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Opium Wars
Group Members: Owen Eller, Sebastian Stresau, Ethan Waggoner

Category: Website

Works Cited
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Primary Sources

Baumler, Alan. Modern China and Opium : a Reader . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan

Press, 2001. Print. This book delves into the Opium Wars in detail, along with picking

apart the details of 19 primary documents that are essential in ones understanding of the

War's backgrounds and effects.

Bridgeman, Elijah Coleman. The pioneer of American missions in China : the life and labors of

Elijah Coleman Bridgman. Hathi Trust Digital Library,

catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008585845/Cite. Accessed 28 Oct. 2019. This book is a

first person account of the life that British traders had during the Opium Wars. It is the

bibliography and record or Elijah C. Bridgeman.

Forbes, R. B. (Robert Bennet), and Kerr, Phyllis Forbes. Letters from China : the Canton-Boston

Correspondence of Robert Bennet Forbes, 1838-1840 . 1st ed. Mystic, Ct: Mystic

Seaport Museum, Inc., 1996. Print. This book contains a compilation of letters between

two people who lived during the Chinese Opium Wars. It shows the quality of life for the

people of the time period.

Kuo, Pin-chia. A Critical Study of the First Anglo-Chinese War with Documents. Shanghai,

China: The Commercial press,limited, 1935. Print. This book delves into the wars within

and around China, while also discussing the effects of British Opium on the people of

China. It includes primary documents written during the Opium Wars.

McMahon, Keith. The Fall of the God of Money : Opium Smoking in Nineteenth-Century China .

Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Print. This book is all about Opium in

China. It goes on about the effects of the opium that was smoked, the effects of the trade

in China, and other topics dealing with the Chinese Opium during the 19th century.
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Secondary Sources

Cohen, Sidney. "Opium." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/L/article/029/610/0296100-00.html. Accessed 6 Oct.

2019. This talks about opium and the origin of it.

Credits, Extra. "First Opium War - The Righteous Minister - Extra History - #2." YouTube,

YouTube, 25 June 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHmuuc7m1AA. This

video was an animation depicting the first opium war. It was easy to follow and was

engaging. It provided me great and useful information on the viewpoint of the British and

how they relentlessly tried to get opium into the Chinese market even if it was the black

market. I was also provided with information on Lin Zexu who was appointed by the

Chinese emperor to rid of the opium in their nation as well as the British. I will use this

video to touch up and add details to the portion on the First Opium War.

"Feature History - Opium Wars." Youtube, 19 Oct. 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMgjDUt-2f8. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019. These videos inform

about the 1st and 2nd opium war, talking about multiple key figures and important events

in the wars.

Ferrell, Robert H. "Open Door Policy." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/C/article/021/459/0214590-0.html. Accessed 9 Oct.

2019 The US pushed the Open Door Policy that essentially stated that China should have

equal trading rights with other foreign nations. Because of the defeat of China during the

Opium War, China had to award several concessions to the countries of Britain, France,
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Germany, Russia, Japan, and the US. This article gave great information on the events

that occured after the Opium War, particularly the Open Door Policy.

"First Opium War - Gunboat Diplomacy - Extra History - #3." Youtube, 2 July 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAjUqwauf-A. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019. These videos inform

about the 1st and 2nd opium war, talking about multiple key figures and important events

in the wars.

"First Opium War - Lies - Extra History." Youtube, 23 July 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9beMOxGOrk. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019. These videos

inform about the 1st and 2nd opium war, talking about multiple key figures and important

events in the wars.

"First Opium War - Trade Deficits and the Macartney Embassy - Extra History - #1." Youtube,

18 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgQahGsYokU. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019. These

videos inform about the 1st and 2nd opium war, talking about multiple key figures and

important events in the wars.

"Forbes, Robert Bennet." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/C/article/010/954/0109540-0.html. Accessed 29 Sep.

2019. This article on Robbert Bennet is a short description of a captain that smuggled

opium into China. This article may provide us with an idea of who to research on the side

of the British.

HISTORY, IT'S. "The Opium War - Lost in Compensation l HISTORY OF CHINA." YouTube,

YouTube, 22 Aug. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd2CYPdYwcY. This

video was another great source for details that I missed in my research. It was an

informative presentation that went in-depth about the first opium war. It started as a
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disagreement between China and Britain who had been trading for centuries but Britain

was angered by the new restrictions that China had placed on Opium. Britain was

desperate to put opium into the Chinese market, even if it meant through other means

such as smuggling. As a result of the new arising endemic, the emperor issued a death

sentence of the smuggling of opium and did not compensate Britain for any losses of

shipment. Britain would not have this and sent a fleet to prove their point. This eventually

leads to battles and attacks on the Chinese coast. I will use this video to further explain

the events of the First Opium War.

