How_britain_went_to_war_with_china_over_opium May 2026

The island was ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" [1, 2].

Silver began flowing out of China to pay for the drug, crippling the Chinese economy [2, 6]. The Breaking Point: Commissioner Lin Zexu how_britain_went_to_war_with_china_over_opium

In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor appointed to end the opium trade [1, 5]. Lin took drastic measures: The island was ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" [1, 2]

By the 1830s, millions of Chinese citizens were addicted, causing severe social and economic decay [3, 5]. Lin took drastic measures: By the 1830s, millions

He wrote a famous letter to Queen Victoria appealing to her morality (which she likely never saw) [4, 5]. He blockaded foreign merchants in Canton [1, 3].

To reverse this deficit, the British East India Company began smuggling , grown in British-colonized India, into China [1, 3]. Although opium was illegal in China, the trade was incredibly lucrative [4, 6].