Basic information
Date: 65438+June 28th 0840-65438+August 0842. Venue: Pearl River Estuary, Guangzhou. Result: Britain won. Direct cause: the anti-smoking activities led by Lin Zexu. Root cause: British colonialism plundered cheap industrial raw materials in developing countries in order to open the colonial market. Requirements after Britain's victory: opening Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai as trading ports. Compensation 2 1 ten thousand silver dollars. (1 Spanish silver is between 2 points and 3 points in domestic 7 yuan) cede Hong Kong Island. the opium war
China should negotiate with Britain about the tariffs that British businessmen must pay when importing and exporting goods. Influence: China gradually changed from an independent feudal country to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, and the modern history of China began. 1840- 1842 The Opium War was the turning point for feudal China to become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal China.
cause
1840 (twenty years of Daoguang), the British invaders launched a war of aggression against ancient feudal China. Because this war was caused by the forced dumping of smuggled opium into China by British colonialism, it was called the Opium War in history. After the Opium War, China gradually changed from an independent feudal country to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, and the Chinese nation began a course of humiliation, suffering, exploration and struggle for more than 100 years. From the late Qianlong period, the rule of the Qing Dynasty declined gradually. The Qing government still claimed to be a "paradise", and it was arrogant and closed its eyes. At the same time, European and American imperialist powers have made great progress, and China, with its vast territory and large population, is their goal of expanding overseas markets. China is a portrait of Lin Zexu, a national hero since ancient times.
With an agricultural country, a self-sufficient natural economy and the conservative idea that "China is superior to the country", the demand of China people for foreign products has not been great. In order to make huge profits, foreign businessmen smuggled a large amount of opium from South China into China, and the import volume of opium increased from 4,000 cases at the beginning of Daoguang's accession to the throne to 40,200 cases in the eighteenth year of Daoguang, that is, before the outbreak of the Opium War. The spread of opium affects people's physical and mental health, corrupts the management of officials, leads to the outflow of silver and the shortage of government revenue. Daoguang continued the policy of banning smoking since Yongzheng, but opium smuggling not only failed, but became increasingly rampant. The development of the situation has aroused the vigilance of people in the ruling and opposition parties.
Smoking and trafficking in opium are prohibited.
Daoguang ordered the frontier defense minister to discuss the idea of banning smoking, and there were different opinions in the ruling and opposition parties. What finally touched Daoguang Emperor was the memorial of Lin Zexu, governor of Huguang at that time. Lin Zexu hit the nail on the head and pointed out: Opium can't help but weaken the country's poor in a few decades. "There are not many soldiers who can defend the enemy in the Central Plains, and there is no silver to pay." This situation is obviously what Daoguang Emperor did not want to see anyway. "Soldiers" and "silver" are two fatal loopholes in feudal rule. In November of the 18th year of Daoguang (1838), Lin Zexu went to Guangdong to ban opium. The surge in opium imports from Britain to China
Lin Zexu/KLOC-0 arrived in Guangzhou in March, 839, and immediately banned smoking, strictly investigated cigarette dealers, reorganized the navy, and instructed foreign businessmen to hand in opium. On June 3rd of the same year, more than 20,000 boxes (more than 2 million Jin) of opium were destroyed in public in Humen Beach (he concentrated opium on Humen Beach, built a fence at a height, dug two large pits with a width of 1.5, poured Shanghai water and quicklime, and dropped opium after the water was boiled, so as to completely destroy it). China's smoking ban met with strong opposition from the British government. 1June, 840 (the summer of the 20th year of Daoguang), with 48 naval warships (16; Four armed steamboats of the East India Company; 1 personnel carriers; 27 transport ships) and 4,000 army personnel (Royal Irish Army Regiment 18; 26th Regiment of Scottish Infantry; The 49th Infantry Regiment) The British Expeditionary Force composed of 2 ~ 3,000 naval personnel blocked the Pearl River Estuary in Guangzhou, and the Opium War broke out. The Qing army's military equipment was lax, the enemy's situation was unclear, the command was chaotic, and it was defeated repeatedly. In the twenty-second year of Daoguang (1842), the British colonial army captured Zhenjiang, cut off the north-south traffic of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and then reached the gate of Nanjing. The Qing government was unable to fight again. 1842 On July 24th, at the gunpoint of the British army, the Qing government was forced to sign the treaty of nanking. This was the first unequal treaty of the Qing government, which seriously damaged China's sovereignty. He stipulated that China ceded Hong Kong Island and paid 2 1 10,000 Spanish silver dollars. Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai are five port cities engaged in foreign trade. In addition, Britain also enjoys agreed tariffs. However, because the Qing government officials lived like immortals for a long time and were not familiar with international relations, they suffered greater losses in the subsequent negotiations on the two supplementary documents of treaty of nanking: the Five Ports Trade Charter and the Humen Trade Charter.
