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
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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