History, House of. "The First and Second Opium War | History of China (1839-1860)." YouTube,

YouTube, 25 June 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYMA-u_wKBc. This

video was on the straightforward informational side which proved to be very useful as it,

in much detail, depicted and described the account and events of the first and second

opium wars. China was a strong world power in the 1800s and was high above essentially

every other country. They had everything they needed within their borders, so there was

no dire need to trade with other nations. China was resilient to the idea of trading with

Britain when they asked and as a result, Britain received a brisk refusal. This goes to

show how high the Chinese viewed themselves amongst the other nations. I will use this

video for many of the facts contributing to this project because it was informative in the

entire opium war from the first to the second and the events in between.

"Hong Kong: History." CultureGrams Online Edition, ProQuest, 2019,

online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country_sections.php?&contid=3&wmn=Asia&cn

=Hong_Kong&sname=History&snid=2&cid=71. Accessed 29 September 2019. With the

Hong Kong set to expire because of the new lease on territories, China and Britain met
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once again to decide the future of Hong Kong. In 1984, an agreement was reached to give

Hong Kong back to China, but to preserve its unique features such as its social, legal, and

economic systems. This caused 350,000 citizens to emigrate and caused tensions to

increase as well as the distortion of social normalities. Tung Chee Hwa was eventually

elected leader of Hong Kong by a 400 member committee.

"Japanese Imperialism." Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-

history/1600s-1800s/imperialism/v/japanese-imperialism-world-history-khan-academy.

Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.

Lamley, Harry J. "Lin Tse-hsu (Lin Zexu) (1785-1850)." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/L/article/024/736/0247360-00.html. Accessed 29 Sep.

2019. Lin Tse-hsü was a Governor General who wrote to the Emporer asking to help stop

the illegal smuggling of opium into China. Soon after he was given a position were he

could actually make a difference and stop the smuggling, and in one case he even stopped

20,000 chests of opium from being imported into China. While he was in this position he

also wrote to Queen Victoria talking about the smuggling of the opium.

Lamley, Harry J. "Lin Tse-hsu (Lin Zexu) (1785-1850)." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/L/article/024/736/0247360-00.html. Accessed 6 Oct.

2019.

Liu, James T. C. "China: History." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/L/article/043/276/0432760-00.html. Accessed 9 Oct.

2019. This article contained a ton of history of China. It ranged from the formation of

China to what is it like today. It also contained information on the Opium Wars which is

what I was looking for. The article also had useful information on the Tai-ping rebellion
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which was a movement that occurred as a result of the Opium War. The rebellion

threatened the Ch'ing dynasty and overthrew several cities and had a large number of

participants. They even went as far as killing western ministers that traveled to China to

help resolve the rebellion.

"THE NEW OPIUM WAR CHAPTER." The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Sept.

1928, https://www.nytimes.com/1928/09/24/archives/the-new-opium-war-

chapter.html?searchResultPosition=10.

"The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of

Wangxia, 1839–1844." U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State,

history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/china-1. This website talks about the U.S.

relations with China because of the Opium War and a few other major events in history.

"The Opium War." National Army Museum, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842.

This website provides information on multiple events that happened withing the opium

war.

Opium Wars." Scholastic GO!, go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/C/article/021/483/0214830-

0.html. Accessed 29 Sep. 2019. The Opium Wars involved Britain and China and the

wars between the two powers. The first war came from China's illegal importation of

opium by British merchants. Because of this, the British were easily able to defeat the

Chinese since all of their ports were open to them. As a result, the British gained Hong

Kong as their own and were granted extraterritoriality. The second war came from China

refusing the Opium trade. This time the French and the British fought and won against

the Chinese. As a result, China opened 11 more of their ports and legalized the trade of

opium.
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Stureon, Warllam. "Imperial China - Opium, Trade, And War In Imperial China (Episode 1)."

YouTube, YouTube, 5 Dec. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Dm1ZYfoDE.

This video was another very formal and informative style presentation. The speaker

clearly stated, explained, and reviewed all of the important topics of the Opium Wars

such as the First and Second Opium Wars, animosity with Britain, and the Century of

Humiliation. The speaker also referenced several secondary sources that pertained to the

topic, but all included great facts that are vital to our project. I will most definitely use

this video to add several more interesting facts and details to our project.

