Opium Wars
Opium war
From the 18th century Asia became a victim of European imperialism. By the 19th century Britain had acquired control over India and Burma and France controlled indo-china and the Dutch gained stronghold in Indonesia. By this time USA along with other European nations began paying serious attention towards eastward nations like china and Japan. Their aim was to open these Asian nations as a field for their economic expansion.
Predominant in trade between the western countries and china was the English east India Company. There existed several conflicts between the Chinese and British regarding Chinese attitude towards foreign trade, the monopolistic nature of the canton trade and the Qing dynasty’s legal, jurisdictional code. Tensions on both sides surfaced time and again and increased after 1770’s as British traders worried by the trade defects that forced them to offer hundreds of thousands of pounds of silver bullion in exchange for Chinese silk porcelain and teas. The stakes increased each year as passion for tea drinking grew both in Britain and America and by 1800 the company was buying over 23 million pounds of china tea at a cost o 3.6 million pounds. This was draining huge amounts from their pockets thus British started looking for a commodity which could be used in place of silver. This ultimately resulted in the trade of opium to china which slowly resulted in china becoming addicted to this drug to the extent that Chinese had to pay in silver for export of opium ad ultimately leading to Anglo Sino or the opium war.
In the initial phase canton trade was tilted in china’s favor, as imports were negligible and its exports were extensive and in huge demand especially the silk and tea. The growing demand in Europe and America for Chinese tea, porcelain, silk and decorative goods was not matched by any of Chinese demands for western exports like cotton, fur, tin, woolen goods and other mechanical curiosities. The result was a serious
From the 18th century Asia became a victim of European imperialism. By the 19th century Britain had acquired control over India and Burma and France controlled indo-china and the Dutch gained stronghold in Indonesia. By this time USA along with other European nations began paying serious attention towards eastward nations like china and Japan. Their aim was to open these Asian nations as a field for their economic expansion.
Predominant in trade between the western countries and china was the English east India Company. There existed several conflicts between the Chinese and British regarding Chinese attitude towards foreign trade, the monopolistic nature of the canton trade and the Qing dynasty’s legal, jurisdictional code. Tensions on both sides surfaced time and again and increased after 1770’s as British traders worried by the trade defects that forced them to offer hundreds of thousands of pounds of silver bullion in exchange for Chinese silk porcelain and teas. The stakes increased each year as passion for tea drinking grew both in Britain and America and by 1800 the company was buying over 23 million pounds of china tea at a cost o 3.6 million pounds. This was draining huge amounts from their pockets thus British started looking for a commodity which could be used in place of silver. This ultimately resulted in the trade of opium to china which slowly resulted in china becoming addicted to this drug to the extent that Chinese had to pay in silver for export of opium ad ultimately leading to Anglo Sino or the opium war.
In the initial phase canton trade was tilted in china’s favor, as imports were negligible and its exports were extensive and in huge demand especially the silk and tea. The growing demand in Europe and America for Chinese tea, porcelain, silk and decorative goods was not matched by any of Chinese demands for western exports like cotton, fur, tin, woolen goods and other mechanical curiosities. The result was a serious