Opium War

• China was seen as a lucrative market for British goods, particularly tea, silk, and porcelain. However, China implemented the Canton System, which restricted foreign trade to the port of Canton (now Guangzhou) and placed numerous restrictions on foreign merchants.
• The British started trading opium, and China started to become very addicted to it. Money started flowing out of China to pay for the opium. The Chinese started to object, but the British refused as the opium trade was very profitable for them
• The first Opium War concluded in 1842 when, Chinese officials signed the Treaty of Nanking
• Among the treaty terms were:

  • British citizens have freedom to trade in Canton, Amoy, Fuchow, Ningpo, and Shanghai
  • Great Britain now owns the Chinese island of Hong Kong
  • China’s government must pay Great Britain’s government twenty one million silver dollars
  • China cannot punish anyone for trading with British citizens
  • British goods cannot have a high import tax on them. The British government gets to decide how British goods are taxed in China
• This treaty granted significant advantages to the British, which included:

  • The acquisition of Hong Kong
  • The establishment of five new Chinese treaty ports at Guangzhou (Canton), Shanghai, Xiamen (Amoy), Ningbo, and Fuzhou. These ports allowed British merchants and their families to reside and conduct business.