The First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42), known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice.
Chinese officials wished to end the spread of opium, and confiscated supplies of opium from British traders. The British government, although not officially denying China's right to control imports, objected to this seizure and used its military power to violently enforce redress.
- Background
- 2 Kowloon incident (July 1839)
- 3 Opium War (1839–42)
- 4 Legacy
- From the inception of the Canton System (The Canton System (1757-1842) served as a means for China to control trade with the west within its own country. Seen from the European view, it was a complement to the Old China TradeDespite Chinese efforts to restrict European traders and citizens to Macau, European trade spread throughout China. The Canton System supported European traders' with China. It also forced large amounts of direct trade between European merchants and Chinese civilians. Instead, the Europeans, generally employees of major trading companies (most importantly the British East India Company) had to trade with an association of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong. The emperor appointed an official called the Hoppo (the spelling at the time of , Hubu, which was short for , Yuehaiguanbu), to take charge and collect taxes from the goods traded. The position also overlook whether the trades went accordingly. The hoppo was responsible for merchant relations on behalf of the Qing court. It was an important position since Western merchants were not allowed to communicate with the emperor directly.. ) by the Qing Dynasty in 1756, trade in goods from China was extremely lucrative for European and Chinese merchants alike. However, foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Thirteen Hongs and were restricted to Canton (Guangzhou). Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories (The Thirteen Factories was an area of Canton (Guangzhou), China, where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since the hai jin ban on maritime activities. It is also referred to as the "Thirteen Hongs" or the "Canton Factories". The site where the factories stood is now Wenhua Park, and Thirteen Hong Street, onto which the factories backed is now named Shisanhang Road) , near Shameen Island, Canton and were not allowed to enter, much less live or trade in, any other part of China.