background
The international and domestic situation before the Opium War was an epoch-making event in the history of China. This is the beginning of China's modern history. Why did the Opium War break out? Chinese and foreign historians have different views on this issue. Some western scholars believe that the war broke out because of "business misunderstanding", while others believe that it originated from "cultural conflict between East and West". Some people say that this is purely accidental. The outbreak of the Opium War was no accident. We can examine its historical background in the development and evolution of world history and China history, that is, the social and historical overview of the pre-war world and China.
international
Britain is the birthplace of world capitalism. 1After the bourgeois revolution broke out for the first time in the 1940s,1the British colonialists fought again in the 8th century.
Take the lead in realizing the "industrial revolution" and become the most powerful capitalist industrial park in the world at that time. Before and after the Opium War, Britain's annual coal output reached more than 30 million tons; The output of pig iron reached 6.5438+0.4 million tons; The amount of cotton used in mechanical spinning industry has reached more than 520 million pounds; Thousands of kilometers of railways have been built. At that time, two thirds of the working population in Britain was engaged in industrial production, and there were many huge industrial cities. The population of the capital, London, has grown to more than 2 million. Judging from the naval forces necessary for foreign operations, by 1836, British imperialism had more than 500 ships. France was then the second largest capitalist country after Britain. 1The French bourgeois revolution in the 1980s and 1990s was the biggest and most thorough revolution in the bourgeois era. It swept away the feudal order before France, established the bourgeois regime, and developed industrial production relatively quickly. But on the eve of the Opium War, it still lags far behind Britain in some major industrial indicators. The British opium smuggler Waterloo sailed into Huangpu Port.
German militarism also developed rapidly in Germany from the 1930s of 19, but it was still a divided country until 1950s, with more than 30 independent countries, including Prussia, acting in their own way, which seriously hindered the development of capitalism. America America is a rising imperialist country. On the eve of the French Revolution, 1775- 1783 defeated Britain and established the United States of America. From the founding of the People's Republic of China to the mid-Kloc-0/9th century (the outbreak of the Opium War), there is only a short period of 50 or 60 years, but the development speed of American capitalism is rapid and considerable. Especially at the beginning of19th century, the business developed rapidly and made great profits. 1805, American businessmen once mastered one-third of international trade, which shows that the United States is good at grasping competitive opportunities. In short, although the United States is a rising star, it presents an aggressive situation. Russia is a country ruled by feudal serfdom for a long time, and the feudal economy remained dominant until the first half of the19th century. Although Russia is backward in economy, it destroys the revolutionary movement in Europe crazily, and it is one of the first countries to invade China. As early as the middle of the17th century, it pushed its aggression to the Heilongjiang River Basin in China (the famous Battle of Jacques, the Treaty of Nebuchadnezzar, the event or product of China's resistance to Russian aggression at that time). Since then, it has been coveting to invade China.
