History glossary
the First Opium War
the war in which Britain defeated Qing China after Lin Zexu's suppression of opium at Canton.
- Category
- War
- Region
- China
- Date range
- 1839-1842
What it means
The First Opium War grew out of Lin Zexu's 1839 campaign against the illegal opium trade and was fought mainly from 1840 to 1842. Britain's modern navy, artillery and industrial resources overwhelmed Qing coastal defenses, forcing China to accept the Treaty of Nanking.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Opium Wars
From the Canton System to the fall of Beijing, the Opium Wars turned illegal trade, imperial power and Qing weakness into a new unequal treaty order.
The Qing Dynasty
From Manchu conquest to republican revolution, the Qing dynasty built China's largest empire, oversaw centuries of prosperity, and then struggled to survive foreign intervention, rebellion, and the collapse of imperial legitimacy.
