First Opium War

First Opium War
Part of the Opium Wars
File:Opiumwar.jpg
Date 1839-1842 Location China Result Decisive British victory; Treaty of Nanjing Territorial changes Hong Kong ceded to United Kingdom
Belligerents
Qing China	British East India Company
Commanders and leaders
Daoguang Emperor	Charles Elliot, Anthony Blaxland Stransham

The First Opium War or the First Anglo-Chinese War was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Empire in China from 1839 to 1842 with the aim of forcing China to import British opium. It is often seen as the beginning of European imperial hegemony toward China. The conflict deepened Chinese suspicion of Western society, which still lingers today in East Asia.

Background

During the 19th century, trading in goods from China was extremely lucrative for Europeans and Chinese merchants alike. Due to the Qing Dynasty's trade restrictions, whereby international trade was only allowed to take place in Canton (Guangzhou) conducted by imperially sanctioned monopolies, it became uneconomic to trade in low-value manufactured consumer products that the average Chinese could buy from the British like the Indians did. Instead, the Sino-British trade became dominated by high-value luxury items such as tea (from China to Britain) and silver (from Britain to China), to the extent that European specie metals became widely used in China. Britain had been on the gold standard since the 18th century, so it had to purchase silver from continental Europe to supply the Chinese appetite for silver, which was a costly process at a time before demonetization of silver by Germany in the 1870s. In casting about for other possible commodities, the British soon discovered opium, and production of the commodity was subsidized in British India. Between 1821 and 1837 imports of the drug to China increased five-fold, as the demand for the equalizing of the trade balance reversed a previous decision by the British authorities to respect the Qing government ban on the drug, dating from 1729. British importation of opium in large amounts began in 1781. The drug was produced in India under a British government monopoly (Bengal) and in the Princely states (Malwa) and was sold on the condition that it be shipped by British traders to China.

Alarmed by the reverse in silver flow and the epidemic of addiction (an estimated 2 million Chinese were habitual users), the Qing government attempted to end the opium trade. The effort was initially claimed to be successful, with the official in charge of the effort Lin Zexu, who wrote a "memorial" (摺奏) to the Queen of Great Britain in an unsuccessful attempt to stop this illegal trade, which had poisoned thousands of Chinese civilians (the memorial was given to Charles Elliott who refused to forward it to her majesty). In one isolated incident, in 1818, the Laurel carried word to Sydney of a US ship laden with opium and treasure which was invaded by Chinese pirates. The crew of the US vessel had all been killed, but for the escaping first mate, who later identified the pirates to the authorities. Lin Zexu eventually forced the British Chief Superintendent of Trade in China, Charles Elliott to hand over all remaining stocks of opium (20,000 chests, each holding about 120 pounds) for destruction in May 1839.

However, in July 1839 rioting British sailors destroyed a temple near Kowloon and murdered a man named Jin how, who tried to stop them. Because China did not have a jury trial system or evidentiary process (the magistrate was the prosecutor, judge, jury and would-be executioner), the British government and community in China wanted "extraterritoriality", which meant that British subjects would only be tried by British judges. When the Qing authorities demanded the men be handed over for trial, the British refused. Six sailors were tried by the British authorities in Guangzhou (Canton), but they were immediately released after they reached England. Charles Elliott's authority is in dispute; the British government later claimed that without authority from the Qing government he had no legal right to try anyone, although according to the British Act of Parliament that gave him authority over British merchants and sailors, 'he was expressly appointed to preside over ' Court of Justice with Criminal an Admiralty Jurisdiction for the trial of offenses committed by His Majesty's subjects in the said Dominions or on the high sea within a hundred miles of the coast of China'".

The Qing authorities also insisted that British merchants not be allowed to trade unless they signed a bond, under penalty of death, promising not to smuggle opium, agreeing to follow Chinese laws, and acknowledging Qing legal jurisdiction. Refusing to hand over any suspects or agree to the bonds, Charles Elliot ordered the British community to withdraw from Guangzhou and prohibited trade with the Chinese. Some merchants who didn't deal in opium were willing to sign the bond, thereby weakening the British trading position.

