Opium Wars

E26348

Qing dynasty official historical event military conflict political event unequal treaty war

The Opium Wars were two mid-19th-century conflicts between China and Western powers, primarily Britain, that forced open Chinese trade and marked a key turning point in the era of Western imperialism in Asia.

Aliases (7)

Statements (85)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Qing dynasty official → historical event → military conflict → political event → unequal treaty → unequal treaty → unequal treaty → war → war → war →
alsoKnownAs	Anglo-Chinese War →
conflictBetween	France → Qing dynasty → Qing dynasty → United Kingdom → United Kingdom →
consistsOf	First Opium War → Second Opium War →
describedBySource	British parliamentary debates → Qing dynasty memorials → modern historical scholarship →
endTime	1842 → 1860 → 1860 →
hasCause	British opium trade in China → Chinese efforts to suppress opium → Qing dynasty restrictions on foreign trade → trade imbalance between Britain and China →
hasEffect	beginning of the so-called Century of Humiliation → cession of Hong Kong Island to Britain → cession of Hong Kong Island to Britain → contribution to the Self-Strengthening Movement → expansion of Christian missionary activity in China → extraterritorial rights for foreigners in China → growth of foreign concessions in Chinese cities → increase of Western influence in East Asia → integration of China into global trade networks → legalization of opium import into China → opening of five treaty ports → opening of treaty ports in China → rise of Chinese anti-foreign sentiment → unequal treaties imposed on China → weakening of Qing dynasty sovereignty →
hasParticipant	Lin Zexu →
keyFigure	Charles Elliot → Daoguang Emperor → Lin Zexu → Qianlong Emperor → Xianfeng Emperor →
location	China → China → Humen → Pearl River Delta → Qing Empire → South China Sea → Yangtze River →
mainBelligerent	Qing dynasty → United Kingdom →
mainSubject	opium →
otherBelligerent	France → Russia → United States →
partOf	Western imperialism in Asia → history of the Qing dynasty →
pointInTime	1839 → 1842 → 1858 → 1860 →
result	Convention of Peking → Treaty of Nanjing → Treaty of Tientsin →
significantEvent	destruction of opium at Humen →
significantTreaty	Convention of Peking → Treaty of Nanjing → Treaty of Tientsin → Treaty of the Bogue →
startTime	1839 → 1839 → 1856 →
timePeriod	19th century →
topic	colonialism → free trade → gunboat diplomacy → international law → opium →

Referenced by (19)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Canton Campaign → Qing army →	conflict
Opium Wars ("First Opium War") → Opium Wars ("Second Opium War") →	consistsOf
British East India Company ("First Opium War") → British East India Company ("Second Opium War") →	involvedInWar
Canton ("Second Opium War") → Qing dynasty →	notableEvent
Canton Campaign → Canton Campaign ("Second Opium War") →	relatedTo
Military history of the United Kingdom → Victorian era ("Second Opium War") →	significantEvent
Tower of Buddhist Incense ("Second Opium War") →	damagedIn
Old Summer Palace ("Second Opium War") →	destroyedDuring
Marble Boat ("Second Opium War") →	destroyedOrDamagedIn
Age of Imperialism →	hasPart
Chinese nationalism →	influencedBy
Canton Campaign ("Second Opium War") →	partOf
Longevity Hill ("Second Opium War") →	rebuiltAfter