Name: ___________________________________________ Date: _________________ Period: ____________
Westerners were especially irritated by the high custom duties (taxes) the
Chinese forced them to pay and by the attempts of Chinese authorities to stop
the growing import trade in opium. The drug had long been used to stop
diarrhea, but in the seventeenth and eighteenth century people in all classes
began to use it recreationally. Most opium came from Turkey or India, and in
1800 its import was forbidden by the imperial government. Despite this
restriction, the opium trade continued to flourish. Privately owned vessels of
many countries, including the United States, made huge profits from the
growing number of Chinese addicts. The government in Peking noted that the
foreigners seemed intent on dragging down the Chinese through the
encouragement of opium addiction. When the Chinese insisted that
Westerners pay all debts in the form of silver (which the westerners
found increasingly more scarce), the Western nations had to find
something they could sell to the Chinese in order to flip the balance
of trade in their favor. The Chinese would buy the Opium from the
British with silver and the British would turn around and use that silver to buy products it wanted.
When the balance of trade turned against the Chinese in the 1830s, the British decided to force the
issue of increased trade rights. The point of conflict was the opium trade. By the late 1830s more
than 30,000 chests, each of which held about 150 pounds of opium, were being brought in annually by the
various foreign powers. In the spring of 1839 Chinese authorities at Canton confiscated and burned the illegal
opium (which by that time had been declared illegal in both Britain and China). In response, the British
occupied positions around Canton and prepared for war.
The Chinese could not match the technological and tactical superiority
of the British forces. In 1842 China agreed to the provisions of the
Treaty of Nanking. Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain, and other
ports, including Canton, were opened to British residence and trade.
This illustrates the concept of Imperialism we have been discussing.
Now that the British officially had a residence in China they would be
able to control the Chinese government.
The French and Americans approached the Chinese after the Treaty of
Nanking's provisions became known, and in 1844 gained the same
trading rights as the British. The advantages granted to the three
nations set a precedent that would dominate China's relations with the world for the next century. The "most
favored nation" treatment came to be extended so far
that China's right to rule in its own territory was
limited. This began the period referred to by the
Chinese as the time of unequal treaties - a time of
unprecedented poverty for China. These unequal
treaties humiliated China and the opium trade
continued to thrive.
The British and French again defeated China in a
second opium war in 1856. By the terms of the Treaty
of Tientsin (1858) the Chinese opened new ports to
trading and allowed foreigners with passports to travel
in the interior. Christians gained the right to spread
their faith and hold property, thus opening up another
means of western penetration. The treaty also gave the British and French extraterritoriality or diplomatic
immunity, meaning the British and French were considered to be on their homeland whenever they were
traveling or living in China. British and French citizens were not allowed to be tried in Chinese courts for their
crimes because of their extraterritoriality; they instead had to be transported back to their home country by their
fellow countryman. Once, they made it back to their homeland, the Chinese witnesses were not present to testify
against the foreigners and many people got away with their crimes or received little punishment. The United
States and Russia used the threat of their military to gain the same privileges in separate treaties shortly after.
1) Why did westerners introduce Opium to China even though it was illegal in Great Britain?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2) What event was the catalyst (start) for the British attack on China?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3) What was the name of the treaty that ended the First Opium War?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
4) Which territory was ceded (given) to the British after the First Opium War?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5) What did China call the treaties it was forced to sign with the Western Powers?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
6) Why could a British subject get away with crimes in China after the Second Opium War?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
7) Explain the concept of Extraterritoriality.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
8) Consider this chart published in 2004 illustrating
the UN’s urging for the US to help stop the opium
trade. How does this starkly contrast to the US’s
policy regarding China during the Opium Wars?
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
1) Why did westerners introduce Opium to China even though it was illegal in Great Britain?
_________________The Chinese insisted that all trade be done in Silver and Western
Nations had very little silver as their currency was based on Gold. They sold opium in
order to get silver to trade with the Chinese._____________________________________
2) What event was the catalyst (start) for the British attack on China?
_____ In the spring of 1839 Chinese authorities at Canton confiscated and burned the
illegal opium the British had been selling there. Then Britain declared war. ________
3) What was the name of the treaty that ended the First Opium War?
_______________ The Treaty of Nanking ended the war. ___________________________
4) Which territory was ceded (given) to the British after the First Opium War?
_______ Hong Kong was given to Britain as part of the treaty that ended the war. ____
5) What did China call the treaties it was forced to sign with the Western Powers?
________ The Chinese called the treaties the “Unequal Treaties”. ___________________
6) Why could a British subject get away with crimes in China after the Second Opium War?
_____ The British were granted “extraterritoriality”, which meant that they could not
be tried for crimes they committed while in China. If arrested for a crime they could
only be deported and by the time that they were put on trial in Britain, most of the
cases were dropped or the defendants were barely punished as witnesses and
accusers rarely made the trip to Britain to be a part of the trial. ___________________
7) Explain the concept of Extraterritoriality.
______________ Diplomatic immunity, meaning the British and French were
considered to be on their homeland whenever they were traveling or living in China.
British and French citizens were not allowed to be tried in Chinese courts for their
crimes because of their extraterritoriality; they instead had to be transported back to
their home country by their fellow countryman.___________________________________
8) Consider this chart published in 2004 illustrating the UN’s urging for the US to help stop the opium trade.
How does this starkly contrast to the US’s policy regarding China during the Opium Wars?
__It is a complete reversal of policy as the USA
used to encourage the sale of Opium and now
we are actively fighting against it. __________
________________________________________
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