China Exploitation In 19th Century

To a large degree, China was sliced up into regional spheres of competition by foreign powers during the 19th century. Japan attempted to bridge China to its East Asian economy but with only minimal success. Britain basically stole Hong Kong, incorporating it into the Imperial Realm. Portugal and Holland were rivals of Britain, especially when it came to the opium trade. Originally used as a form of medication, opium soon became the Chinese drug of choice. Most of Britain’s opium production occurred in British India as did the production of other lucrative commodities. Britain perceived itself as having the right to commercially exploit these goods in any place where ships could sail and large masses of people lived. Other industrialized and capitalist nations thought as much in competi

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se burned what opium was in their possession. However, the Chinese were far inferior to Britain in military might. The Emperor did attempt to combat the British, but China’s junkets were a small obstacle for British battleships. The military encounter occurred in the ports of Hong Kong, with the British unwilling to let anything as trivial as national borders and foreign governments stand in the way of profit. The British were “In a great hurry to make money out of the East, and the gunboats were found to clear the way quickly. All vestiges of compassion for mankind had been swept away by the silver stream of rupees which poured into the Calcutta Exchequer” (Thomas 2). The British won the first Opium War handily with little fanfare. The result of this victory would be much the same as future victories over China, treaties that allowed for more rights to Chinese soil particularly where commerce was concerned. The first Opium War ended with the Treaty of Nanking, signed on August 29, 1840 (A Short 2). Hong Kong was delivered into the hands of the British. Various other ports, including Canton, were opened to British trade and to British residence. More than a battle over drugs, it was a strategic attempt to secure port
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Approximate Word count = 1504
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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