Guide Note:

The First Opium War, also known as the First Anglo-Chinese War, was a conflict between the British East India Company and the Qing Government of China. The war resulted in a decisive British victory, which gave them Hong Kong, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing.

Fast Facts:

Date: 1839-1842
British Forces: 50,000
Chinese Forces: 2,000,000
British Commander: Charles Elliot and Anthony Blaxland Stransham
Chinese Commander: Lin Zexu and Daoguang Emperor
Led directly to the Second Opium War, Taiping Rebellion, and Boxer Rebellion
Considered by many to be the birth of Modern China
During the Qing Dynasty in China

Treaty of Nanking

Marking the end of the First Opium War, the Treaty of Nanking was signed aboard the British warship, the HMS Cornwallis by representatives from both sides of the conflict. The Treaty was signed on August 29, 1842. It was later ratified by Queen Victoria ten months after the initial drafting. As a perpetuity, China forfeit Hong Hong to the Queen, which established a port for the British to import/export Chinese goods. Opium trade was not rectified in the Treaty of Nanking, which lead to the Second Opium War to which the conclusion saw a legalization of opium trade.

Categories

History | Asian History | Military History | European History | China

View Note History

First Opium War

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia: First Opium War
BBC Radio: The First Opium War
The Victorian Web: England and China: The Opium Wars
U.S. Department of State: The First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia
Washington State University: The Opium Wars
The Dragon Awakes: China and the World through the Modern Era
Recommend a link!

First Opium War Background and Causes

Trade Imbalances

Wikipedia: Honourable East India Company
Guardian Unlimited: "Whitewashing the Past" (2002)
John Jay College: The Napier Affair

Opium in China

PBS Frontline: Opium Throughout History
Charlotte Country Day School: The Pre and Post-Immediate Effects of Opium Introduction on China
John Jay College: The Legalization of Opium: the Case For and the Case Against
Wikipedia: David Sassoon

First Opium War Central Figures

Lin Zexu

Wikipedia: Lin Zexu
World History Blog: Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria
CUNY Brooklyn: Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria

William Jardine

Wikipedia: William Jardine
Eastern Illinois University: "William Jardine: Architect of the First Opium War" (129 KB)
Official Site: History of the Jardine Matheson Group

Henry Pottinger

Wikipedia: Sir Henry Eldred Curwen Pottinger
Honk Kong University Library: "Sir Henry Pottinger and Hong Kong" (1.4 MB)
Nanking.com: The Treaty of Nanking

First Opium War Images and Media

CUNY Brooklyn: Map Showing the Effects of Western Imperialism in China
University of Kansas: The Opium Wars
Google Image Search: First Opium War
YouTube: The Opium Wars (Time 5:08)

First Opium War Books and Research

Marxists.org: "The British and Chinese Treaty" and "Trade or Opium?"
Internet Archive Search: Opium War
Google Scholar Search: First Opium War
Google Book Search: First Opium War
Amazon.com: The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another
Barnes & Noble.com: Tai-Pan

First Opium War Blogs and Message Boards

Google Blog Search: First Opium War
Chinese-forums.com: The Advocates and Motives of the Opium Wars
Asia Experiences: James Clavell Asia Novels

First Opium War Timeline

1729: The Qing government bans opium in China
1781: British merchants begin large scale opium import from India
1821-1837: British merchants increase opium import 5-fold, trying to reverse trade imbalance with China
May 1839: Lin Zexu forces Charles Elliot to forfeit all stocks of opium for destruction
July 1839: British sailors destroy Kowloon temple and kill a Chinese man. British officials exercise "extraterritoriality"
August 1839: The British take control of Hong Kong
August 1839: Charles Elliot establishes a blockade of the Pearl River to prevent British merchant ships from reaching the mainland
November 1839: A British ship, the Royal Saxon, sails for the mainland at Guangzhou. Warning shots fired. Qing claims victory and Eliot reports success in defending the 29 ships off the island of Chuenpeh
June 1840: An expeditionary force comprised of British Navy, Marines, and ships from the British East India Company, sail to Kwangtung from Singapore
June 1840: James Bremer, issues a demand to the Qing government for compensation of interrupted trade and is refused
June 1840: The British attack and capture Xiamen
January 1841: The British capture the Bogue Forts (important entrance to the Pearl River)
January 1841: The British defeat the Chinese at Ningbo
1842: The British occupy the mouth of the Yangtze
1842: Shanghai is occupied without a fight
August 1842: The Qing government is forced to sign the first Unequal Treaty and Treaty of Nanjing, ending the First Opium War

Related Searches

Unequal Treaties | Treaty of Nanjing | Taiping Rebellion | Boxer Rebellion | British East India Company | Hong Kong | Qing Dynasty | Modern China | Rum Rebellion | Second Opium War

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