CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE
SECOND OPIUM WAR
Lexus Walton
History 110 – 04
April 9, 2015
Lexus Walton
HIST 110 – 04
April 3, 2015
Second Opium War
The second Opium War exposed the true vulnerability of China to the rest of the world.
The defiance of China and the Qing’s government in obeying the treaty led to a second Opium
War and only resulted in disappointment for China. The most consequential effect of the war for
China was how badly the government and military had weakened.
In conclusion of the first Opium War, China surrendered to the British in 1841 and then
reluctantly signed the Treaty of Nanking the following year which officially ended the first
Opium War.1 The treaty assured the Westerners that trade would be granted and there would be
no problem in access. Although the treaty was signed, nothing changed for China. The opium
trade increased and the government could do very little about it considering the outcome of the
first Opium War.
The treaty China signed entailed that they were to open the “treaty ports” for trade with
Western countries such as the France and Britain. The ports: Canton, Shanghai, Ningbo, Amoy,
and Fuzhou were where foreign merchants and consuls had permission to reside and work freely
there. The British colonies that were a result of the first Opium War such as Hong Kong and
Singapore, granted opium smugglers to gain British passports easily. 2 China did not follow
through with what they promised in the treaty and therefore led to the Second Opium War.
1
History.com Staff, “December 19, 1984: Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China,” History.com, A & E
Networks, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/britain-agrees-to-return-hong-kong-to-china/print.
2
Jean Chesneaux, Arianne Bastid, and Marie-Claire Bergere, China from the Opium Wars to the 1911 Revolution
(New York: Pantheon Books, 1976)
The event that also led to the beginning of a Second Opium War was the Arrow incident.
“On October 8, 1856, Chinese officials boarded the Arrow, a ship owned by a Chinese merchant
but registered in Hong Kong as a British vessel.”3 The crew repeatedly expressed that the vessel
had been registered in Hong Kong. The Chinese then arrested the crew of the vessel and charged
them all with piracy. As it turns out, the registration had expired a week earlier so it technically
wasn’t a British ship.4 This event directly sparked the war.
Once the war was fought and the end was drawing near, two more treaties were signed.
They were endorsed in Tientsin and Peking from the years 1858 to 1860. In signing the treaties,
this depicted as a much worse loss for China than the First Opium war. With this treaty in place,
quite a few more ports were unlocked, in fact, eleven ports was the final number. Many
conditions were included in these treaties.
“Western vessels were allowed access to certain inland waterways, and western
missionaries and merchants were granted the right to travel about the country and to buy land.”5
Along with those conditions, foreign goods such as tea and silk were spared from the transit tax
and were permitted to be distributed throughout the entire country. Another big thing that was a
result of the treaty was that opium trade was finally made legal. With all of these changes,
China’s foreign policy was permanently affected by their association with the Western nations.
There were many lasting effects of the two Opium Wars, some that can still be seen
today. With the change in the foreign trade and opening the ports, the Spanish silver dollar
became scarce as a result of the speedy increase in trade. The currency enhanced so much and so
3
“Second Opium War,” Research Starters (Longwood University); available from
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.longwood.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=35a83260-9d0d-4030-84e3e586015a49c4@sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=ers
&AN=89160890; Internet; accessed March 7, 2015.
4
Chesneaux, Bastid, and Bergere, China from the Opium Wars to the 1911 Revolution
5
Ibid.
quickly that Canton decided to prohibit the Spanish silver dollar as a form of money and
therefore initiated the Mexican dollar. Along with the shortage of one form of currency in
Canton, the Chinese copper quickly decreased its worth as a result of a weak government and a
deficit in copper. China’s monetary organization was completely ruined and resulted in the
government introducing paper money.
The world view of China being one of the most superior nations in the world quickly
disappeared. Mostly because of the reason that the British basically forced them to sign the treaty
with warfare. China could not handle any more of the warfare because the military and
government had been proven to be so weak.
As for the goods industries such as silk and tea, they prospered. While others
didn’t make as much money. Agriculture farmers switch from growing food to eat to tea and silk.
