2023-09-02 15:00:00
On August 29, 1842, China and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Nanking, marking the end of the Opium War.
Considered the first unequal treaty to which the Western powers subjected the Chinese Empire, the agreement included the Chinese cession of Hong Kong to Great Britain.
The Opium War or “Anglo-Chinese” was a war between the British and Chinese Empires between 1939 and 1842.
Its cause was the commercial interests that created the British opium smuggling in India and China, and the efforts of the Chinese Imperial Government to impose laws against the dealers.
The protectionist policy of the Chinese Empire restricted trade with Europe to the port of Canton and required that its products could only be purchased with silver, currency that the British imported from America and other European countries.
China’s trade policies tipped the trade balance with Europe in its favor. The United Kingdom failed in its attempt to access the Chinese market and British merchants pressured their government to force the opening of the Asian empire.
This is how opium trafficking arose, an addictive substance that the British produced in the Indian area under their rule.
Although the opium trade was illegal in both China and the United Kingdom, it took place with the tactical consent of the British authorities, eager to limit the loss of silver reserves.
In China, the drug was known for its benefits, but the authorities had not foreseen the devastating effects that its addiction could cause. Smuggling and consumption expanded remarkably rapidly in Chinese territory, generating large revenues for the United Kingdom and threatening Chinese social cohesion.
China’s response, through the Daoguang Emperor, was to order the seizure of all opium in foreign hands in Canton, and the expulsion of the dealers.
The United Kingdom had tipped the trade balance in its favor with the sale of opium, and the seizure and destruction of more than 20,000 boxes of opium, valued at five million pounds, triggered the armed conflict.
When London heard the news, in the early 1840s, it made a formal declaration of war, sending 16 warships with 4,000 men to Chinese shores, and sent a list of demands to Beijing.
The Chinese Empire refused to comply with the British orders, launching itself into a war in which it was outmatched by the military superiority of the West, which razed different Chinese strongholds.
British naval dominance put China in check, which sent a delegation from Nanking on August 14, 1842 to meet the European fleet.
After a few weeks of negotiations, the Chinese emperor authorized the signing of the Treaty of Nanking, an agreement signed on board the British warship HMS Cornwallis.
The treaty ended the first Opium War and put China at the mercy of foreign influence, marking a turning point in its history and the beginning of the final decline of the Qing dynasty.
China granted the United Kingdom strategic points for trade and recognized British sovereignty over Hong Kong Island.
The Nanking treaty is considered unequal due to the submission to the will of Imperial China.
On August 29, 1842, China and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Nanking, marking the end of the Opium War.
The story is also news. Radio Profile. Screenplay by Nicolás Ziccardi and voiceover by Pita Fortín.
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