2.The Opium Wars Notes - The Opium Wars(I) I. II. III. I V....

The Opium Wars(I)
I. The opium trade
II. The “Napier Fizzle” of 1834
III. Charles Elliot and the opium issue
IV. Commissioner Lin in Canton
A. British reaction
V. The Treaty of Nanking
Key Terms
“Country Trade”
Jarine, Matheson and Company
Taipan
Lord William John Napier
Lord Palmerston
Charles Elliot
Lin Zexu
Imperial Comissioner
Wei Yuan
Hong Kong
Chusan(Zhoushan)
Dinghai
Tianjin
Qishan
Chuenpi(Chuanbi)
Chuenpi Convention
Sir Henry Pottinger
Sanyuanli
Qiying
Treaty of Nanking
Extraterritoriality-With the exception of opium traders, Americans in china were subject to

American laws, judges, courts and prisons
Treaty of Wanghsia
Treaty of Whampoa
“Century of shame”
Sinocentrism
I.The Opium Trade
• Chinese had almost every advantage in trade
• 1826 trade was balanced, after 1826, began to be in B’s favour
• Ppl addicted to opium, produced sleepy dreamy feeling
• Death penalty in C for growing opium
• Laced with tobacco and smoke
• Allowed in C for medical purposes
• 1620s on island of Taiwan, first illegal use. Dutch introducted it. Opium
and tobacco mixed together, smoked produces a high
• Opium abuse spread from Taiwan to mainland
• 1729 opium abuse large enough that emperor prohibits its abuse
• 1796 opium illegal
• B realize if they make enough opium demand, then they could make a
killing
• Opium grown in British India
• Opium rolled into bowling balls. Bengall, sold to China
• B merchants drop off stuff in Bengall, then does private trade

•
1820s “country trade” and “country ships” they go to the pearl river and
under cover of night rowed small armed rowboats, then sell the things,
row back to mainland and then product controlled by Chinese
• Volume increases exponentially, 1729- 200 chests/year sold. 1767- 1000
chests/year, 1820- 4500/year, 1837- 40 000/year
•
By 1830 opium dens as common in china as gin houses in England
• B find out, lower the price, more market, increase profit by sheer volume
• Opium spread from Canton to anyone in the city
• Ching govnt had to take action because spreading from city to rural areas
• Dope trade draws in all foreign traders
•
Jardine, Matheson and company handles 1/3 of all opium sold to
China
•
B control large amount of opium market in China, America gets in on it
• American traders hook up with Turkish opium producers, then send
opium to China
• Roosevelt family got rich off opium trade
• B interested in opium, since ppl are more wealthy, they can charge more
taxes B turns blind eye to opium problem, decide only fault of users
•
China is bleeding silver by end of 1820s, bad enough, but China has a
silver(big) and copper(small) currency, because of copper in relation to
silver, taxes become huge
•
Southern China ppl throw down the plough and turn to banditry because
they can’t pay the taxes