1840- 1842 The Opium War was the turning point for feudal China to become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal China.
In 1970s, Britain began to import opium to China in large quantities. /kloc-in the 0/9th century, opium imports increased year by year. In order to offset the trade surplus between Britain and China, the British bourgeoisie vigorously developed the opium trade that poisoned the people of China, so as to open the China market. /kloc-at the beginning of the 9th century, more than 4,000 boxes of opium were imported into China, and by 1839, it had soared to more than 40,000 boxes. The British bourgeoisie made a fortune from this shameful transaction. Due to the sharp increase in opium imports, a large amount of silver flowed out of China, and opium addicts were greatly devastated mentally and physically. If no measures are taken to stop it, the country's financial resources will be exhausted and the army will collapse. Therefore, the Qing government decided to ban opium imports.
1In March of 839, Lin Zexu, an imperial envoy of the Qing Dynasty, arrived in Guangzhou, informed foreign businessmen to hand over all the opium in stock within three days, and announced: "There will never be enough opium in a day." Lin Zexu overcame the obstruction and destruction of the British commercial supervision law in China and illegal tobacco dealers, and seized more than 2.37 million kilograms of cigarette smoke from businessmen in various countries (mainly Britain), which was publicly destroyed at Humen Beach from June 3 to 25.
Faced with the Qing government's anti-smoking measures, the British bourgeoisie, especially the opium interest groups, immediately launched a war of aggression against China. The British government soon decided to send troops to China. 1June, 840, the commander-in-chief of the British invasion of China commanded more than 40 ships and more than 4,000 soldiers, who arrived in the South China Sea of China one after another. On June 28th, British ships blocked the Pearl River Estuary, the first Opium War officially broke out, and the British invasion of China officially began. In early July, British troops invaded Dinghai, Zhejiang, and arrived outside Dagukou, Tianjin in early August, approaching the two capitals. Daoguang was afraid, so he quickly dismissed Lin Zexu and appointed Qi Shan as an imperial envoy. At the end of the year, Qishan negotiated with the British invaders in Guangzhou. However, the British army suddenly launched an attack on Chuanbiyang at 184 1 17, and captured Shajiao and Dajiao Fort. 65438+1in the middle of October, Qishan was forced to agree to the conditions proposed by the British plenipotentiary, such as ceding Hong Kong, compensating 6 million yuan for tobacco prices, and opening Guangzhou. Qishan privately agreed to the British conditions, which violated the spirit of the instructions of the Qing court and was later severely punished. But on 26th, British troops occupied Hongkong without the consent of China government. The Qing government immediately declared war on Britain after learning that Shajiao and Dajiao forts had fallen. In late February, British troops captured Humen Fort, and hundreds of defenders, such as navy prefect and patriotic general Guan Tianpei, died heroically. In May, the British army approached the outside of Guangzhou, and all the Qing troops retreated into the city. In the second half of that year, Yishan, the new general of Ni Jing, made peace with the British army and concluded a shameful alliance with Britain-the Guangzhou Peace Treaty, which stipulated that the Qing Dynasty would hand over 6 million yuan to the British army to redeem Guangzhou.
The British government was not satisfied with the benefits that Yi Law seized from China, so it sent Pu Dingcha as the plenipotentiary, increased reinforcements and expanded the war of aggression against China. 184 1 In late August, Pu Dingcha led an English ship north from Hong Kong and captured Xiamen on 26th. British troops invaded Taiwan Province Province in September. 10 captured Dinghai, Zhenhai and Ningbo. 1In May of 842, the British army continued its northward invasion. In June, Wusongbao in the Yangtze River estuary was captured, and Baoshan and Shanghai were successively lost. Then, the British army returned to Jiangxi and arrived in Jiangning (Nanjing) on August 5. The corrupt and incompetent Qing government ordered Yingjie, the general of Shengjing, to rush to Nanjing. On 29th, he and Pu Dingcha signed the treaty of nanking, the first unequal treaty in China's modern history, and the first Opium War ended here.
Contrary to the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, the people in the coastal areas always persisted in the struggle against aggression. 184 1 In May, the people in Sanyuanli 103, the northern suburb of Guangzhou, fought against the British army, which was the peak of their spontaneous resistance to Britain.
As a result of the First Opium War, foreign capitalism ceded Hong Kong from China, paying compensation of 2 1 10,000 yuan, opening five trading ports in Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai, and agreeing on a series of privileges such as customs rights, consular jurisdiction and one-sided MFN treatment, which seriously damaged China's independence and sovereignty. After the signing of the treaty of nanking, the United States and France followed suit, taking the opportunity to claim privileges, forcing the Qing government to sign a series of unequal treaties. The Opium War marked the beginning of China's modern history. Since then, China has suffered more and more, and the people of China are facing more complicated and tortuous struggles.