"Taiping Rebellion." Scholastic GO!,

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/C/article/028/318/0283180-0.html. Accessed 9 Oct.

2019. This article provides good information about the Taiping rebellion; a violent

movement that occurred in China in response to the Opium War. The Taiping rebellion is

a crucial event that ties into the timeline of the Opium War. The rebellion cost 20 million

lives and as a result, weakened the Quing dynasty.

U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-

1860/china-1. This website gave insight into the US involvement in the Opium war

which I previously I had not known about. The article includes information useful to our

project such as what the US was trying to get from China, and why China did not want to

trade with anybody else. It gives history on the background on both Chinese and

American trading histories, and how the trade of opium between China and Britain

resulted in a war. President John Tyler was greatly involved in this event and was a part

of the Treaty of Wangxia. This source would be counted as secondary because there are

no eyewitness or first hand accounts depicted within the article.

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U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-

1860/china-2. This article gives information on the events of the second opium war. It

takes place right after the first war and starts because of the failure of the Qing

government's ability to follow the boundaries of the treaties that it struck with America

and Britain. In 1858, after attacks on ports by the British, the French, Russians, and the

US all signed treaties with China that granted them all rights and privileges to ports and

trade. Even though the treaties were signed, China continued to fight for 2 more years

before finally accepting them. This source would be categorized as secondary as there are

no first hand accounts within the article.

Tertiary Sources

Bayard, Emile. Palikao's Bridge on the evening of the battle. Wikipedia,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Opium_War. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. This illustration is a

depiction of the aftermath at Palikao's Bridge. There are dead are numerous and the total

destruction is immense. This is important because it shows the results of war with the

British and how brutal the Opium War truly was.

British and Chinese Naval Ships in Battle. The National Interest, Center for the National Interest,

nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-opium-wars-the-bloody-conflicts-destroyed-

imperial-china-17212. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. This is a picture of Chinese and British

ships engaged in naval combat. This is important because it gives a depiction of the naval

battles that occurred as a result of the opium war, and shows that the Chinese were

willing to fight to end the trade of opium.

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The British lined up in a firing line. National Army Museum, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-

war-1839-1842. Accessed 25 Oct. 2019. This image is very import because it shows how

the British had the military advantage with their organized firing line.

A British tradesman is pouring a bottle labeled "opium" into the mouth a Chinese consumer.

SupChina, supchina.com, supchina.com/2018/04/16/kuora-what-was-the-first-opium-

war-all-about/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. The illustration depicts a British tradesman with

crates of opium behind him, pouring a bottle labeled "opium" into the open mouth of a

Chinese consumer. This is important because it shows the level of addiction and

compliance that the Chinese had when it came to receiving and using opium.

The Canton System. Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/event/Canton-system.

Accessed 25 Oct. 2019. This is important because it shows the Canton System and how

the Chinese were strictly in charge of what went into China.

Chasing the Dragon, the 19th century craze for opium made a fortune for many adventures.

NewStatesmanAmerica, www.newstatesman.com/culture/2015/06/amitav-ghosh-has-

written-2000-page-brilliantly-ramshackle-novel-and-its-just-start. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019.

The image is of Chinese men in a darkened and dismal room, all smoking opium in the

candlelight. This picture is important because it also shows how dreadful the addiction to

opium was for the Chinese people.

A clash of British and Chinese armies. ejiinsight, Hong Kong Economic Journal Company,

www.ejinsight.com/20170717-foreign-aggression-didnt-trigger-chinas-decline-says-

study/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. This image is of a battle between the British and the

Chinese over the opium trade. This is important because it shows how much the British
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as well as the Chinese were willing to do to either ensure the survival of, or completely

nullify the opium trade.

Depiction of a Chinese Opium Den. Mount Holyoke College, Shandra Goldfinger,

www.mtholyoke.edu/~goldf20s/politics116/tensions.html. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. The

picture is of Chinese men inside of an "opium den" which is a designated room for

smoking opium. Men can be seen having a good time while some are lying sick in beds.

This is important because it shows the dependence on opium within the Chinese people,

how it was used, and how it affected the people.

The effects of doing Opium. Collectors Weekly, www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/journey-

into-the-opium-underworld/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2019. I think this picture is important

because it shows the Chinese smoking opium from the hands of a skelaton, this is

important because it shows that even though the Chinese knew the long term effects of

opium they still chose to continue doing it.