War

Preparing for war, the British seized Hong Kong (then a minor outpost) as a base on August 23, 1839. In late October the Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Guangzhou. This ship was owned by Quakers who refused to deal in opium, and its captain, Smith, believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority by banning trade. The captain negotiated with the governor of Canton and hoped that all British ships could unload their goods at Chuenpeh, an island near Humen. In order to prevent other British ships from following the Thomas Coutts, Elliot ordered a blockade of the Pearl River (China). Fighting began on November 3, 1839, when a second British ship, the Royal Saxon, attempted to sail to Guangzhou. Then the Volage and Hyacinth fired a warning shot at the Royal Saxon. The official Qing navy's report claimed that the navy attempted to protect the British merchant vessel and also reported a great victory for that day. Elliot reports that they were protecting their 29 ships in Chuenpeh between the Qing batteries. Elliot knew that Chinese would reject any contacts with British and there would be an attack with fire boats. Elliot ordered all ships to leave Chuenpeh and head for Tung Lo Wan, 20 miles (30 km) from Macau, but the merchants liked to harbour in Hong Kong. In reality, they were out-classed by the Royal Naval vessels and many Chinese ships were sunk. In 1840 Elliot asked the Portuguese governor in Macau to let British ships loading and unloading their goods at Macau and they would pay rents and any duties. The governor refused for fear that the Qing Government would discontinue to supply foods and other necessities to Macau. On January 14, 1840, the Qing Emperor asked all foreigners in China to stop helping British in China.

In retaliation, the British Government and British East India Company had reached a conclusion that they would attack Canton. The military cost would be paid by the British Government. In June 1840, an expeditionary force of 15 barracks ships, 4 steam-powered gunboats and 25 smaller boats with 4000 marines reached Kwangtung from Singapore. The marines were headed by James Bremer. Bremer demanded the Qing Government compensate the British for losses suffered from interrupted trade. The Qing Government refused and the British attacked. The mouth of the Pearl River was heavily defended under Commissioner Lin so the British fleet went northward to Xiamen.

The next year, 1841, the British captured the Bogue forts which guarded the mouth of the Pearl River — the waterway between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. By January 1841, British forces commanded the high ground around Guangzhou and defeated the Chinese at Ningbo and at the military post of Chinghai.

By the middle of 1842, the British had defeated the Chinese at the mouth of their other great riverine trade route, the Yangtze, and were occupying Shanghai. The Qing government proved incapable of dealing with Western Powers on an equal basis, either politically or militarily. The First Opium War signalled the beginning of the end of the Manchu monopoly on the human resources of China, marking the beginning of modern Chinese history. The war finally ended in August 1842, with the signing of China's first Unequal Treaty, the Treaty of Nanjing. Gen. Sir Anthony Blaxland Stransham led the Royal Marines during the Opium War as a young officer, and as the 'Grand Old Man of the Army', was awarded two knighthoods by Queen Victoria.

Settlement

The Treaty of Nanjing committed the Qing government to nominal tariffs on British goods as well as granted the right of extraterritoriality. Hong Kong Island was ceded to the UK, and the Treaty Ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou (Foochow), Shanghai, and Ningbo were opened to all traders. The Qing government was forced to pay reparations for the British opium and war costs. There was also a most-favoured nation clause, stating that Britain would automatically be entitled to any rights the Qing government granted to another nation.

Legacy of the War

The ease with which the British East India Company's forces had defeated the Chinese armies seriously affected the Qing Dynasty's prestige. This almost certainly contributed to the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). The success of the First Opium War allowed the British to resume the opium trade with China. It also paved the way for the opening of the lucrative Chinese market and Chinese society to missionary endeavors. The First Opium War was a war that some Chinese political historians feel was initiated by the British in order to make a great profit from the trade of opium. The British government still refuses to apologize to China; rather, this kind of invasion was encouraged by Queen Victoria in the following conflicts in China and the rest of Asia. Such teachings remain a major factor in Asian resentment toward Western countries today.

See also

• Lin Zexu
• David Sassoon
• Anglo-Chinese relations
• Second Opium War (1856–1860)
• William Jardine (surgeon)
• General Sir Anthony Blaxland Stransham
• William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier
• History of China
• History of Hong Kong
• British military history
• UK topics
• Treaty Ports
• Forbes family
• Opium wars