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Opium Trade Dbq Essay

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During the 19th century, China transformed from a prosperous economic center to a weakened country in a system controlled by Great Britain, largely due to the opium trade. Prior to Europe’s industrial revolution in 1800, China had little need for products from other countries, and participated sparingly in world trade, while Europe borrowed China’s ideas and inventions to gain a financial foothold. But in the 19th century Britain introduced opium into the Chinese market, setting off a chain of events that lead to the Opium Wars, which along with the opium trade sapped China’s economic strength. Nevertheless, she persisted, and in 1907 China passed a law that blocked the opium trade once and for all and took out Britain’s system of power within …show more content…

The earlier policies were built around the fact that Britain held China in great respect. In 1793, King George III of England wrote to the Qianlong Emperor of China, “China is by far the most superior in the matter of customs, traditions, and laws. . . I wish to submit myself so as to partake of your great civilization,”. His letter highlights the deep admiration Britain held for China and China’s far-reaching power. On the other hand, China rigidly restricted all trade with other countries. The Qianlong Emperor wrote back that British “merchants will assuredly never be permitted to land or reside here, but will be subject to instant expulsion,”. China’s original resistance strategy is effective because they have the military power to back it up and are able to prevent British merchants from trading in China. The issue is that since legal trade was banned, the illegal exchange of opium began. Nevertheless China carried their no-tolerance trade policies onward until 1839, when Lin Zexu, a Chinese official, wrote to Queen Victoria that “all those people in China who sell opium should receive the death penalty,”. The policy makes sense because the opium trade had already disrupted the economic and social systems of China and was an issue that needed to be taken care of. However this form of …show more content…

Specifically, the Treaty of Nanjing, which was signed by China and Britain after the first Opium War in 1842, gave more rights to British traders within China: “The Emperor of China agrees to… permit [British traders] to carry on their mercantile transactions with whatever persons they please,”. British traders now had the ability to trade directly with the public, a privilege that China had long denied foreign countries. These new rights made it easier for British merchants to trade opium, and increased its prevalence in the population. Not only that, British traders used their new rights to gain a strong foothold in the Chinese economy. The Treaty of Nanjing ensured that Britain would have a powerful influence within China and could do whatever they wanted. But in 1906, Britain ended the opium trade when China proposed a 10-year plan to completely eradicate opium. The Chinese government had kept the issue alive since 1900 by negotiating smaller treaties to block opium trading, but it wasn’t until 1905 that British lawmakers seriously considered China’s demands for an end to the trade. By 1900 Britain was making less and less money from the opium trade, with opium imports into China having peaked in the late 19th century. The overwhelming power of the opium trade had created an imbalance in

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