鸦片战争的历史及影响(英语论文)

HIST 200Xiao ShuaiOct. 10th, 2011 History of Chinese opium trade and historical influences Why did opium become such a problem and what were the British and Chineseviews of the opium trade?Whenever people talking about Modern Chinese history, the opium war is always a fashion topic as it is the beginning of the Modern Chinese history. However when people talking about the opium war, the history will stretch back to the time when Britain first finish the industrial revolution.In the middle of 18 century, Britain first started the industrial revolution. Someone believes that the industrial revolution started in 1750s, however the invention of the Jenny Spinning (1765) normally counts as the beginning of the industrial revolution. With the invention of Watt Steam Engine, and the promotion and improvement from various users, had greatly enhanced the comprehensive strength of the UK (United Kingdoms).Influences on production methods:1.Caused the industry to change the factory workshop from manual tomechanization.2.Greatly improved productivity of the UK.3.Objectively spread the advanced production technology and productionmethods to the world.4.The UK had begun dumping commodities to overseas markets as the “worldfactory”.Based on the advantages of technologies, British had started dumping their commodities to oversea markets. To satisfy the demand of Chinese commodities of Europe, East India Co. and other western mechanists using industrial products trade Chinese commodities to European market such as tea, silks and ceramics. According to the text book, in 1600 the British government granted the east India company a monopoly on trade east of Africa’s cape of good hope to south America’s straits of Magellan, that is, all trade in the Indian and pacific ocean; made perpetual in 1609, this monopoly lasted until 1834. There were 4 opened ports at China in early 18 century; the Canton system was the procedure of trade and barbarian management. The ports reduced to only one in 1759. James Flint has sent to undertake talk about restrict trading policies with Qing government by East India Co., had violated Chinese policies, the court decreed that Canton from that time would be only open port and that Europeans could trade only with the Cohong under the general control of a Superintendent of Maritime Customs.As the time goes by, the limited ports of Chinese market and the Canton system could no longer satisfy the booming trades and western demand of Chinese goods. By the turn of the 19-century, tea made up 80% of Chinese exports to Europe. Therefore western merchants wants further open up themarket to them. According to the textbook, in 1793, the British east India company sent lord George McCartney to try to expand trading privileges, open more trading port, and establish diplomatic residence. But the Qianlong treated the effort as a tributary mission, and there were no changes in Chinese policy. An 1816 follow-up mission, led by lord William Amherst, was not even formally received.By the time Britain and other European countries had entered the Industrial Age. China, a historical country that remained over 2000 years’ feudal society, was still an undeveloped agriculture-lead-economy country. Chinese and their society were pretty satisfied with their out-of-fashion natural economy. When China lost curiosity of western commodities, Chinese and the market basically lost the demand of western industrial goods, British, mainly the East India Co., have to use silver to trade Chinese commodities, which will reduce a large amount of profits. To balance the huge merchandise trade deficit and save the result of running out of silver reserves, as well as to satisfy demand of Chinese tea, British decided to trade more opium to China. The East India Co. had started using opium to trade Chinese commodities instead of silver since the end of 18 century: Tones and tones of opium transfer from India to Chinese society via Chinese coastal region. As opium trade increasing every year, Chinese silver reserves was rapidly losing year by year, which directly lead to a huge decreasing of Chinese comprehensive strength. A huge number of Chinese populations indicted to opium, including soldiers and administration officials. Qinggovernment was getting more and more corrupt and powerless, as well as military force. The opium trade had indirectly exacerbated Qing dynasty’s subversion.Why did the two sides go to war and how did this conflict influence subsequenthistory?When time goes into 1830s, Daoguang emperor finally chose to support the officials’ anti-opium faction represented by Lin Zexu after awarded the great harm of continuing opium trade. In 1839, Daoguang emperor appointed Lin as imperial commissioner to wipe out opium trade. In the very beginning of Lin’s actions, he tried to demand foreigners turn over their opium stock. However, “the British first ignored the order, then refused.” Lin then stopped all trade and started destroy all the opium he could possibly find. In the whole period of anti-opium movement, Lin had arrested approximately 1,700 Chinese, 350 foreigners and successfully destroyed 44,000 pounds of opium. British felt that the lost during the movement was intolerable. According to textbook, British treated the siege and the seizure of opium as a national affront and a cause for war. In 1834, the UK government had taken back the permission of monopoly trade to Chinese market from East India Co. The behaviors in anti-opium movement had seriously damaged the profits of the UK government.In August 1842, the first Opium War was ended with disastrous defeat of China. British authority forced Qing government to sign the first unequal treatyin modern history "Treaty of Nanjing ", and later the Qing government signed "Trea ty of Wanghia" and "Treaty of Whampoa" with United States and France respectively.Since then, China’s history has undergone major changes.The sovereignty and territorial integrity was destroyed, the path of independent development was interrupted, and China was forced to enter into the capitalist world market. Before the Opium War, China was an independent feudal state, and the Qing governm ent exercised full dominion; after the war, part of China’s sovereignty was subject to severe destruction. Chinese self-sufficient natural economy began to disintegrate. Before the war, in terms of economy, China was a feudal country based on natural economy, and individual farming was combined with cottage industry, strongly rejecting the aggression of foreign goods. After the war, "Canton system" was abolished, treading ports were increased, the tariff sovereignty was lost, and foreign cheap goods poured into China, therefore Chinese self-sufficient feudal economy was gradually smashed and China increasingly descended to commodity market and raw materials supplier of imperialism. As massive amount of silver flowed out, the Qing government's financial management was influenced, so the working people's lives became more difficult.After the Opium War, signatory country got extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction. Extraterritoriality stipulates that although foreign monarchs, headsof state, diplomats, and persons and houses with diplomatic privileges are in the territory of the country, under the law they are not belong to the country, and thus they are not subject to local laws. Consular jurisdiction stipulates that by treaty a state should give the tra ding privileges to the other state’s citizens who are living in the state concerned, especially give immunity from the jurisdiction of local courts and privileges of jurisdiction that the local courts exercised.Extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction were legalized in the unequal treaties, so foreign concessions began to appear in China. Nominally, the territory of foreign concessions belongs to leaser nation without the property of extraterritoriality. But in the history, all the user nations of the concessions made use of unequal treaties to obtain citizen’s consular jurisdiction. The administrative autonomy of foreign concessions limited the leaser country to executive power in its region, and a few concessions had legislative authority. The host c ountry of concession’s territorial sovereignty treated the concession as the foreign territory and dared not to interfere in its internal affairs. Therefore, it is difficult to conduct jurisdiction on activities happened in the concession.Opium War is an important turning point in Chinese history, since then China ended its feudal society and began to step into a semi-feudal society, which marks the beginning of Chinese modern history.。