The Second Opium War can be seen as a continuation of the First Opium War.

With imperialism hitting its high point in the 1850s, western countries wanted
more of a say in China. The treaties of Huangpu and Wangxia that China signed
with France and the United States respectively in the 1840s allowed for
negotiations after 12 years. The British wanted this privilege as well, and wanted
to negotiate the Treaty of Nanking in 1854. The Second Opium War lasted from
March 18, 1839 until August 29,1842.
The British wanted all of China to be open to merchants, legalization of the
opium trade, foreign imports to be exempt from internal tax duties, the stifling of
piracy, regulation of the coolie (Chinese people sent to the west as servants)
trade, ambassadors to be allowed to reside in Beijing, and the English version of
treaties to take precedence over the Chinese version. China refused to negotiate
with any of the countries, which angered the western countries.
On October 8, 1856 Chinese officials boarded the Arrow, a ship rumored to be
involved in piracy and smuggling. The officials arrested 12 Chinese people from
the ship. This is known as the Arrow Incident. The Arrow was a Chinese owned
ship and registered in Hong Kong, but was flying a British flag and the British
claimed it had recently been registered to them. The British demanded the
release of the sailors, using the unequal treaties as the legal grounds for this
request.
The term unequal treaties refers to the treaties China and other Asian countries
signed with western countries that were slanted towards western interests. They
often involved China paying large reparations, opening ports, and making
concessions to the West. Under these treaties, any foreigners that were arrested
were to be tried by a court run by their own country.
The British argument was a weak one and they resorted to claiming that the
Chinese soldiers had insulted the British flag. The Chinese government was too
busy dealing with the Taiping Rebellion to try and resist the British military, and
the British easily destroyed the forts at Canton and then moved in to attack the
city.
The British asked France, the United States, and Russia to join them against the
Chinese. The French were very excited to help because one of their
missionaries had recently been assassinated by the Chinese. The US and
Russia sent envoys promising support, but never sent any actual military
assistance.
In March of 1857 the British and French militaries joined forces under Admiral Sir
Michael Seymour, with the British being led by Lord Elgin and the French by
Jean Baptiste Louis.
Meanwhile, in the spring of 1868 Russia attacked the northern regions of
Manchuria. The Chinese agreed to sign the Treaty of Aigun in May of that year.
The treaty ceded 600,000 square kilometers of land to Russia.
The British and French forces moved on to Wanghailou, a city on the outskirts of
Tianjin and waited there for a peace-talk. On June 5th, 1858 the Chinese agreed
to meet with the French and British for negotiations. Later that month, the British
and Chinese signed the Treaty of Tientsin, which France, the US, and Russia
were also parties in. The treaty opened 11 more ports to the west, allowed
Britain, France, Russia, and US to establish small embassies in Beijing (a
previously closed city), all foreign ships would be allowed on the Yangtze River,
foreigners could travel to the interior of China, China would pay both Britain and
France 2 million taels (1 tael = about 40g) of silver, and China would pay Britain
an additional 2 million taels of silver for destruction of property.
However, the peace did not last long. China was not adhering to some of the
elements of the treaty, particularly by not allowing embassies to be set up in
Beijing. The British responded by attacking Chinese forts at the mouth of the
Peiho River.
The countries decided to negotiate and on October 18, 1860 the Convention of
Peking (Beijing) was held. At the convention the Treaty of Teintsin was ratified
by Prince Gong, Christians were given full civil rights, the city of Tianjin was
opened, the Chinese gave their number one District of Kowloon to Britain,
freedom of religion was granted in China, British ships would be allowed to carry
indentured Chinese to the Americas, China would pay Britain and France each 8
million taels, and the opium trade was legalized.
Lasting Effects of the Opium Wars
The economic, social, and political effects of the Opium Wars can still be seen
today. The treaties of Nanking and Tientsin opened numerous ports in China,
opening the country to foreign trade. The opening of ports and subsequent
increase in trade allowed the tea and silk industries to flourish. Tea export
increased by over 500% and silk export rose to 28 times the previous amount of
bales being shipped. Also, with the Hong abolished foreigners could now trade
freely in China. Because all duties had to be negotiated with foreign countries,
they were cut from 65% to 5%, wrecking many industries within China.
While the tea and silk industries flourished, other industries became much less
profitable. Farmers that had been producing food switched to tea or silk. This
caused the price of food to skyrocket. Now that Canton was not the only city
open for trade, the boatmen that worked transporting good to Canton from other
areas lost their jobs. Textile workers also lost their jobs because the handmade
textiles produced in China could not compete price-wise with the machine made
textiles from the west. The textile industries that stayed in business lowered
prices so they could compete with western goods, but the cost of production
stayed the same because they had not changed the method in which the textiles
were produced. This caused the textile industry to lose quite a bit of money. The
quality of life for textile workers was drastically lowered. Because of the rising
food prices and the rising unemployment level, poverty spread throughout
China.
The cost of the wars and the reparations paid to foreign countries fell on the
farmers. The Manchu government could no longer protect and provide for its
people. Also, the fact that they had signed the Treaty of Nanking before
exhausting all options of resistance discredited the government. These issues
combined with growing levels of poverty inspired uprisings against the
government.
The treaties also exempted foreigners from Chinese law. Furthermore, any
Chinese citizens that lived with or were employed by a British citizen were also
exempt. This made China a haven for criminals and illegal activity. It also
allowed foreigners to set up extensive spy networks within China.
Before the Opium wars China had started to develop an urban market economy,
but once the wars began, China was exposed prematurely to western industries.
China could not compete and became dependent on foreign goods and trade.
While the wars did give China an urban market economy, they also nearly
destroyed the economy already in place.
For the first time, China set up a foreign ministry. They tried to modernize
Chinas army as well as set up factories. However, most of the commercial
enterprises were run by feudal bureaucrats, who did not fully understand
capitalism and the market economy. They tried to monopolize the market, which
choked private sector industries. Most of these enterprises went bankrupt, but
even if the company failed the bureaucrats became wealthy.
After the wars China realized that the country could not continue to be so
isolationist. Intellectuals realized that they must try to understand western culture,
especially if they were to beat the West. Intellectuals in China began to think that
China not only had to modernize its army and open factories, but that the entire
political system needed to be changed. They felt that the government needed to
help the growth of capitalism. Private enterprises should be formed without
government interference and many different companies needed to be created so
that there would be competition within the market place. They also called for a
parliamentary system, which marked the first time the idea of private citizens
participating in government appeared in China.















1. The Second Opium War was fought from ______ to ______.

2. The ________ Incident was the cause of the Second Opium War.7

3. In June 1858, the __________________________ was signed opening 11
more ports to the west, allowed Britain, France, Russia, and US to establish
small embassies in Beijing.


4. The British argument was _______________ one and they resorted to
claiming that the Chinese soldiers had insulted the British flag.

5. The cost of the wars and the reparations paid to foreign countries fell on the
_____________________.

6. What were some of the lasting effects of the Opium Wars on China?
_____________________________________________________________
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7. How did China benefit from the Opium Wars?
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