The Second Opium War (1856- 1860)
In the 1950s, with the further development of industrial production in capitalist countries such as Britain, France and the United States, more raw material producing areas and commodity markets were required. They are increasingly dissatisfied with the rights and interests plundered from China in the First Opium War, and demand to sign a new unequal treaty on the basis of treaty of nanking. 1854 and 1856, Britain, France and the United States put forward unreasonable demands to the Qing government, including opening the whole territory of China and legalizing the opium trade, on the pretext of helping suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which were rejected by the Qing government. Subsequently, Britain and France planned a new war of aggression against China to achieve their evil goals by force. This was the second Opium War when Britain and France invaded China.
France invaded China on the pretext of 1856, when the French priest Marais was killed in Xilin, Guangxi. Britain, on the other hand, eagerly created an excuse to wage war-the Yarrow incident. Yarrow is a smuggling ship from China. It once obtained a registration certificate in Hong Kong, which has expired. 1856 10, China navy boarded Yarrow near Guangzhou to catch bandits, which was protested by British consul in Guangzhou, Parkes. Although Ye, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, agreed to repatriate the China crew arrested on the Yarrow, the British side ignored it. 10 in late June, the British army suddenly launched an attack, occupied the battery along the river south of Guangzhou, and once rushed into Guangzhou. Due to the shortage of troops, the British army retreated from the provincial river in June 1857, waiting for reinforcements.
1857 In September, the British Plenipotentiary Erkin led the navy and army to Hong Kong. In June 5438+10, the French plenipotentiary Gro also arrived with troops. 65438+In mid-February, more than 5,000 British and French troops attacked Guangzhou and occupied Guangzhou on the 29th. Ye, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was captured. Guangdong Governor and Guangzhou General defected to the enemy, and under the surveillance of Britain and France, they organized the first local puppet regime in China's modern history.
1April, 858, the British and French fleets arrived in the waters off Dagukou. On May 20th, the allied forces launched an attack, and Dagubao fell after tenacious resistance. The British and French fleet immediately went up the Baihe River and arrived in Tianjin. In a panic, the Qing government immediately sent Gui Liang, a college student, to Tianjin to make peace. Under the threat of Britain and France, Gui Liang signed shameful traitorous treaties with Britain and France in late June-Sino-British and Sino-French Tianjin Treaties. According to the Tianjin Treaty, the Foreign Minister is stationed in Beijing; Kainiuzhuang (later changed to Yingkou), Dengzhou (later changed to Yantai), Tainan, Danshui, Chaozhou (later changed to Shantou), Qiongzhou, Hankou, Jiujiang, Jiangning (Nanjing) and Zhenjiang are trading ports; China Customs employs foreigners; Foreign missionaries enter the mainland to preach freely; Foreigners travel to the mainland for trade; Foreign merchant ships can travel in the Yangtze estuary; China paid 4 million taels to Britain and 2 million taels to France. Prior to this, the Tianjin Treaty between China, Russia and China had been signed in advance.
At the beginning of 1859, the British and French governments appointed Proust and Boolean Brown as ambassadors to China respectively. In mid-June, the British and French ministers led warships to Dagukou, refused to land from Beitang designated by the Qing government, and arrogantly returned to Beijing via Dagukou to exchange contracts. On June 25th, British and French warships launched an attack on Dagu Fort. After rectification, the defenders of Dagu fought back, sinking and injuring more than one British and French warship 10, and killing four or five hundred invaders. The British and French allied forces hastily evacuated Dagukou.
1860 In April, the plenipotentiaries of Britain and France, Erkin and Gro, once again led a large number of troops to China. In late May, British troops occupied Dalian Bay. At the beginning of June, the French army occupied Yantai and completed the blockade of Bohai Bay. 1 year in August, the British and French allied forces landed in Beitang, and fell into Dagu Fort in February1year, and occupied Tianjin on August 24. The Qing army retreated to Zhangjiawan and Tongzhou (now Tongxian). On September 9, the allied forces advanced into Tongzhou and defeated the Qing army 2 1 at Baliqiao in Tongzhou. The next day, Emperor Xianfeng fled to Jehol. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/0, the allied forces occupied Yuanmingyuan, wantonly looted and destroyed it, and set it on fire. Therefore, one of the most magnificent palace masterpieces in the world was destroyed by the British and French invaders. 13, the left-behind authorities in Beijing surrendered to Britain and France and handed over Andingmen. The allied forces took control of Beijing without bloodshed. 10 10 In late October, Yi Xin, a representative of the Qing government, and Prince Gong successively exchanged the ratification documents of the Tianjin Treaty with the representatives of Britain and France, and concluded the Beijing Treaty. The Second Opium War ended here. The Beijing Treaty stipulates that Tianjin should be opened as a commercial port; Allow China workers to go abroad; Cede Kowloon to Britain; Return Catholic assets; The compensation for Britain and France increased to 8 million Liang.
During the Second Opium War, the Qing government once again gave in to foreign invaders, which caused extremely serious consequences, and China fell deeper into the semi-colonial road. However, the struggle of the broad masses of China people against foreign aggression has never stopped. Wherever the British and French allied forces went, they fought to defend the motherland, showing the heroic spirit of the people of China fighting the enemy to the end.