Basic characteristics of China society
On the eve of the Opium War in China, although it had reached the end of feudalism, new social factors gradually accumulated in quantity, showing a transitional state of mutual infiltration between the old and the new to some extent. But on the whole, the old pattern and outlook of society are basically preserved. The contradiction between the landlord class and the peasant class is still the main contradiction in society, and this contradiction is more serious than before, and feudal rule is facing a crisis. The seeds of capitalism have increased, but the feudal system has not changed. From the second half of the18th century, the Qing Dynasty embarked on the road of decline, with dark politics, weak national defense, financial constraints and declining national strength. /kloc-After the 0/9th century, Jiaqing and Daoguang were even worse. The Qing Dynasty, ruled by China's backward economy, has entered a dangerous "declining world" after the "prosperous period of Kanggan". The self-sufficient natural economy, which combines small-scale agriculture with cottage industry, still dominates the country. Land annexation is very serious. A large amount of cultivated land is concentrated in the hands of nobles and landlords, and the emperor is the largest landlord in the country. According to the statistics of 18 12 (the seventeenth year of Jiaqing), the land directly or indirectly held by the emperor reached 830,000 hectares. In Ganjia, Quan Chen and Kun occupied more than 8000 hectares of land. Qishan, a great bureaucrat in Daoguang period, owned 252 hectares of land. Farmers, who make up the vast majority of the country's population, have almost no land. Under the heavy exploitation of feudal land rent, taxes, corvees and usury, the peasants were trapped in poverty, bankruptcy and displacement. The contradiction between the peasant class and the landlord class was the main contradiction in society at that time. Corrupt Politics The highly centralized monarchy in the Qing Dynasty has decayed. The emperor was arbitrary, arrogant and indulged in the dream of "going to heaven and going to earth". General government officials are ignorant and closed, official corruption is rampant, and official management corruption. Since Ganjia, among the senior bureaucrats of the Qing government from the central government to the local government, amazing corruption cases have been exposed many times, which is only a small part of the scandals exposed due to contradictions within the ruling group. At that time, some people satirized that the Qing emperor was "slaughtering fat ducks" in investigating corruption cases. Corruption became an irresistible epidemic of the ruling clique in Qing Dynasty. Joining the party for personal gain also formed a bad atmosphere in the ruling group at that time. On the eve of the decadent military opium war, although there were 890,000 soldiers of the Eight Banners and Green Camp in the Qing Dynasty, many of them were in short supply, with backward weapons and inferior equipment. Moreover, military affairs are lax, lack of training, military discipline is corrupt, and national defense forces are very weak. It consumes more than 22 million yuan in reimbursement every year (accounting for nearly half of the annual fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty at that time), all of which are decadent. Dull ideology and culture, the rulers of the Qing dynasty also implemented a harsh policy of cultural autocracy and followed the stereotyped imperial examination system. Vigorously advocate the study of empty song dynasty, that is, divorced from the actual neo-Confucianism and Chinese studies, and vigorously promote the literary inquisition to clamp down and imprison scholars' thoughts. At that time, the ideological circle was in a rather numb, depressed and dreary atmosphere, while Gong Zizhen had the momentum of "everyone was drunk and I woke up alone". He sang Long song and cried, and spared no effort to expose and attack the shortcomings of the times. Before the Opium War, although the Qing Dynasty maintained a feudal system that was one era behind the capitalist system, although it was quite corrupt, it was an independent country with sovereignty and was not controlled by foreign countries. The foreign policy adopted by the Qing Dynasty was a "closed door" policy. The main reason for closing the door is: 1. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty adhered to the traditional concept of taking agriculture as the foundation. Suppress and restrict the development of private industry and commerce. Because of the stability of the self-sufficient feudal economy, they thought that China was rich in natural products and ubiquitous, and there was no need for economic exchanges with foreign countries. At that time, the western colonialists were expanding their power to the east. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty were worried that the territorial sovereignty of the country would be violated by foreigners, and that the contacts between coastal people and foreigners would endanger their own rule. Illegal opium trade and anti-smoking campaign in China: the spread of opium poison in China [1]? Lin Zexu declared: "As long as the opium is inexhaustible, this minister will not return for a day and swear to be with this matter. There is no reason to stop. " Knowing that intellectuals were on his side, Lin Zexu, who was really a petty official, called 645 students from Yuexiu College, Yuehua College and Yangcheng College to "take an exam" in Hiram's Hospital. This time it's called an exam, but it's actually a questionnaire survey. There are four questions: "1. Names of opium distribution centers and operators; 2. Retailers; 3. Disadvantages of smoking ban in the past; 4. Prohibition. " Since then, Lin Zexu has mastered the list of all tobacco dealers and corrupt officials. During the smoking ban, Lin Zexu wrote a note to Queen Victoria, questioning that the Queen knew that opium was harmful, and opium was not produced in China, including London, Scotland and Ireland, and it was strictly forbidden for nationals to smoke it. However, it grows and produces opium in India under its jurisdiction and allows its nationals to trade opium in China. He asked the Queen to dispose of Indian opium, and told her that China had passed the Opium Smoking Prohibition Ordinance promulgated by King James, which completely banned smoking and made British nationals give up the opium trade. The reasons for the spread of opium abuse, the resistance of natural economy and the influence of closed-door policy on opium smoking tools
