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Should The United States Demand For Opium In China

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Recommended: Effects on china due to the opium war

The Chinese were first introduced to opium, a drug cultivated from poppy flowers, in the 7th century by Arabian or Turkish traders. It was used medicinally to relieve pain and other minor medical problems up until it was discovered that by mixing opium with tobacco, it could be ingested recreationally. As more Chinese citizens became addicted to opium, the demand increased which created so many problems that the Emperor prohibited the sale of opium in China. Because opium not being delivered to China by any other empire, because of the strict bans, the British East India Company saw an opportunity that could be exploited. Prior to the high demand for opium, Britain had unequal trade with China because the British demand for porcelain and other Chinese goods more than the Chinese wanted anything being exported from Britain. …show more content…

British traders would trade the opium with local traders who traded only between India and China, who would then smuggle the opium through the Chinese border. So much opium was being smuggled into China that it became a problem that could not be ignored by the Chinese Government. The Qing dynasty fought two wars over the trade of opium, called the first and second Opium Wars. The goal of both wars was on China’s end, to end the trade of opium in China, while the goal of the British was to force opium into the country so that trade would be equal among the countries. China lost both of the Opium Wars, but was ultimately able to eradicate the trade and use of Opium when the communist party came to

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In document 4 Ralph Fitch, a British merchant, is trying to join in on the trade and for the British government to join to be able to obtain more money. They see how the Portuguese is making money and the trade and profits being made between them and China and believe they should join the trade to earn some of the profit. A similar situation goes on in document 7 He Qiaoyuan, a Ming dynasty court official, he try's to convince the emperor to repeal the on foreign trade. He tells the emperor how Chinese merchants are trading there goods for profit and that they could be the ones making the profit instead of others. But in document 8 there was a conflict going, Charles D' Avenant, an English scholar, tells about the restricting Indian textiles.

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Struggling to maintain social order and strength, the Qing Dynasty placed restrictions on opium trade; however, this backfired, provoking retaliation from British traders and leading to a war that would create the Unequal Treaties. The detrimental socio economic effects opium had on China were beginning to surface during the late 1830’s, causing an influx of smokers and a decline in bullion. Although China’s economy suffered, this was the most viable foreign trade option for the British. There was low demand for the cotton the British offered to China, but the increased profits from opium would do more than compensate. Thus, British merchants took various measures to circumvent China’s policies to stop the illicit trade and managed to find

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Britain’s forced introduction of opium in 1825 in China had devastating effects on its population and economy. The people of China express their just displeasure with the British people and its monarchy in documents 1, 2, and 9. In Document 1, a Chinese emperor is addressing the King George of England in 1793 in a letter.

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In Africa, punishment was purposely done by mutilating the hands of slaves who were unable to extracted the desired amount of raw material (rubber) as seen in document 6 where Edmund Morel states, “... Congo State troops were in the habit of cutting off the hands of men, women, and children in connection with the rubber traffic…” Despite being European, Edmund Morel was clearly against imperialism in Africa which shows the extent of the atrocities committed there to the Africans. Asia, specifically the Chinese, on the other hand suffered unintentionally as a result of opium exported to China by Britain which was damaging the society by making many addicted leading to Lin Zexu taking action as seen in document 5 where he essentially begs Queen Vitoria to stop opium exports and questions her about European morals on trading harmful substances just to make a profit. Lin Zexu was a powerful scholar official who played a major role in the outbreak of the Opium Wars which China lost leading to the Treaty of Nanking.

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Ultimately, problems from the use of drugs caused Congress to get involved, even when the states discouraged their involvement. Multitudes of laws have been enacted to combat the drug problem in the United States. By the second decade of the twentieth century, calls for expanded drug regulation were prompted in part due to a growing prejudice against minority groups in America that were involved in drug abuse. The Harrison Act of 1914 can be traced back to an issue with the foreign trade. In addition, many Americans disliked the Chinese and their habit of smoking opium, simultaneously, the United States government wanted to open up trade with China.

