The Opium Revolution

Sebastian A

1217

            There are many rising global powers, but the People’s Republic of China tops them all. One of the world’s current superpowers, China has the second highest GDP in the world as well as the highest growth rate amongst other major economic powers. The People’s Republic of China is also the largest merchandise exporter, second-largest merchandise importer, second-largest destination of foreign direct investment (FDI), largest manufacturer, and largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. Even the US, with the top GDP and the strongest military, recognizes the strength of their biggest trading partner, to whom they are also over 1 trillion dollars indebted. China’s influence can only be measured on a global scale to be depicted accurately, and this influence continues to grow. Economics experts have predicted that it’s only a matter of time (possibly only a few years) before China overtakes the US in terms of GDP and influence, and based on the data I’ve seen I have to say that I agree. But how did China get to be in this position?

This is a very interesting question, considering that China’s rise started in the 1980s, and didn’t really become significant until the 1990s. Just 20 years ago, people thought of China as a relatively weak nation that might eventually become important. 30 years ago, the People’s Republic of China had barely begun to recover from a terrible economy and mass abject poverty! The speed of development of China, and the sheer magnitude of this development, is something I find staggering. However, if we look at China’s history, and the number of innovations and inventions that have come out of China that can be considered critical to modern life (paper, gunpowder, the compass, and printing, to name but a few), it really isn’t too shocking. There have been a few specific turning points in China’s history that have been particularly influential and beneficial, especially the years following the fall of the Maoist era. However, I think that perhaps one of the most influential moments in Chinese history was centered on the Opium Wars. Although the Opium Wars didn’t set up China’s economy for success like Deng Xiaoping did at the end of the Maoist era, I believe that the Opium Wars were significant in accustoming and opening China up to the West, in destroying the rule of dynasties, and in establishing China as a center of trade, even though none of this was brought about by purposeful action on China’s behalf. In other words, the Opium Wars brought China out of seclusion and integrated it into the world. It was a very harsh lesson that the Chinese experienced, but one that did not go unheeded.

             Before I get to that though, I want to introduce a little on China’s history. Chinese civilization is one of the world’s oldest, dating back to more than 4,000 years ago. Dynastic ruling was the primary method of government for a very large part of that time, with the most recent dynastic rule beginning in the 17^th century and ending in the 19^th century AD. The end of the dynastic rule in China began when Britain invaded China and fought with the dynasty rulers at that time (this was the Qing dynasty). The results of this confrontation were an exploding population growth as well as mass social strife, an increase in Western influence, economic stagnation, and, of course, the Opium Wars.

            The Opium Wars came about from the massive foreign opium trade that almost bankrupted China.  This trade, which was a result of China’s very isolated and exclusive trading policies that came about as an attempt to restrict harmful Western influence. China tried to limit trading with foreign nations by declaring that they would only import silver, but British and American merchants perceived a different desire, and due to the imbalance of trade they began to import this commodity in massive amounts, which was opium. What started out as a hobby that was exclusive to the rich and idle, by the mid-1830s approximately 90% of all Chinese males under the age of forty in coastal regions were active users of the drug, while an estimated 12 million people were addicted. By this point, China, who had previously been  receiving a lot of income from foreign demand for exotic items and spices, was barely getting any money at all, while the expenditures on opium were only going up, even though the Emperor had declared that opium trading was illegal. Not only was the trade bankrupting China, but people began to get very lethargic due to the drug, with business activity in rapid decline and the standard of living also degrading, as well as widespread public official corruption.  In this effect, with the Chinese ruling class trying to eliminate the drug and the British and American merchants continuing to trade the drug, a conflict was sure to occur. Thus the first Opium War happened.

This conflict was between the British and the Chinese. Chinese officials began to take drastic measures to ensure that merchants would stop smuggling opium, such as arresting them and not letting them go until the Chinese government was given all their opium. Then, after receiving the opium shipments, the Chinese officials burned it in public as a display of intolerance. The British attempted to negotiate a compromise, but the Chinese were unwilling to listen. They just wanted the British out, and for them to take their opium with them. The British, in turn, attacked China, using their navy to close off ports and invade, until the British were in control of much of southern China. After this, the Chinese and British tried to come to terms, which were expressed through a series of unfair treaties. These treaties basically granted control of much of China’s coast to the West, as well as seceded Hong Kong to Britain and made China pay reparations for the opium burned to merchants. Furthermore, China was compelled to abolish trading monopolies and limit tariffs, Britain was granted “most-favoured nation status” in terms of trade, and, most importantly, China enacted the principle of extraterritoriality, which made it so that Western merchants in China were only subject to the laws of their mother country, not of China. This set China up for the second Opium War, in which the fight was now between China and Britain, France, and the US. The Western powers easily whooped some tail, and, after a whole other round of reparations, established embassies in China and made the Chinese government allow for Chinese to be taken over to America as indentured work labor. This was the last of the Opium Wars.

            After that, a series of rebellions and reinventions of Chinese government threw China into chaos. However, as we all know, China eventually emerged and became one of the most prominent powers in the world. China eventually did overcome foreign exportation of opium by growing it natively and far out producing the other countries. Though the lessons initiated by the West were very harsh in this regard, the Opium Wars definitely opened China up and established it in trade with many countries, which it would eventually take to its advantage.

                                                  Works Cited

Allingham, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60." The Victorian Web. N.p., 24 June 2006. Web. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opiumwars1.html>.

"China: Rising Red Star over the East." Thomas White International. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.thomaswhite.com/world-markets/china-rising-red-star-over-the-east/>.

Chowdhuri, Satyabrata R. "Greater China." Asia Times Online. N.p., 21 Apr. 2005. Web. <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GD21Ad01.html>.

Morrison, Wayne M. "China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States." Federation of American Scientists. Congressional Research Service, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. <http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33534.pdf>.