Second Opium War
Conflict over opium trade and diplomatic rights.
Last updated
It resulted in the legalisation of the opium trade and a second defeat for the Qing.[1] The conflict is also called the Arrow War, after the ship whose seizure sparked the fighting.[2]
Life and work
British gunboats shelled Canton the next day, and France later joined the action.[3] The allies captured the Taku Forts in May 1858 and threatened Beijing.[3] The Qing signed the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858, which legalised the opium trade and opened more ports.[3][4] In December 1857, Canton was stormed by British and French troops, resulting in the capture of Ye.[3]
Hostilities resumed in June 1859 when a British naval force under Admiral Sir James Hope failed to capture the Taku Forts.[5] The Convention of Peking transferred the Kowloon Peninsula to British control and also awarded additional territory to Russia.[6]
What the cited sources add
The National Army Museum account notes that the Treaty of Nanking had already compelled China to relax controls on foreign trade.[4] It states that British demands included opening all of China to commerce and legalising the opium trade.[4] The same source adds that Britain was now legally selling opium in China, and the trade increased for years.[7] The Ebrary account describes how the Opium War later became a symbol of China's "history of humiliation."[8]
The National Army Museum records that the British issued the Second China War Medal to European and Indian soldiers who served.[4] The Asia Pacific Curriculum states that the first Opium War (1839–42) helped shift the balance of power in Asia toward the West.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Second Opium War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Opium Wars in China", Asia Pacific Curriculum (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Opium War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: He, "British Imperialism in China Guided History", Boston University (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Opium War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Second China War National Army Museum", www.nam.ac.uk (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Second China War National Army Museum", www.nam.ac.uk. facts only, no text reused. nam.ac.uk
- Wikipedia, "Second Opium War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hsü 2000, p. 206 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Second Opium War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Second Opium War", Historic UK (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Second Opium War", Historic UK. facts only, no text reused. historic-uk.com
- ""The Opium War" labeled as the beginning of modern China's history of humiliation", Ebrary. facts only, no text reused. ebrary.net
- "The Opium Wars in China", Asia Pacific Curriculum. facts only, no text reused. asiapacificcurriculum.ca
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Second Opium War (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Second Opium War (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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