Before the Opium War, because China was a feudal empire with a self-sufficient natural economy, the demand for foreign goods was very limited. At the same time, the Qing government's closed-door policy temporarily limited the scale of foreign trade to a certain extent, which had a strong resistance to British goods imported into China. The commodities exported by British colonialism to China are mainly textiles, metal products and cotton shipped from India. The latter two commodities can earn some money, but the quantity is limited. Bulk textiles suffered losses. And China's tea, raw silk and other commodities are urgently needed. Over the past few years, Sino-British trade has been normal, and China has maintained its dominant position. Until the early 1930s of 19, the annual surplus was still above 2-3 million taels of silver. The British bourgeoisie does business with China for profit. Of course, they can't tolerate this trade pattern, and they must find ways to change it. They found a magic weapon, that is the opium trade. Fundamentally speaking, it is to meet the needs of its colonial aggression, and its direct reason is to reverse its unfavorable position in trade with China. The spread of opium smoke and its serious consequences
/kloc-After the 9th century, British imperialism began to import opium into China in large quantities, and did not hesitate to take despicable measures such as bribing officials or even armed smuggling. /kloc-In the first 20 years of the 20th century, Britain imported about 4,000 boxes of opium from India to China every year. It surged in 1930s, and 1839 reached nearly 40,000 cases. In addition to Britain, there were also American businessmen selling opium from Turkey to China at this time, but the quantity was small. Since the 1930s, opium accounted for more than 1/2 of Britain's total trade with China due to the sharp increase in the amount of opium imported into China. In the Opium War, Britain's trade with China changed from surplus to surplus. The normal trade between China and Britain has changed. Through opium trade, Britain realized the transformation from transcendence to transcendence, from inferiority to superiority, from transcendence to transcendence and from superiority to inferiority in China. It turns out that Britain lost money in Guangzhou trade. "182 1 year, more than 60% of the flannel, shears and printed fabrics shipped to Guangzhou by British businessmen were lost, and they were replenished in 1826. In the entire import business of Guangzhou East India Company, there is almost no year without losing money. " However, the opium trade brought great benefits to the East India Company, the British Indian colonial government and opium merchants. The normal trade between China and Britain has changed. On the eve of the Opium War, at least12 million taels of silver flowed out of China every year. The massive outflow of silver has caused a series of social consequences: the most direct thing is that silver is expensive and money is cheap. At that time, the Qing Dynasty implemented the dual-track system of combining money with money, and the outflow of silver in China was insufficient, which changed the price of money. For example, in 1794, one or two pieces of silver were exchanged for 1,000 copper coins, and when it arrived at 1838, it would cost 1,670 copper coins. However, when they paid taxes to the government, they had to exchange them for silver, so they actually had to pay 67% more tax, which greatly increased their burden and aggravated their exploitation. With the rise of silver price, the taxes owed by the provinces increased day by day, which also caused the financial crisis of the Qing government. On the eve of the Opium War, it is estimated that one in ten Beijing officials and two in ten or three in ten local officials smoked opium. As for "the criminal name is 56 points, Qian Gu is a friend, and for a long time, small officials are even more invincible." As Marx said: "The corruption that soaked the whole bureaucratic system in China and destroyed the pillar of patriarchal clan system was smuggled into China from the British barge moored in Huangpu together with the opium box." (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Vol.2, p.26) Rulers' graft, self-enrichment and profligacy will inevitably increase the burden on the people and intensify class conflicts, thus aggravating the crisis in the Qing Dynasty. China people's health 1820, opium smuggling boat moored in Lingdingyang outside China.
More and more people smoke opium from top to bottom, and there are not only the ruling class and its affiliated groups, but also some lower-class workers. They don't have the economic conditions to smoke opium, but once they stumble, they can't extricate themselves. After they get addicted to cigarettes, they are not only physically damaged, or even completely lose their ability to work, but also often accompanied by a decline in quality and morality. The harm of opium to the Chinese nation at that time was incalculable.
Edit the beginning and end of this anti-smoking campaign.