As a result of this, the price of food soared. Jobs were lost for men who worked on the boats to
transport goods back and forth from the city of Canton and also for workers who made textiles.
This was because of the machinery that was producing the textiles. Hand-making the textiles in
China was much more expensive than the machine made textiles in the western part of the world.
The few fabric industries that did decide to stay in business were forced to lower the price of
their goods to stay in competition. In turn, the life for the textile workers became very hard. With
the prices of food going through the roof and many workers losing their jobs, poverty quickly
advanced throughout China.
Another lasting effect of the wars was the cost. All of the costs for the war and the
amends that were paid to the foreign countries fell on the farmers.6 Farmers were in no place to
6
Li Chien-Nung, Ssu-yu Teng, and Jeremy Ingalls, The Political History of China 1840-1928 (Princeton: D. Van
Nostrand Co., Inc., 1956) 39.
be able to take on the high costs as a result of the war, especially with the unemployment level so
high in China.
Once the wars were over, China came to the realization that they could no longer
be on their own. Scholars tried their hardest to understand the culture in the west, mostly because
they wanted to learn how to bring them to their knees. A few Chinese by the names of Lin Zexu,
Xu Ji-yu, and Wei Yuan interpreted and transcribed materials from the western part of the world
and decided to share the information they had learned with the rest of the country. These few
Chinese men quickly published books on the western countries and the way of life. They learned
everything they needed to know: governmental concepts, hierarchies, and the economy.7
Although there weren’t nearly as many causes of the war as there were consequences of
it, it definitely gave China a run for their money. They seemed to think that they were the best
and most superior country. The West used every opportunity they could to prove their strength
whether it was in warfare or in the foreign good industries. China’s policies were permanently
changed and resulted in many negative effects for the entire country.
7
“Lasting Effects of the Opium Wars”, China During the Opium Wars (Mount Holyoke College); available from
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~goldf20s/politics116/main.html; Internet; accessed April 6, 2015.
Notes
1.
History.com Staff, “December 19, 1984: Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to
China,” History.com, A & E Networks, http://www.history.com/this-day-inhistory/britain-agrees-to-return-hong-kong-to-china/print.
2.
Jean Chesneaux, Arianne Bastid, and Marie-Claire Bergere, China from the Opium
Wars to the 1911 Revolution (New York: Pantheon Books, 1976)
3.
“Second Opium War,” Research Starters (Longwood University); available from
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.longwood.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=35a83260-9d0d4030-84e3e586015a49c4@sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU
mc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=ers&AN=89160890; Internet; accessed March 7, 2015.
4.
Chesneaux, Bastid, and Bergere, China from the Opium Wars to the 1911 Revolution
5.
Ibid.
6.
Li Chien-Nung, Ssu-yu Teng, and Jeremy Ingalls, The Political History of China
1840-1928 (Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 1956) 39.
7.
“Lasting Effects of the Opium Wars”, China During the Opium Wars (Mount Holyoke
College); available from https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~goldf20s/politics116/main.html;
Internet; accessed April 6, 2015.
Bibliography
Chesneaux, Jean, Bastid Marianne, and Marie-Claire Begere. China from the Opium
Wars to the 191 Revolution. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976.
History.com Staff, “December 19, 1984: Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China,”
History.com, A &
E Networks, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/britain-agrees-toreturn-hong-kong-to- china/print.
“Lasting Effects of the Opium Wars”, China During the Opium Wars (Mount Holyoke
College); available from https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~goldf20s/politics116/main.html; Internet;
accessed April 6, 2015.
Li Chien-Nung, Ssu-yu Teng, and Jeremy Ingalls, The Political History of China 18401928 (Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 1956) 39.
“Second Opium War,” Research Starters (Longwood University); available from
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.longwood.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=35a83260-9d0d-403084e3e586015a49c4@sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2Nvc
GU9c2l0ZQ==#db=ers&AN=89160890; Internet; accessed March 7, 2015.