The Opium War was a conflict between Britain and China from 1839 to 1842 over Britain's illegal opium trade. The Qing emperor sought to stop the flow of opium into China due to the large number of addicts. When China confiscated and destroyed British opium, Britain launched a military response. The war consisted of several naval battles along China's coast. China was defeated and forced to sign treaties ceding Hong Kong to Britain and granting extraterritorial rights, weakening China's sovereignty.

1. The Opium War

2. Who?
The Opium war was a conflict
between Britain and China.
Leading people involved was Qing
emperor, Lin Zexu, Captain Elliot
and Queen Victoria.

3. Why?
The illegal trading
and use of opium in
China!

4. The Opium War: Why?
- In the late 18th century,
European countries developed
interest in trading with
China, but were rejected by
the Qing emperor.
- China was extremely self
sufficient and its
nationalistic culture felt
belittled other nations.

5. The Opium War: Why?
- Britain was determined
to find a product that
China could not provide
themselves.
- Eventually they found
one: opium.
- Opium is an addictive
narcotic made from the
poppy plant.

6. The Opium War: Why?
- Chinese doctors had
been using opium to
relieve pain for
centuries.
- British merchants
began smuggling the
drug into the China for
recreational use.

7. The Opium War: Why?
- It took a few
decades to catch
on, but by 1835
as many as 12
million Chinese
people were
addicted to
smoking opium.

8. The Opium War: Why?
- Widespread opium
addiction angered the
Qing emperor.
- Lin Zexu, one of his
highest advisors wrote
a letter to Queen
Victoria in 1832
addressing the problem.
- China received no
answer to their pleas.
“By what right do they [British
merchants] . . . use the poisonous
drug to injure the
Chinese people? . . . I have
heard that the smoking of opium
is very strictly forbidden by
your country; that is because the
harm caused by opium is
clearly understood. Since it is
not permitted to do harm to your
own country, then even less
should you let it be
passed on to the harm of other
countries.”
Excerpt from Lin Zexu’s letter to Queen Victoria

9. The Opium War: Why?
- Britain wanted the
right to sell opium in
China.
- It brought in lots of
income for their own
country.
- Eventually Britain
clashed with China in
the conflict known as
the Opium War.

10. What?
A series of battles, mostly
taken place at sea in China.

11. The Opium War: What?
- In March of 1839, Lin Zexu traveled to
Canton where he confiscated 10,000
pounds of opium, and made 1,600
arrests to those involved in the trade.
- He then ordered the seizure of 20,000
more crates of opium from a foreign-
owned factory.
- He held all foreign merchants prisoner
until they surrendered 9 million dollars
worth of opium, which he then burned
publicly.
- Lastly, he ordered the port of Canton
closed to all foreign merchants.

12. The Opium War: What?
- Britain was outraged.
- In November of 1839 the
Royal Navy sank a number
of Chinese vessels near
Guangzhou.
- By January of 1841, they
had captured the Bogue
forts and high ground
above the port of Canton.
- The British forces were led
by Captain Charles Elliot.

13. The Opium War: What?
- The British defeated the Chinese on
land at Ningbo and Chinhai.
- In August of 1841, Captain Elliot
was seen as too moderate for the
British and was replaced by Sir
Henry Pottinger.
- He launched a major offense and
soon conquered the rice producing
lands of South China.

14. The Opium War: What?
- China had suffered a humiliating defeat.
- The realized that there was no way they
could defeat Britain.
- They outdated ships were no match for
Britains.
-In 1842, China signed a peace treaty called
the Treaty of Nanjing.
-It gave Britain the territory of Hong Kong.
- In 1844, they signed another treaty, giving
the U.S. and other countries
extraterritorial rights.

15. Where?
- Mostly at sea
- Many cities
throughout
China and on its
coast

16. When?
The Opium War began in
March of 1839 and ended on
August 29th, 1842.

17. The Opium War weakened China and left it
vulnerable to the sphere of influence. The opium
trade continued in China and its people greatly
resented the foreigners invading their home.