Debate between prohibition and prohibition
The Qing government, mainly for its own consideration, raised the issue of banning smoking many times since Jiaqing when opium was not severely punished, but it was basically empty talk and achieved no results. However, with the increasing spread of opium, on the eve of the Opium War, it can be said that it has reached the critical moment of life and death in the Qing Dynasty, so the issue of banning smoking has been put on the urgent agenda, forming a fierce debate on banning schools. The representatives who were forbidden to send were Huang Jue Zi, the official in charge of the tribute ceremony, and Lin Zexu, then governor of Huguang. Specific measures are put forward, that is, severe punishment for smoking: the prescription for quitting smoking is widely circulated, and those who still smoke after the expiration of the time limit are sentenced to death, and officials are charged with another crime-not only committing official crimes, but their children are not allowed to take the exam. Neighbors supervise each other, punish those who deliberately hide and smoke, and reward those who report. The representatives of the School of Relaxation include Zhang Mu, Minister of Military Affairs, Qishan, Governor of Zhili, and Xu Naiji, an official of Taichang Temple (master of rites and music). It is proposed to lift the opium ban, allow public trading, and pay taxes according to medicinal materials (but only barter is allowed, and silver is not allowed, which is considered to prevent the outflow of silver). It is also pointed out that domestic opium cultivation is not restricted, there are more domestic opium, foreign businessmen are unprofitable, and foreign opium will inevitably die. After some weighing, Daoguang tended to ban smoking, summoned Lin Zexu to Beijing to discuss the issue of smoking ban in depth, and finally appointed Lin Zexu as an imperial envoy in February 1838, binding Guangdong Navy to ban smoking in Guangzhou.
Anti-smoking movement under the leadership of Lin Zexu
Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou in March 1839. With the support and help of the people, Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen rectified coastal defense, cracked down on cigarette dealers and punished navy officers who took bribes to sell cigarettes. And through various investigations, master the inside story. At the same time, he also took severe measures against foreign opium merchants, ordered foreign businessmen to take an inventory of opium stored on barges for collection, and declared that future ships would never dare to carry opium with them. If they do this, the goods will be confiscated and people will be punished. Lin Zexu firmly stated, "As long as the opium is inexhaustible, I will not return for a day, and I swear to be with this matter. There is no end to it." Finally, the British opium dealer was forced to hand over more than 20 thousand boxes. American cigarette dealers handed over more than 1500 boxes. 1From June 3 to 25, 839, Lin Zexu presided over the destruction of opium collected in Humentan, which brought the anti-smoking movement to a climax. This is the famous "Humen opium suppression" in modern history.
Prewar situation
The situation before the war, the reasons for the outbreak of the war, the attitudes of China and Britain, and the news that smoking was banned in China reached Britain. The British government decided to invade China by force, adopted a series of steps and measures to deploy the war, and repeatedly carried out armed provocations against China. Lin Zexu foresaw that there might be a war. While banning opium, he actively prepared for war. First, pay attention to absorbing the advantages of enemy military technology and strengthen our own side in a targeted manner, mainly in the construction of ships, guns and water forces. The other is to pay more attention to the power of the people and think that "the people's hearts can be obtained."
The cause of war
1839 July, Lin's case happened in Tsim Sha Tsui Village, Kowloon. The British sailor was drunk, made trouble in the village and killed the villager Lin. The Lin case became the fuse of the Opium War. 1839 At the beginning of August, the news that smoking was banned in China reached Britain, and the British Parliament had a heated debate on it. Under the influence of Queen Victoria, the military action was finally passed by 27 1 vote to 262. 10 10/day, the British cabinet made a decision to "send a fleet to the Sea of China". 1840 In February, the British government appointed Yi Law and Yi Law as deputy plenipotentiaries, and Yi Law was the commander-in-chief of the British invasion of China. In April, the British Parliament formally passed a resolution to wage war and sent troops to invade China. In June of the same year, Yiliu led more than 40 British ships and 4,000 soldiers to China, marking the official start of the First Opium War. It can also be said that Lin Zexu's anti-smoking movement was the direct cause of the outbreak of the Opium War. The fundamental reason is that after the Industrial Revolution, Britain decided to open the door to China by force in order to seize the raw material producing area and the consumption market.