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What Role Did The First Opium Wars Play In American Imperialism

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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. The Opium Wars would also be more important and influential than most historians believed them to be, having played a prominent role in Chinese nationalism and to which aided in the rise of China to its prominence in the world today.
Imperialist Expansions Even though trade had long been created along what is known as the Silk Road starting with the Han dynasty, international trade within China would not be impactful until around 1522 when Portuguese ships would first arrive. After this time, other …show more content…

The new treaty given to China legalized both Christianity and opium, as well as adding additional ports to be opened, and allowed the British to send indentured laborers to the United States (Williams, 2014). These treaties and the losses of sovereignty to foreigners would become a great humiliation to the Chinese, but would then finally see this humiliation end when in 1949 the Communists take over Chinese rule. The Chinese knew that their country was humiliated by greedy and technologically superior Western imperialists, so the Chinese prioritized its goals in modernization so that they can be even with the Western world, ensuring that they will never be compromised and dictated by foreign powers ever again. The Opium Wars may have seen foreigners aggressively attack to ensure that they sold their products in the Chinese market, but these incidents helped play a prominent role in Chinese nationalism which aided in the rise of China to its prominence in the world

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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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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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China's role in trade between 600 to 1750 was in part due to different conquests and re-establishments of power which perfected previous Chinese advancements. China's cultural identity help it become a large empire with borders that extended across most of Asia. Tributes systems played out in supporting the Chinese government which in turn formed alliances and enemies as well. These alliance stretched into large trading networks, strengthening Chinas' power in trade, goods, and ideas. From 600 to the 1750's China's self-sufficiency, exchanges of power and mostly secluded location occasionally stagnated and changed its role as a primary trading power, however China's different dynasties improved previous concepts such as those of technology,agricultural

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However, during this time period this control of Indian commerce was at its strongest because of British actions of conquering Indian territories. Whilst in China, the economic continuity was a bigger issue; it was the continuity of opium trade way before the Opium War and after. The only distinct is that before the war it was illegal, and after the war China was forced to legalize it. However, it was still a part of Chinese economy whether legal or illegal.

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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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1290 Words | 6 Pages

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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How Did African Americans Influence European Imperialism

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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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200 Words | 1 Pages

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879 Words | 4 Pages

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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552 Words | 3 Pages

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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