Opium War in China Sources
Background:
One of the key events in nineteenth-century history was the West’s forcing open of China. Like the Crusades many
centuries before…, when Europe attacked Islam, the confrontation of the West and China allows a comparison of
two societies’ reactions to a single event. Unlike the Crusades, however, this event involved a decisive Western
victory and a lasting impact on China because that society was on the losing end. The whole episode was a crucial
stage in expanding Western imperialism…
Since the rise of the West in the world trade in the fifteenth century, China had adopted a cautious policy, trading
actively but with careful supervision of contacts. The nation had no need for Western goods, and it distrusted these
aggressive barbarians. British requests for access to Chinese markets were rudely declines as late as 1796: China
could stand alone.
Two developments altered this situation by the 1830s. In the first place, China’s government was weakening, its
hold over its bureaucracy and its tax revenues both slipping. The desire to maintain a traditional policy of isolation
and rebuff remained, but the ability to implement it had declined.
More important was the greater strength of Britain and the West, thanks to early industrialization. The West had
more wealth, which created a greater appetite for Chinese luxury goods such as silk and porcelain…
It was still true that the West had little to offer China economically, for the great empire [China] had its own preindustrial manufacturing and elaborate internal trade. That is why the final ingredient to this unhappy puzzle
involved pressure to sell opium. All these elements drew together in the first (of two) opium wars in the late 1830s.
With a small military force, the British compelled the Chinese to back down; China began to be open to foreign
trade, though a second war was needed to confirm these results. The Opium War, in turn, was not only pivotal in
Chinese history, ushering in many decades of disarray and Western intervention. It also signaled the beginning of
the massive nineteenth-century explosion of European imperialism virtually worldwide.
Between 1839 and 1842, British forces, supplemented by other Western troops, successfully battled Chinese coastal
contingents over the right to import opium and more generally to trade freely in China. The war demonstrated that
the West could easily capture coastal cities. Chinese opposition to Western demands was based on its longstanding suspicion of foreigners (“barbarians”) and foreign trade, plus a key awareness of the effects of opium,
which had not been widely used before the late eighteenth century.
Document #1: Imperial Edict to the Grand Secretariat, June 5, 1842
This was written by the emperor himself, outlining an official policy of resistance.
On account of the widespread evil of opium in depraving the lives of our people, I issued edicts in a preceding year
commanding the various provinces strictly to prohibit the drug. The warning was repeated many times thereafter.
And since Canton is the port where the outer barbarians comes to trade, [a general] was specially delegated to go
there to examine the affairs. The barbarian merchants of all nations obeyed the restrictions imposed by the
Commissioner. The English barbarian rebel Elliot alone started disturbances on the pretext that our government
had destroyed their opium…
I am the ruler of all the people. If I should be content with peace for the time being, and not seek for the great and
the far, and let the evil of the opium go its way without any prohibition, that would mean that I am betraying my
ancestors who entrusted to me the care of the empire, and that I am unable to afford due protection to the lives of
my subjects. Thinking about these points, how can I rest without strictly prohibiting it, how dare I not strictly
prohibit it?
Although the barbarians are becoming daily more violent and rapacious, you commanders and governors,
occupying important posts of the government, should arouse your conscience and enforce the laws of prohibition
with vigor. Those who exert their energy will certainly receive rewards…
In a word, the prohibition of opium has its object in the saving of the lives of the people, while the defense against
the invaders has its object in the protection of the same. I am obsessed by these tasks all the time. You ministers of
the state must alike give united support to the cause, encouraging the troops to fight with persistence. Certainly it
will result in the extermination of the rebels, and the eradication of violence along the coast. By that time, all of us
can share with the people a universal peace.
Document #2: Britain: A View From a Participant
J. Elliot Bingham was a navy officer and the son of a clergyman… Bingham wrote his account right after the war,
seeking to glorify the British cause to an adoring public back home--though popular enthusiasm for
imperialism was not yet at the pitch it would attain a few decades later.
Now it might be supposed from the foregoing extracts, that the Chinese have been very ill-used, and that the
opium trade has been forced on them; but such was not at all the case. I must beg my readers to divest themselves
of such an idea; for be it remembered, while the Chinese statesmen pencil their highly moral edicts and memorials
with one hand against the admission of this poisonous drug, with the other they receive bribes and fees, levies for
the secret admission of this baneful enchantment. Nay, they themselves, in secret, revel in all the luxury of the
opium pipe; a luxury which, when once indulged in, it is almost impossible to shake off…
It will be our wisdom, however, to maintain the vantage ground which, through the blessing of the Almighty upon
our arms, we have acquired, as well as to embrace every opportunity of making them understand the real
character of the great nation they have to deal with; and in order to do this, we must treat them with firmness
combined with liberality. Let us hope that the way may thus be opened for enlightening their minds with the truths
of that Christianity which is the real basis of Britain’s glory…
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences based on the sources above.
1. Summarize the occasion (all necessary background information) for these two documents. You
may use bullet points as long as they are understandable.
●
One could argue that colonialism resulted in an unequal allocation of power among
European nations, defeating the Congress of Vienna's attempt to establish a balance of
power in Europe. The continent became more unstable as a result of tensions and wars
caused by some governments gaining greater resources and territories than others.
2. What is the subject of “Document 1: Imperial Edict to the Grand Secretariat, June 5, 1842”?
●
The colonization of Africa provided the resources and raw materials that fuelled the
Industrial Revolution in Europe, hence the maps of colonization in Africa and
industrialization are related. African labor and resources were used by European nations to
industrialize their economies and rise to global dominance.
3. What is the subject of “Document 2: Britain: A View From a Participant”?
●
Due to its huge colonial empire, which was fueled by its industrial and economic prowess
throughout the Industrial Revolution, the United Kingdom had the biggest land mass in
Africa. The UK was able to use African labor and resources to support its economy and keep
its position as the world's preeminent power.
4. How do the claims of each source differ? Is there a way for each side to reach a compromise?
Why or why not?
●
Belgian colonization of the Congo was severe, despite the country having the smallest
land area in Africa. This contributed significantly to Imperialism. Belgian King Leopold II
used the Congolese people and their resources for his own personal benefit, resulting in
great pain and death. This exploitation aided in the destabilization of the continent and
the race for Africa.