The Second Opium War revealed the weaknesses of China to the outside world. It also undermined traditional Chinese perceptions of the world order and accelerated the opening of China to the West. It was one of several foreign and domestic wars during the mid-nineteenth century that contributed to the rise of Chinese nationalism.
The Second Opium War, essentially a continuation of the First Opium War (1839-1842), was a limited military conflict between China’s Qing Dynasty and the allied forces of Great Britain and France. The factors that led to this war included issues of control over Guangzhou, disputes over British diplomatic representation in the Chinese capital and over the revision of the Treaty of Nanjing
According to the Treaty of Nanjing, which concluded the First Opium War, the British had the right to enter and reside in the city of Guangzhou, which they called Canton. For years, the British tried to enter this city, but they failed because of the steadfast resistance of Guangzhou’s residents, who were notorious for their xenophobia. The local Qing officials, who, more often than not, shared the same antiforeigner feelings, proved inept and unable or unwilling to help the British gain entry to the city.
It was difficult, moreover, for the British to deal with this situation diplomatically. China’s relations with the West during the late 1840’s and early 1850’s were not handled directly by the central Qing government. Instead, European envoys interacted with local Guangzhou authorities who reported to Guangzhou’s imperial commissioner. The imperial commissioner of Guangzhou served concurrently as governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces. Frustrated by irresponsive, stubborn, and sometimes dubious Guangzhou officials, the British attempted to bypass them and deal directly with the Chinese central government. For this purpose, they demanded time and again that a British ambassador be allowed to reside in the Chinese capital, Beijing
The British and Chinese also clashed over the issue of treaty revision. From the early 1850’s, Great Britain (together with France and the United States) began to request that the terms of the Treaty
In dealing with the British, China’s rulers, from the emperor Xianfeng
The Second Opium War was directly sparked by the so-called Arrow incident. On October 8, 1856, Chinese officials boarded the Arrow, a ship owned by a Chinese merchant but registered in Hong Kong as a British vessel. (It later emerged that the registration had lapsed, so it was technically not a British ship.) The officials arrested the Arrow’s crew—all native Chinese—on the ground that some of them were former pirates
British troops storming Beijing in 1860.
In London, the British government under Lord Palmerston,
On December 28, 1857, the British and French forces took the city of Guangzhou, captured Ye Mingzhen
In June of 1858,
In May, 1859, Frederick Bruce
In March, 1860, the British government recommitted Elgin as the leader of another British expedition to China. Again, France joined the expedition. The allied forces(about ten thousand British troops and fifty-eight hundred French troops) took Tianjin at the end of August, 1860, then charged into Beijing,
On October 24, 1860, Elgin
The Second Opium War further challenged the traditional Chinese world view that China was superior to all other nations. It revealed instead that China was militarily weak compared to major Western nations. It taught the Chinese a lesson—in order to survive, China must change and adapt itself to a new world order that was emerging. Coupled with other events (especially the Taiping Rebellion), the Second Opium War provoked the Qing rulers to conduct their first round of reforms, the self-strengthening movement of the 1860’s and 1870’s.
The Second Opium War further exposed China to Western influence and integrated China into the international economic system. With more Chinese cities opened and more Western settlements (concessions) established in China, Western goods, technologies, business practices, ideas, and customs increasingly flowed into China, serving as a catalyst for China’s modernization.
The Second Opium War also contributed to the rise of modern Chinese nationalism. The European imposition of unequal treaties on China in the wake of the war was seen by the Chinese—including such prominent figures as Sun Yat-sen
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Gelber, Harry G., Opium, Soldiers, and Evangelicals. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Extensive discussion of international opium trade, wars, and religion. Includes a chapter on the Second Opium War. -
Hanes, W. Travis, III, and Frank Sanello. The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2002. An interesting account of the two Opium Wars, discussing the British domestic experience of the wars as well as the events in China. -
Hu, Sheng. From the Opium Wars to the May Fourth Movement. Beijing: People’s Press, 1981. Connects the Opium Wars to the development of Chinese nationalism and revolutionary movements. -
Mao, Haijian. Measures of Modernity: Military Affairs and Diplomacy During the Opium Wars. Shanghai: Sanlian Press, 1998. Examines the diplomatic disputes between China and Britain over certain issues that directly led to the Second Opium War. Also details military performance during the war, especially on the Chinese part. -
Twitchett, Denis, and Frederick W. Mote, eds. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 10. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Part of a comprehensive series on Chinese history. Contains a section on the Second Opium War, placing it in its broader context.
First Opium War
China’s Taiping Rebellion
Qing Dynasty Confronts the Nian Rebellion
Perry Opens Japan to Western Trade
Muslim Rebellions in China
France and Spain Invade Vietnam
China’s Self-Strengthening Movement Arises
Cixi’s Coup Preserves Qing Dynasty Power
French Indochina War
Scramble for Chinese Concessions Begins
Boxer Rebellion
Lord Palmerston.