Lin Tse-Hsu (1785-1850) was the Chinese Commissioner in Canton whose actions precipitated the Opium Wars (1839- 1842)

Opium Den

Taku Fort after being taken by the British and French on May 20th, 1858

The Opium Wars
The Opium Wars arose from China's attempts to suppress the opium trade

The Opium Wars were a terrible time for the Chinese people in their history. Taking place roughly in the years 1839-42 and 1856-60, China underwent radical changes that left many dead and forced upon China modernization and an undesired entrance into the international trade market. The Opium Wars were really about Britain's massive economical problems, the British trader's financial interests, and Britain wanting exclusive rights in China.

First Opium War . . 1839-42

The Opium War was a display of how the greed of one country can destroy the very lives of millions of people in another country. Britain would be categorized as the greedy nation and China the victim. Even though Britain was the main aggressor in this war, there were also other nations involved in the degrading of China's culture, they were France, Russia, and even America. All of these countries took advantage of China by sending chests of opium with about 150 pounds of it in each barrel to china and selling it overpriced. In fact Britain sent 2,330 chests of opium in 1788, then 4,968 in 1810, then increased that to 17,257 chests of opium in 1835, which was worth millions of British pounds!

Ruins of the Imperial Summer Palace, October 1860

Opium was primarily used for medicinal purposes, but later became too addictive and was banned. The use of opium, after the ban, was especially common near the port city of Canton, where foreign merchants smuggled large quantities of the drug into China. In 1839 the Chinese government confiscated all opium warehoused at Canton by British merchants. The Chinese confiscated and destroyed over 20,000 chests of opium. A year later, after much debate and consideration, Britain declared war on China and demanded reparations for the destruction of British private property.

Second Opium War . . 1856-60

Since the war with Great Briton (1839-42) which had forced the Chinese to cede the unpopulated island of Hong Kong and to open Canton to foreign residence and commerce, there had been constant friction arising from the continuing illegal importation by British merchants of millions of pounds worth of opium from India every year.

War broke out again when a British-registered Chinese-owned ship, the Arrow, was seized at Canton in October 1856 by Chinese officials. The French joined the British in this war, following the murder of a French missionary in the interior of China. In June 1857 the Chinese fleet was destroyed by the British, and six months later the British and French fleets bombarded and took Canton, then sailed north towards the capital in Peking (modern Beijing). The Taku Forts commanding the entrance to Tientsin were captured in May, 1858, and to save Peking the Chinese agreed to the desired treaty permitting the importation of opium, travel in the interior of China, residence of foreign diplomats in Peking, granting toleration of Christianity and freedom of trade, and agreeing to payment of indemnities.

The Chinese did not ratify the treaty that had been forced on them, and in 1860 resisted the approach of the fleet bringing the plenipotentiaries. The Taku Forts were once again taken by Britain and it's allies, and Peking captured. In retaliation for the murder of thirteen members of their mission, Lord Elgin ordered the burning of the Imperial Summer Palace after British and French soldiers had been allowed to loot it's priceless treasures. The Chinese were now forced to ratify the treaty of 1858 and to pay an additional indemnity. The British also obtained the Kowloon promontory opposite Hong Kong. A clause in the treaty forbade the application of the term 'barbarian' to Europeans!

One of the strongest Chinese defenses was a series of forts at Taku, on the mouth of the Hai River, which guarded the approach to Tientsin, 37 miles to the west. On June 25th, 1859, a British gunboat flotilla, supplemented by a marine landing party, was firmly repulsed. A second attempt to take the forts came on August 21st, 1860, when a 17,000 man British-French force stormed the forts, after a heavy naval bombardment. Not long after, 80 miles to the northwest, Peking was occupied on October 12th, 1860.

Opium Storage Ships - Canton Harbor