Global Britain was built as a narco-empire. The Spectator,

www.spectator.co.uk/2018/08/global-britain-was-built-as-a-narco-empire/. This image is

important because it shows how Britain's superior technology easily crushed China's old

fashioned ships.

Knopf, Alfred A. Painting. The New York Times,

www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/books/review/stephen-r-platt-imperial-twilight.html.

Accessed 28 Oct. 2019. This painting depicts a meeting between British and Chinese

officials. It is important because it shows the relations between the two countries.

Opium smokers in the East End of London, London Illustrated News, 1874. Historic UK,

www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Opium-in-Victorian-Britain/.
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Accessed 25 Oct. 2019. This is an image of the drug dens that we'll talk about in our

website, this is important because it shows where the opium is actually used.

"The Opium War." National Army Museum, https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-

1842. This website contains various paintings/depictions of events from the opium wars.

Three paintings depict various affairs of British Ships, be it a sea skirmish or laying siege

to the Chinese mainland. Other pictures contain images of firing squads in action. One

picture in particular shows a medal that was awarded for actions during the war. In total,

eleven pictures/painting of significance are shown on the website, along with information

and insight for the war.

The picture is of multiple Chinese men strewn about all smoking opium in a small space.

Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-first-opium-war.

Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. The image depicts many Chinese men all smoking opium and all

looking miserable in doing so. This is important because it shows how addicted the

Chinese were to the opium that they received from Britain.

Pletcher, Kenneth. "Opium Wars." Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Sept. 2019,

www.britannica.com/topic/Opium-Wars. Accessed 4 Oct. 2019. China's attempt to

suppress the opium trade strike outrage in the British traders. Britain takes China's refusal

of trade as an insult and a threat, and begin to fight China for trading rights. After the first

war, Hong Kong is opened as a free trade port city for foreign countries. The second war

started during the taiping rebellion. Britain become unhappy with the trade rights gained

from the first war, and sought to gain more from a second war. The result of the second

war gained trade access for Britain along with a number of other countries.
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Poppy Seeds. European Food Safety Authority, www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/180516.

Accessed 25 Oct. 2019. This is a picture of the base substance that the British were using

to make opium, poppy seeds. I think it's important to have this image on the website so

the reader gets an idea of what poppy seeds actually were.

A portrait of Lin Zexu. Lapham's Quarterly, www.laphamsquarterly.org/contributors/zexu.

Accessed 25 Oct. 2019. I wanted to add this picture to the website because it gives the

viewer an idea of what Lin Zexu most likely looked like, I think this is important because

it allows them to imagine the person that is actually doing all the things their reading

about.

Qishan. Medium, medium.com/@udayankumra/the-opium-wars-3972b98f7802. Accessed 25

Oct. 2019. This image is important because it showed one of the men who broke barriers

in trying to solve the conflict of the opium wars peacfully.

Ramzy, Austin. "How Britain Went to War with China over Opium." The New York Times [New

York City], 3 July 2018. The New York Times,

www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/world/asia/opium-war-book-china-britain.html. Accessed

25 Sept. 2019. Britain goes to war with China in the hopes of opening trade and gaining a

diplomatic advantage over other countries. Britain won, forcing China to open up the port

of Hong Kong for trade with foreign countries.

Room filled with shelves containing tons of opium balls for the Chinese trade. Asia Pacific

Curriculum, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, asiapacificcurriculum.ca/learning-

module/opium-wars-china. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. This image depicts a large storage

room and within it, stacks upon stacks of "opium balls" that were to be traded with the

Chinese. This illustration will serve as a visual aid in our project.

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A satirical cartoon of Lord Macartney kneeling before Emperor Qianlong and presenting his

"gifts." New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/books/review/stephen-r-platt-

imperial-twilight.html. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019. This picture shows the Chinese portrayed

in a way that seems pretty humiliating, their faces are distorted and even the guards are

made to look very fat.

Vassilev, Rossin. "Opium Wars." Encyclopedia.com, 4 Sept. 2019,

www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/south-asian-history/opium-wars.

Accessed 4 Oct. 2019. The Opium Wars are two consecutive wars fought between China

and Britain. As foreign countries imported Chinese goods, China gained much power.

China did no import goods from other countries. This brought about an uneven flow of

resources and Britain decided to do something about it. After the first war is won by

Britain, they begin to feel entitled to trade in China, so they decide to fight again. The

second war results in China opening up a number of trade cities for foreign countries to

trade in.