The First Opium War

1839-1842

Two EmpiresEngland (British Empire)

• Truly became a world influence circa 1497

• Was slowly expanding its influence worldwide via maritime trade routes

• Tended to procure trade either via often strained accords or brute colonialism

• Tiny island heavily reliant upon trade with others

• Drank tea

China (Qing Dynasty)

• Built upon system est. circa 2852 BCE

• Had long established terrestrial trade routes and maritime trade

• Tended to procure trade either freely or by some tributary system

• Huge landmass, largely self-sustaining

• Grew tea

China Trade Routes

Guangzhou / Canton( 廣州 )

• Capital of Guangdong• Served as the only port of trade for Westerners• Trade was highly regulated according to the edict of Qianlong• Would ultimately become ground-zero for the first Opium War• Was and remains highly ethnically / culturally diverse

The Macartney Embassy• Trade difficulties with China are causing Britain to lose

money (e.g. more imports than exports, limited selling power, restricted movement within China, etc)

• 1793 – George Macartney, on behalf of George III, approaches Emperor Qianlong, requesting trade restrictions be relaxed, a permanent embassy in Beijing, and “a small unfortified island near [Zhoushan] for the residence of British traders, storage of goods, and outfitting of ships”.

• Qianlong’s response to George III: “There is nothing we lack, as your principal envoy and others have themselves observed. We have never set much store on strange or indigenous objects, nor do we need any more of your country’s manufactures .”

British Mercantilism, Chinese Confucianism: Culture Clash

• So, what went wrong in that exchange?• For one, it’s fairly impolite to barge in on

someone’s 80th birthday uninvited (and gift-less!); more generally the British embassy really had no idea how to culturally engage China

• For two, both sides brought a number of preconceptions to the table about the state of the world (China thought of itself as the “Center Kingdom” and the British as barbaric; Britain probably saw China as little more than a cash cow for its ever-growing mercantilist empire)

The Opium (Triangle) Trade• So how would Britain get their silver back?• Answer: the same way it usually established

economic dominance – triangle trade!• Britain (cloth) => India (opium) => China

(tea/silver) => Britain…you get the idea• War of addiction: British obsession with free

trade (and tea) was matched with the Chinese addiction to opium

• Result: Happy Britain, upset (or stoned) China

Lin Zexu and the 13 Factories

Who was Lin Zexu?• Lin was an Imperial Commissioner and a (relatively) strict Confucian• Lin was sent by the Emperor to “deal” with the opium problem• Wrote letter of advice directly to Queen Victoria condemning behavior of British merchants• Lin confiscated and destroyed all of the opium in port and sequestered the British merchants

What were the 13 Factories?• The 13 Factories were the district established in Guangzhou as the only port for foreign trade• The British merchants were sequestered at this location until they relinquished their opium

How did the British take this?• Not very well

The British Reaction: “How dare you!”• The “suffering” and “imprisonment” of the merchants: Charles Elliot,

British Superintendent of Trade, instructed his fellow Britons to turn-over their opium in exchange for “freedom”, promising remuneration.

• In reality: Lin Zexu perceived his behavior as upright and in accord with tradition, going as far as to send gifts of food to merchants upon relinquishing their opium

• The “arrogance” of China’s rejection of “free trade”: Elliot decried Lin’s policies as abusive of the British people. Similar statements were made by merchant William Jardine.

• In reality: The main restrictions were with regard to opium in particular; everything else was not so much about trade practices as political stability. Also, Elliot’s promise to compensate the British merchants was not exactly one that could be easily fulfilled, especially with so much money already tied-up in China.

Big Trouble in Little Canton• 1839 - Return to England and call for war: Having

received these reports, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston signs-off on a naval contingent to invade China under the pretense of “abuse” of Britons…oh, and about righting the trade imbalance. (Gunboat Diplomacy)

• 1840 - The British Navy, armed with the latest and greatest technology and reinforced with troops from British India, was prepared to invade.

• Lin Zexu was already preparing to defend Guangzhou, establishing militias composed of local farmers and fishers.

The BreakdownBritish Forces

• Soldiers: Professional naval and army

• Weapons: Modern, one-man muskets, rotating cannons, Congreve rockets

• Vehicles: Nemesis – a cutting-edge, ironclad, steam-powered warship complete with pivot cannons.

• Strategy: Invade, tactically dispose of key targets, and crawl toward Beijing

Chinese Forces

• Soldiers: Militia men composed of local farmers, fishers, and craftsmen

• Weapons: Dated, two-man muskets, stationary cannons, rockets

• Vehicles: Junks, “fire ships”

• Strategy: Defend the coastline against what was treated as little more than a group of pirates and smugglers

The Breakdown IIBritain• Status of

government: Solid. Despite certain disagreements within the houses of Parliament, full-support was given to the war. Power was vested in the Foreign Secretary to make war; no opposition from the Crown.

• Status of people: Mostly content, despite some objection to war on moral grounds. The British sailors and soldiers were well-trained and ready to fight.

China• Status of government:

Weak. Qianlong had passed and his embattled grandson (Daoguang) now sat upon the throne. The country was plagued by uprisings, lack of cultural / bureaucratic uniformity, and resource degradation.

• Status of people: Opium-addiction had spread rapidly throughout China, and many were unprepared for battle. Those who would fight were poorly-trained (if at all).

Combat Progression• By means of their flat-bottomed gunboats, the British were able to access the shallow waterways connecting the ocean to the major river systems of China• Entering at the port of Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta, the British proceeded to blast through the obsolete defenses established.• The British easily took Guangzhou, then proceeded up and along the Chang Jiang (Yangtze), capturing key points as they went.• Upon capturing Jinjiang, which housed a great deal of the capital’s rice supply, the Chinese government was forced to sue for peace.

Xiamen

Jinjiang

The Treaty of Nanjing / Unfair Treaty• 29 August 1842 – Opened up additional ports of trade (Xiamen,

Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai) with fixed tariffs; reparations for British (21 million silver dollars); cession of Hong Kong.

• The Emperor himself neither signed nor endorsed the treaty. The official who pursued this treaty (Qiying) did so thinking he would be getting rid of Western encroachment by appeasing the British then and there. Ultimately, this would backfire.

Changing Tides• The policy of appeasement that Qiying started

following the First Opium War would set the standard for Sino-Western relations

• Soon after, other Western powers also began to exploit China in much the same way (US, France); resistance was met with further belligerence (e.g. Second Opium War (1856-1860))

• The humiliation led to further civil discontent and dynastic decline within China, perhaps ultimately bringing about the end of China’s Imperial Era in 1912, and the rise of the Republic of China (and eventually the People’s Republic)