Causes of the Opium War
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This paper examines the causes of the Opium War and shows that one cause was general, involving change and the economy of China, while the other was the direct action taken by Chinese leaders to save the country from the effects of the opium trade. The paper explains that these effects involved the loss of currency, the imbalance of trade, and social disorder that resulted from the smuggling of opium.
From the Paper:"Beginning around 1830, tension began in Canton between the workers in British factories and the Chinese authorities. The two issues involved unpaid debts and questions concerning jurisdiction. By the late 1830s, opium smuggling by the British and the Americans, along with the activities of foreign firms in Canton, interfered with the authority of the state and its ability to rule. The economy was a mixed one, with state planning and private commercial capitalism. Social tension was increasing.
"The internal crisis which had been coming to a head since the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor was not simply a classical instance of the withdrawal of the Mandate of Heaven" (Chesneaux 57). This was because a very serious external crisis also was taking place at the same time. These two crises together were the general causes of the Opium War. "Now the two processes - internal and global - merged, even became confused. Familiar events were endowed with new, unrecognizable meaning as the historical context changed" (Wakeman 5)."
Cite this Cause and Effect Essay:
Causes of the Opium War (2003, October 26) Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://www.academon.com/cause-and-effect-essay/causes-of-the-opium-war-43508/
"Causes of the Opium War" 26 October 2003. Web. 25 May. 2013. <http://www.academon.com/cause-and-effect-essay/causes-of-the-opium-war-43508/>