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Unfortunately, this thinking prevented the Chinese from learning from western technology and science. As a result the West was able to easily defeat the Qing in key battles such as the Opium War in 1839 to 1841. In contrast to the Ottomans, the Qing was unable to compromise with the West and Europe forced its way into China. However, both societies were influenced by Western methods, despite attempts to restore traditional ideology and campaigns by both Chinese

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THE OPIUM WARS And its Affect on America The Dream of Trade Throughout the 19th century, Americans dreamed of exploiting China 's market. Especially after the United States expanded to the West Coast, prospects for a lucrative and expanding Far Eastern trade energized U.S. merchants and manufacturers. However China 's imperial government took steps to discourage international trade. When U.S. merchant ships first began arriving in the Far East in the 1780s, they were restricted to trading only through Hong Kong, on the South Coast of China. That restriction persisted for another half century, preventing the China trade from rising above a minute percent of U.S. global commerce.

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What we interpret from the text is that the law has little to do with the dangers associated with illicit (opium) drug usage? Additionally, people use other drugs, alcohol and tobacco (that are a hazard to health too), both privately and publicly are legal. In fact, creating 1908 anti-drug law is a fight between cultures- Chinese and white traders, it is all about economic crises, racism, resolving labor conflicts, satisfying federal government and, pleasing white traders. Most important of all, health issues does not play the significant role in the creation of the 1908 anti-drug law as it does in the present time. The nature of the statute law starts with the ferocity that took place on September 7, 1907.

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The Opium Wars marked a crucial turning point in Chinese history and led to a deep sense of indignation and bitterness, as well as a search for a new sense of identity among the Chinese people. One of the key causes of the Opium War was the trade imbalance between China and Great Britain. The British merchants began importing large quantities of opium into China, leading to widespread addiction and social devastation among the Chinese population. The War itself was sparked by the Chinese government's attempts to curb the importation and use of opium. The war resulted in a decisive British victory, with China forced to sign the Treaty of Tianjin/NanKing, which opened up several Chinese ports to British trade and allowed British missionaries

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The economy controls the growth of poppy plants, which is what the opium is made from. The people of Afghanistan are poor and can only prosper by growing these types of plants. They are not the strongest of governments or organizations. However, the people need food and money and they know growing poppy plants is the way to receive what they need.

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The Chinese had already known about the existence of opium, but did not start smoking it until the habit of snaking tobacco in the Americas spread to China creating addictions that fueled the opium trade and infiltrated imperial troops (www.britannica.com). The current Chinese ruler at the time did try to restrained and limit the trade of the drug, but since the balance of trade for Europe, especially England, had shifted dramatically in their favor (since they became a great fan of silk, porcelain, and tea from China) they were not about to lose their valuable opium trade business (www.britannica.com ). England could not help, but engage in two opium wars with China (the former coming out as victor in both wars), the first led to a pause in prohibiting the drug and the second extinguished the idea of possibly banning it altogether because of that it took many years to pass before India and China came to an agreement to try to stop the sell of opium and even more for people's addictions to disappear (www.britannica.com ). Unfortunately, for China this caused a decline in the economy since the balance shifted from China exporting more than importing to the other way around, it also affected many of the Chinese inhabitants since many of them grew addicted to opium and like any other drug, it took its toll on the person and China's population. Europe, on the other

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The Opium Wars The First Opium Wars were fought between China and Great Britain from 1839 to 1842, while the Second Opium War, lasting from 1856 until 1860, involved the Chinese government against the British, the French, the Russians, and in small instances, the United States of America. However, the Opium Wars would be considered a forced opening of China to foreign traders.

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In 1839, the Chinese government tried to ban opium from a port city called Canton. Columbia University 's article, China and the West, says that, “the Chinese are defeated by superior British arms and which results in the imposition of the first of many “Unequal Treaties.” These treaties open other cities, “Treaty Ports” — first along the coast and then throughout China — to trade, foreign legal jurisdiction on Chinese territory in these ports, foreign control

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The Opium Wars came from China 's attempts to suppress the trade and consumption f Opium. The first war took place from 1839 to 1842 and the second war was from 1856 to 1860. The Opium wars marked a new beginning in terms of China’s relationship with the west. Regular trade had been going on with the British since the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1600’s. As European economic power rose, Chines goods such as silk, porcelain and tea became highly sought after.

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The Opium War was a series of conflicts that occurred between China and the Western World in the mid-1800s. There were two Opium Wars, the first one between Britain and China, and the second one between Britain and China, with France helping Britain. The first Opium War, the one between Britain and China, occurred from 1839-1842. It was caused from China not wanting opium to be imported into the country, and Britain wanting to import as much opium as they possibly could. The second Opium War, which was between Britain and China, with France helping Britain, occurred from 1856-1860.

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