Chinese Opium Trade and the British Opium Wars

How the lucrative narcotics market caused hostilities

Jun 27, 2009

The trade in this highly addictive drug extracted from poppies and grown in Bengal caused two wars between Britain and China in the 19th Century.

Opium was probably first brought to China by the Arabs in the late 13th century. Initially, it was used simply as a medicine to treat diarrhoea, fever and dysentery. It was imported, mainly from India, in small quantities. When tobacco smoking was introduced in the 1600s, the Chinese began to start smoking a mixture of opium and tobacco. Addiction to the drug spread and so did the need for more and more of the narcotic.

In 1757 the British East India Company gained the monopoly of the Chinese opium trade after Robert Clive’s defeat of the Bengalis at the battle of Plassey. By 1790 the annual import of opium into China had risen to around 4050 chests. Such was the growing dependence of the Chinese on the drug that Emperor Keaking forbade its import and introduced harsh penalties for anyone found smoking opium.

The First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking

These measures proved futile though because by 1830 the number of imported chests of the drug had reached nearly 17,000 per annum. So the Chinese Emperor threatened the English opium ships with military action if they didn’t desist in their trade. The warnings were ignored by the English and they appear to have actively encouraged, aided and abetted the smuggling of the drug into China.

This led to the first Opium War when in 1839 China destroyed just under 20,300 chests of British Indian opium. Hostilities ended in 1842 when the Chinese admitted defeat and signed the treaty of Nanking. Under this treaty, China paid compensation for the opium they had confiscated and ceded Hong Kong. The country also agreed to open five treaty ports (Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Nangpo and Shanghai) for use by the British traders.

The Second Opium War and the Arrow Affair

The second opium war which began in late 1857 was precipitated by the Arrow Affair. A lorcha boat (a type of Chinese junk) was anchored off Canton flying the Union Jack flag. A party of Chinese soldiers took possession of the vessel and pulled down the flag before arrested twelve Chinese crewmen. The British demanded an apology which was never forthcoming. Negotiations came to nothing and hostilities were reopened.

Whilst British forces were marching to Peking (now Beijing) to take control, they entered into negotiations with the imperial commissioners and a treaty was drawn up at Tientsin with an agreement for it to be confirmed in Peking in 1859. However, when the British authorities headed to the Chinese capital to get the agreement confirmed, they were fired upon and forced to retreat to Shanghai.

The Tientsin Treaty is Finally Signed

On 1st August 1860, a large British force, assisted by French troops, headed to Peking where the Chinese eventually surrendered and the treaty drawn up at Tientsin in 1858 was finally ratified. This agreement meant that once again, British ships could continue to supply their Indian opium to the Chinese traders. The British opium wars were over.

The copyright of the article Chinese Opium Trade and the British Opium Wars in Georgian/Victorian Britain is owned by Elaine Findlay. Permission to republish Chinese Opium Trade and the British Opium Wars in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.