Opium Wars

The Opium Wars, sometimes called the Anglo-Chinese Wars, were motivated by the European countries desire to make a profit through exploitation of their power over the technologically weaker Qing China. This self-interest is seen in the introduction and promotion of recreational opium to the Chinese by the British, and the Chinese governments opposition to such widespread abuse of its citizens. It is also seen in the compromises made between both China and Europe which forced Chinese to open up to more trade, as well as the crushing terms of surrender that the Qing government was forced to meet. Lastly, the fact that so many different nations invested themselves and their resources to a war which they were fairly detachted from as well as the rewards they gleaned from these expeditions.

The first and foremost piece of evidence that exemplifies how the true motivation of the opium wars was self interest on the behalf of the Europeans is the causes leading up to the war. Specifically, the promotion of recreational opium in China by the Europeans. Long before the Europeans came in contact with China, Chinese doctors were using opium for medicinal purposes, it was the British that began mixing opium and tobacco and promoting in China for recreational use. The first opium act banning the use of tobacco and opium mixed smoking was passed in 1729, when there were about 200 chests of opium being imported to China yearly. This particular edict was not very heavily enforced at ports or on citizens, because at the time, the opium usage was not viewed by the ruling ing as a severe enough issue. By about 1799, there was a newer, more strict edict banning it, because by this time, the annual import had risen to 4,500 chests per year. This number leaped exponentially further in the 1830s to about 40,000 chests per year. At this time, about 2 million Chinese citizens were severely addicted to opium. and purchased it habitually. All of these people suffered the detrimental effects of opium, including but not limited to sluggishness, nausea, breathing and heart complications, as well as uncontrolable seizures . The people suffering from these things became nothing but a burden upon society costing money to maintain, ultimately hurting the Chinese economy, and feeding into the British.

Another reason that makes the greed motivating these Opium wars apparent are the consequences enforced upon the losing side, China. One of the requirements of the Nanking Treaty was that China had to open up five ports exclusively to the British, that British citizens given the proper powers were allowed to directly give orders to Chinese officials. This put British traders in such a position of power that they trumped local officials and gained a lot of influence over trade. In addition to this local transfer of power, the Qing government had to pay out 21 million dollars worth of reparations to British merchants and the government for lost opium and resources. The Qing were also forced to release British prisoners, grant amnesty to citizens who aided the British, and they had to withdraw troops from Nanking which were to be replaced by British ones who would see that the treaty terms were met. This directly stopped the Qing from punishing disloyal citizens and prisoners, making them appear weak, and by forcing the Chinese to withdraw troops from their own land is furthering humiliation and defeat in the eyes of Chinese citizens. Finally, and most importantly the Qing government was forced to hand over their administrative city, Hong Kong, to British a a crown colony. This provided the British traders with a place to load their goods for sale to the Chinese people. This was to weaken the governing power of the Qing and re-establish British superiority over the Chinese.

The final piece of evidence involved in proving the Opium Wars were motivated by greed is the profits other countries gleaned and their involvement on the behalf of the British. The first country to begin interfering in Chinese trade and domestic affairs . It started the First Opium War when British began forcing their opium into China and smuggling it into ports, as well as attempting to make contact with officials, despite the prohibitions against it. This lead to unrest of the British and the initiation of the First Opium War. The Second Opium War was caused by Chinese retaliation to abuse of the rules set forth in the treaty of Nanking. In attempts to keep out foreign traders, the Qing inadvertently started a second war, this time, one that more countries had a stake in. Outside countries such as the United States, Russia, France, and Britain felt that their demands were being ignored by the government, and this lead to another series of treaties attempting to promote peace, but in actuality just forced the Chinese to further compromise their ports and open up to many more countries. The Qing government refused to agree to the terms set forth and this lead to a joint attack upon the by the French and British on the forts on the Hai River, which were successful, but all attempts at land invasion failed. The French-British cooperation continued under another campaign based out of Hong Kong that attacked from both land and water. These were extremely successful and the addition of naval victories brought the French-Anglo troops to the walls of Peking, which was looted and occupied by soldiers. This lead to another Chinese plea for peace in which they had to a ree to all terms. These entailed the continued occupation of the palace at Peking, 5 million ounces of silver to both France and Britain, and opened up trade to other foreign powers. These foreign powers, specifically France and Russia, set up and extorted terms set forth by Chinas surrender and effectively furthered their own economy all while circumventing Qing influence over trade.

In conclusion, the Opium Wars between China and Britain was mainly to further the economies of other countries and force China to open up to trade that was not necessarily of beneficial to China itself. This is seen in the catalyst for the wars, and the events leading up to them. The blatantly harsh reparations and terms of surrender forced upon the Chinese when they lost these wars, and the exploitation of the terms. And finally, the overall gain Britain and other countries experienced when they initiated and won the Opium Wars, which only served to force the Qing into a more open trade, benefiting the economy of outside countries while hurting the citizens of China.