Opium was primarily used for medicinal purposes, but later became too addictive and was banned. The use of opium, after the ban, was especially common near the port city of Canton, where foreign merchants smuggled large quantities of the drug into China. After some time went by, with the trade of opium brought to a standstill, three drunken sailors killed a Chinese villager. Lin Zexu, a governor and well-respected man, ordered Captain Charles Elliot to deliver these men to be tried under Chinese rule. Elliot said the sailors could only be tried under British rule and would be dealt with appropriately when they arrived in England. Disapproving of this response Lin Zexu cut off trade with the British, which forced them back toward Hong Kong and then ultimately to wage war.

The Opium wars were really about Britain's massive economical problems, The British trader's financial interests and Britain wanting exclusive rights in China. Also it was a clash between two civi

The first Opium War occurred in the year 1840. The Qing government was made aware of the dangers of opium smoking among the Chinese people and banned it in 1839 (First Reading). But the Qing government did not allow reasonable time for it to fade away nor did they put forth enough effort to enforce the new law. The result was that opium traders were caught off guard but not scared enough to obey the law. The enforcement of the law, although weak, gave the British traders little hope of the legalization of opium in China. However, opium became more wide spread. In that same year, the Qing court sent Lin Zexu to strictly enforce the Opium law. Lin Zexu quickly ordered the surrender of all Opium from the British traders. These actions were deemed necessary by Lin Zexu to deter any further opium trading activities.

Considering all the disadvantages, inevitably, the British promptly defeated the Chinese army. The invading British army was advancing with incredible speed. Chinese cities fell and were captured almost daily. The British seemed unstoppable and the defeat of the entire Chinese army was imminent. Under the pressure and fear of total defeat, the Qing emperor submitted to the British demands and in 1842, signed the Treaty of Nanjing. The treaty of Nanjing was a turning point for China and the Chinese people. This was the first of the “unequal treaties” that was signed under foreign military threat. The terms of this treaty were not too harsh; the Qing government had to pay millions in silver, cede Hong Kong and promise to freeze the tariff rate. For the first time in Qing history, Chinese territory was given to a foreigner power. This treaty created all kinds of doubts about the Qing government among the Chinese people and stirred interests from other foreigner powers such as France and the US. Also, the treaty set a fixed tariff on Chinese imports that was insignificant at the time but later had a major influence on the Chinese people. Soon after the treaty of Nanjing, France and the US negotiated similar treaties with China which did not include the ceding of any Chinese territory. The emperor agreed to these treaties promptly to please the foreign powers and to show that all foreigner powers were equally favored.

The result of the Second Opium War was perhaps unexpected by the Chinese people. This war was much more destructive than the First Opium War. This was the first time that a foreign army had taken the Capitol city Bei Jing, ever since the start Qing dynasty. The entire country was very much shaken by the war, not to mention the emperor in fear for his life fled the Capitol. This seemed to be the end of Qing Empire, but interestingly after the death of the emperor and Yehenala took power, the Qing actually began to revive and strengthen. Shocked by the result of the war and having suffered thru the war herself, Yehenala finally agreed that rapid modernization was necessary and inevitable to keep the empire alive. Yehenala appoi

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