Opium Trade From China example essay topic

The Opium War The Opium War, directed by Jin Xie, paints a rather impartial account of the Opium War, starting with the appointment of Lin Zexu to end the opium trade in China to the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. This film seemed to fairly depict the faults of both the Chinese and the British during the 1830's and up to 1842. That said, The Opium War illustrated two important factors that both helped to promote the conflict and eventual military confrontation between China and Britain. The first is the state of the Chinese government at the time of the opium trade. There was enough corruption within the government itself that it was very difficult to halt trading at its source.

The trading company that dealt with the British merchants often had to bribe officials with opium in order to complete their business. Not only did this give incentive for the local government officials to continue allowing the trading, it made it difficult to find and prosecute all the parties involved. When Lin Zexu saw the accounts record, he could not believe that so many officials were involved, and he went as far as to say that prosecuting them all means he would have to "kill every official in Guangzhou". Indeed even some of his own officials were opium users, forcing Lin Zexu to bend the rules, saying "to err is human".

While it was hard enough to stamp out opium trade from China, it was even more difficult for the Chinese government to accept the demands of the British. At this time in history, China had grown too sure of itself and presumed itself to be the greatest world power. This sort of arrogant and decrepit government is shown in the old and frail officials advising the emperor on actions against the British. Even after an initial attack and as war is looming between the two nations, China is still so sure of its power that the emperor, instead of asking for a truce, "grants" a truce for the British. At this point however, it is interesting to note that it is somewhat unclear what the intentions of the Chinese government are.

The officials are seemingly divided on whether to appease the British or to wage open war. As China negotiated with Britain however, it seems that the Chinese were eager to appease any demands because they were already unsure of their ability to defend themselves against a naval attack. The reluctance seen in some of the officials and in the emperor shows that they are embarrassed to admit their weakness, and are trying to save face by "allowing" the British to leave peacefully with a handsome payment of silver. The second factor proposed in this film is that the British plan to declare war on China was put together by no more than a handful of people. It was ultimately Captain Elliot who had the trading crews confined to their ships with no food or supplies, for the sole purpose of painting a picture of the malignant nature of the Chinese for Her Majesty the Queen. While the Queen supported a military effort only for the sake of maintaining Britain's colonial superiority, the Parliament initially opposed financial backing for the attack.

Again, it seemed that one man persuaded the Parliament otherwise. The conclusions that can be drawn upon viewing this film reveal the factors that led up to the fall of China as an empire and world power. These factors are not necessarily simply based on the military superiority of the British marine forces. They show China's aging and arrogant government and how it severely underestimated Britain, and Britain's efforts as a colonial empire to take advantage of this situation.

The time was ripe for China to fall, and as Danton put it, "One touch and it will shatter to pieces.".