Britain Went to War to Force China to Allow the Importation of British Opium
In the mid-18th century, the British East India Company began growing opium, from which heroin is refined, and shipping it to China for a hefty profit. The drug was illegal in China, but the British used a variety of trading loopholes, and outright smuggling, to get around that. Opium is quite addictive, and as Chinese consumption (and British profits) skyrocketed, China faced a steadily worsening addiction epidemic that caused widespread social and economic disruption.
As the British kept flooding their country with tons of opium, Chinese authorities finally began taking serious measures to stem the damage. In 1839, a Chinese drug czar was appointed, and he set to work with a will. 1700 dealers were arrested, and over 1400 tons of opium sitting in warehouses were seized and destroyed. Most of that opium belonged to British merchants, however, and they appealed to their government.
The British government demanded compensation from the Chinese government, and sent a military force to China to back those demands. It arrived in Hong Kong in June of 1840, then sailed up the Pearl River estuary to Canton. After months of fruitless negotiations, the British expeditionary force successfully attacked and seized Canton in May of 1841.
Chinese armies were still using weapons and tactics dating to the Middle Ages. They proved no match for the disciplined and modern British forces, armed with the latest firearms and artillery. Despite a determined Chinese counterattack, the British easily held on to Canton, then advanced further into China and seized Nanking in August of 1842. That drove home China’s military inferiority, and put an end to the fighting.
Peace negotiations concluded in the Treaty of Nanking. By its terms, the Chinese were made to pay a huge indemnity, and cede Hong Kong to the British. The number of “Treaty Ports” where the British could trade and reside was also increased from one to five. In addition, British citizens were granted extraterritoriality, or the right to be tried by British courts, instead of Chinese ones, for offenses committed in China.
