The Destruction of China by British Ambition
The Destruction of China by British Ambition The events of the Opium War, which occurred between China and Britain during the late 18th and 19th century, placed China in a position which easily allowed the exploitation of the country's national finances, resources, and culture. The usage of opium, as well as the ongoing battle which occurred as a direct result of British action, was the cause of death for thousands of Chinese. The many conflicts and extensive exploitation of China by Britain regarding the opium trade was the beginning of a horrific period for China. A period which would come to be know as the "Century of Shame." This paper will show how the actions of the British during the years of the Opium War nearly caused the complete destruction of China and its culture through and in depth look at the Chinese economic and political situation, as well as the Treaty of Nanjing. Opium, which was widely in use by the general populace of China and the rest of world at this point in history, was favoured by physicians as both a painkiller and a relaxant. Doctors of the era preferred the use of opium to that of morphine due to the apparent lack of side effects. Initially, recreational use of opium was relegated to only upper
Enraged at how badly Ch'i-shen handled the deal, China has him replaced with Ch'i-ying. In closing, the forceful and sudden opening of China as a direct result of the Opium War caused deep and lasting wounds in all aspects of Chinese life from economic to social. In response to protest from China regarding the opium smuggling, Britain would simply deny any knowledge of the narcotic. China became a semi-feudal, semi-colonial state under the control of western countries. The addiction of the populace to the drug became so strong that the Chinese, in some cases, would spend all of their money on opium rather than on food for their families, causing starvation. Finally, Lin demanded that the British sign a bond he had drafted which stated that Britain would no longer trade, deal, smuggle, or sell opium to China, upon penalty of death. Chinese troops surround a British storehouse, where Elliot was trapped inside. As such, Britain began printing anti-Chinese pamphlets, and had still refused to sign the Tse-Hsu's bond. This issue however, was quickly resolved when the Chinese minister realized that Napier was the problem. The Treaty of Nanjing, from a Chinese perspective, was absolutely useless. Lin, after learning about large amounts of opium being stored in British warehouses, demanded that all opium be surrendered for disposal on March 18 of 1839. Peking, the capital of China, wanted to desperately provide help to fix the problem that opium had created. The Nanjing treaty took full advantage of China's weaknesses.
Common topics in this essay:
Canton Trade,
Lin Tse-hsu,
Canton System,
Opium War,
China Britain,
Hong Kong,
Nanjing Opium,
China August,
Imperial Commissioner,
Nanjing Chinese,
lin tse-hsu,
canton system,
opium china,
china britain,
opium war,
treaty nanjing,
hong kong,
imperial commissioner,
opium supply,
direct result,
forced sign treaty,
china lin tse-hsu,
china direct result,
direct result british,
|
Acceptance Essays
