The First Opium War
Instigation
The First Opium War was based on the fact that Britain didn't have enough silver to exchange for Chinese merchandise such as porcelain and tea. To correct the trade imbalance, Britain started exporting large quantities of opium from plantations grown in India. The rise of drug addicts in China and the loss of silver alerted Chinese officials of the impending opium issue. Emperor Qianlong designated Lin Zexu as the imperial commissioner in an attempt to repress illegal opium imports. Ironically, it was Lin's impressive efficiency that sparked the First Opium War. In less than a year after being appointed by the emperor in 1838, he confronted British merchants and confiscated all their opium. By blockading trade and holding foreign merchants hostage he managed to seize around 9 million Mexican silver dollars worth of opium from merchants. Not knowing that the British would respond with war, Lin went on to dumping and burning all the seized opium into the sea.
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How Much Were the Drugs Worth? |
Early Conflict
A series of events ramped up the tension until the British prevailed over the Chinese, forcing them to sign the Treaty of Nanking on August 29, 1842. Leading up to that moment, the Chinese government seized opium stored in British warehouses located in Canton. Also, in 1839, the British government refused to turn over the British sailors who killed a Chinese villager.
Conflicts Continue and China's Defeat is Imminent
First Fight
A pair of British warships confronted twenty-nine Chinese vessels, sixteen of them being relatively small war junks, on November 3, 1839. Lin's report of this skirmish to the emperor denoted a Chinese victory, when in fact the British had defeated the Chinese in a spectacular manner. Appealing to the Queen Around 1839, Lin wrote a letter addressed to Queen Victoria, but it would seem as if he never attempted to send it. The letter that he did use later on in an attempt to stop the conflicts unfortunately never made its way to the Queen's hands. Lin Zexu: From Hero to Scapegoat Meanwhile, the war continued as the forces involved in the fighting increased. Of course, the small Chinese junks had no chance at defeating the heavily armed British frigates. Lin reported each battle as a Chinese victory to the emperor despite this fact. The inaccuracy of his accounts led to the hero Lin Zexu becoming the scapegoat of China's misfortunes. Upon discovering the true nature of China's situation, Emperor Qianlong rebuked Lin saying, “Externally you wanted to stop the [opium] trade, but it has not been stopped; internally you wanted to wipe out the outlaws [opium smugglers and smokers], but they are not cleared away. You are just making excuses with empty words. Nothing has been accomplished but many troubles have been created. Thinking of these things, I cannot contain my rage.” Lin was summarily removed from his position as imperial commissioner. |
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