Vella
Jenna Vella
Jason Holloway
HIST 1112
13 November 2014
The Chinese Opium Wars
Up until 1839, China was a tremendous importer of opium. Opium was coming
from Great Britain and Great Britain was making huge profits off of the opium trade.
Opium is now an illegal narcotic that is made from the poppy flower. Before 1839, opium
was used regularly in China as a social drug. In 1839, everything changed. The Daoguang
emperor rejected the proposal to allow legalized and taxed regulation of opium and
therefore the opium trade was abolished. A war, the First Opium War, broke out between
Britain and China, and eventually the First Unequal Treaty was signed. It was this treaty
that led to the Second Opium War, because Great Britain was not satisfied with it. Lasting
effects of the Chinese Opium Wars are still seen today.
Opium is a narcotic drug that is produced from the drying resin of unripe seed
capsules of the poppy flower. The painkilling properties found in the molecules of opiates
are similar to endorphins, which are produced naturally by the body. For users, a euphoric
and pleasurable high is obtained at first, but with continuous use, the body demands
larger amounts of the drug for it to be as effective to the user. Addicts experience a
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painful withdrawal from the use of opium, and many times would rather keep abusing the
drug to avoid the uncomfortable pain. The first real addiction problems arose when
smoking opium was introduced to China toward the middle of the 17
th
century. Before
that, opium was typically being taken as a solid or with a beverage, as long ago as 100
AD (“Opium”).
It was this prevalent addiction of opium use in China that led to the abolishment
of opium trade into China. During the 17
th
and 18
th
centuries, China was a mostly self-
sufficient country. There weren’t many items on the European market that China was
interested in. However, the demand for Chinese products such as porcelain, silk, and
especially tea were so high in Europe that it created a trade imbalance. There was a heavy
flow of European silver pouring into China during this time. Now, the British East India
