Opium War China

The Opium Wars (First: 1839-42; Second: 1856-60) were fought between Britain (and France in the Second War) and the Qing Dynasty of China over Britain's right to sell Indian-produced opium to Chinese consumers. The background: the East India Company needed to pay for Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain but China would only accept silver — so it began exporting opium from India to China. By 1835, 12 million Chinese were addicted. When Chinese Commissioner Lin Zexu destroyed 20,000 chests of British opium (1839), Britain used the incident as a pretext for war. China's military technology was 200 years behind Britain's — the war demonstrated the catastrophic failure of the Qing dynasty to modernize while Britain industrialized. The Opium Wars were the beginning of China's 'Century of Humiliation' (1839-1949) — a century of foreign exploitation through unequal treaties: Hong Kong ceded to Britain (1842); Shanghai and 4 other 'treaty ports' opened; tariffs limited; extraterritoriality granted (foreign nationals immune from Chinese law); and eventually Russia, France, Germany, Japan, and the US all extracted concessions. This humiliation remains central to Chinese national identity and shapes Xi Jinping's 'national rejuvenation' narrative.