Introduction
The paper covers a broad topic of historical events in the nineteenth century. Active collaboration in terms of opium trading was held between the British Empire and China, which resulted in the Opium War. The first paragraph focuses on the main cause of the conflict, while the second describes the consequences for both Britain and China. The third and fourth paragraphs reveal the political benefits acquired by the British Empire after the war, as well as harmful outcomes for its society. The final fifth paragraph focuses on opium merchandise profitability for Britain. The Opium War was devastating for Chinese civilization and a driver for British economic and political development.
The Conflict’s Causes
The war connected with opium trading between Britain and China had its specific causes. In 1839, Emperor Qing adopted harsh laws that prohibited opium trafficking processes (Worden et al., 1988). To maintain strict procedures, a commissioner with unlimited power – Lin Zexu, was hired (Worden et al., 1988). Consequently, his main aim was to seize the smuggling opium trade, eliminate the number of European vendors, and reveal corruptive schemes of drug dealing (Keller & Shiue, 2023).
One of the main causes of the war was the closing of all the seaports of China for Western people who were coming to carry their merchandise businesses. It made other countries and Chinese economies feel pressure, so Britain intervened. Another specific cause of the war was the decision of Zexu to confiscate and destroy twenty thousand boxes of British opium (Keller & Shiue, 2023). As a result, the British started the first Opium War against the Chinese in 1839 (Worden et al., 1988). However, the commissioner was clever and understood the outcomes of his actions; he decided to counterattack the army, which was bigger than the Chinese one.
The Conflict’s Outcomes for China
The wars had severe consequences for the citizens of China and the country itself. The government started to face more and more unequal treaties with imperialist authorities of other states (Küçükdeğirmenci, 2021). For this reason, China had to surrender many of its territories, which impacted the rights of citizens. People suffered from political changes and economic disruptions in their areas. Hence, the dynasty of Qing fell and was replaced by a republican government, followed by the revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century (Keller & Shiue, 2023). All of that resulted in prolonged stagnation and a period of weakening of the country.
One of the main driving factors for that was the decision of the European states to break all the Chinese-related ties in terms of political relations. Citizens started to leave their homes, which created economic devastation and social depression. There was also a severe result on the population’s health, where millions turned into drug-addicted people (Küçükdeğirmenci, 2021). Therefore, both opium goods trading and separation from Europe caused wars with long-term outcomes for the people of China, their socio-economic status, health, and future perspectives.
The Conflict’s Benefits and Damages for the Great Britain
The conflict itself gained high scales and involved many nations and territories. The war reformatted the economic and political space of the nineteenth century. It was terminated by signing the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 by Chinese and British parties, which later became the first agreement with European countries (Worden et al., 1988).
This Treaty obliged China to repay its territory – the island of Hong Kong, giving it to Britain (Worden et al., 1988). At the same time, it also opened five ports that allowed British people to merchandise in those areas, exempted them from Chinese law, and cut the tariffs (Worden et al., 1988). Consequently, Britain developed into politically and financially powerful due to this agreement.
However, it was not the last Treaty and war that guaranteed new traffickers more privileges in the future (Worden et al., 1988). As a result, Britain became a monopolist in sea trading and the biggest Empire in history. British political state was tremendous with its number of colonies, whereas Chinese political reputation was ruined. Western civilization privileged Eastern due to the “fallen” China, which suffered its time of humiliation.
Despite the British Empire’s success in economy and politics from these historical events, it also acquired a problem for its society. The goods that contained opium grew in popularity on the territory of Britain as well, which made it in demand among citizens. People were interested in this substance’s effects, which became outspoken in China. However, such a tendency did not lead to positive outcomes. People attracted themselves to the poisoning and addictive nature of opium. The inflow of narcotics into the country showed the way the British government and organizations started to deal with the abuse (Clea, 2020).
Modern British society is one of the highest-ranked to be addicted to amphetamines and processed opiates (Clea, 2020). Historical events of the nineteenth century played a crucial role in British life, where social existence and culture were affected (Clea, 2020). Opium became the most popular substance as it was going in line with economic stimulation, medical regulations, and imports from other countries (Clea, 2020). Many people influenced by addictive nature turned into top consumers and created high demand.
The Opium Trade Profitability for the Great Britain
Another important aspect in this part of history is the profitability from trading the goods that included opium. It was a leading factor in undertaking multiple actions from both sides regarding merchandising. This type of business appeared in the seventeenth century when the British colonized multiple territories of India and created a distribution company (Clea, 2020). The name of the company was British East India, which aimed to get more benefits from dealing with the markets of East Asia and India (Clea, 2020). The main investments were directed at growing and processing opium in large capacities (Küçükdeğirmenci, 2021).
Profits were significantly high as the British established a monopoly for this type of business focused mainly on trading with China. The value of opium was increasing because of the demand from main market players (Küçükdeğirmenci, 2021). Britain was also buying and selling such luxury goods as silk, tea, and porcelain; however, opium was the most profitable (Clea, 2020). There is no definite reason why the government allowed such large-scale trafficking – profits or expansion of British interests. All in all, both factors were satisfied before and after the war.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the Opium War was caused by strict and provoking actions from both parties, which resulted in the ruining of Chinese civilization and the prosperity of the British Empire. Britain gained multiple benefits in terms of political loyalty and economic development. At the same time, China suffered one of the most devastating times of its history.
New and advantageous opportunities appeared for the British; however, negative consequences of opioid addiction and abuse touched society. Considering the power Britain applied to the war, it should be stated that they were mainly concerned about their ability to profit and control the trade of goods, including opium. The paper covered the main points of this historical event, and important conclusions were made, which helped to reveal the significance of the Opium War as a game-changer for big civilizations.
References
Clea, T. (2020). Invigorated writers, quieted children, and self-interested pharmacists: The proliferation of opium in 19th century Britain” (2020). Young Historians Conference. 8. Web.
Keller, W. & Shiue, C. H. (2023). The economic consequences of the Opium War. National Bureau of Economic Research. Web.
Küçükdeğirmenci, O. (2021). China’s encounter with West in the 19th century: Power relations. The Journal of Social Science, 5(10), 333-348. Web.
Worden, R. L., Savada, A. M., & Dolan, R. E. (Eds.). (1988). China: A country study, 4th ed. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data.