywhere in the interior parts of China, opening of new and more ports to facilitate residence and western trade, as well as Christian missionaries having freedom to move around without restrictions. After further negotiations and agreements, the two nations legalized importation of opium in China. In the summer of 1858, the British withdrew their presence from Tianjin but during June the following year returned when as they were enrooting to Beijing and signed other pacts. They received resistance from the Chinese citizens in the shores of Dagu at the mouth of Hai River. They sent the British back with a big number of casualties and the Chinese in turn refused to approve the treaties brought forward hence making the allies to restart their hostilities. During August of 1860, a substantial bigger fleet of warships where the French and British forces demolished the batteries of Dagu then proceeded upstream to Tianjin. In September the same year, they took Beijing under their control after which they looted and burned down the garden of Yuanming, which was the summer place for the Beijing emperor. Due to the defeats and losses incurred, the Chinese government had to sign the Beijing Convention whereby they agreed to observe the treaties signed in Tianjin as well as surrender the southern portion of Kowloon Peninsula, which is just adjacent to Hong Kong to the British. Despite the disadvantages and every other negative result brought about during the opium war, some positive effects became a long-term solution more so to the economy of China. The treaties signed during the wars became an opportunity for the opening of more ports in china hence enabling the Chinese government open to various foreign trades. References Perdue, Peter C. (2011). “The First Opium War: The Anglo-Chinese War of 1839-1842.” MIT Visualizing Cultures. Retrieved From Read More