First Opium War
English-language histories usually date the war from the first armed clashes in 1839; Chinese histories usually date it from the arrival of the British expedition in June 1840. Both end it with the Treaty of Nanking in August 1842.
Phases
- 1.Opium crisis at Guangzhou
- 2.British expedition to Zhoushan and the north
- 3.Pearl River and the southeast coast
- 4.Yangtze campaign and Treaty of Nanking
Sides
United Kingdom (Royal Navy and British Army) and East India Company forces, with Indian troops
Countries today: 
China, 
India, and 
United Kingdom
What happened
In 1839 the Daoguang Emperor sent Lin Zexu to Guangzhou to end the opium trade, which British merchants ran from India in defiance of a Qing ban. Lin confined the foreign merchants until they surrendered more than 20,000 chests of opium, then had it destroyed at Humen. After clashes off Kowloon and Chuenpi, a British expedition of Royal Navy ships, British regiments and East India Company troops from India arrived in June 1840 and took Zhoushan. A draft settlement in January 1841 was rejected by both governments. British forces then took the Humen forts, attacked Guangzhou and withdrew only after the city paid six million dollars. Under Henry Pottinger they moved north, taking Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai and Zhenjiang, where they cut the Grand Canal. With Nanjing under threat, Qing envoys signed the Treaty of Nanking on 29 August 1842.
Outcome: In the Treaty of Nanking (29 August 1842) the Qing ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, opened five ports to British trade and agreed to pay 21 million silver dollars.
Key events
Leaders
- Charles Elliot · Superintendent of Trade and plenipotentiary, to 1841 · British Empire
- George Elliot · Admiral; led the expedition of 1840 · British Empire
- Gordon Bremer · Commodore of the naval squadron · British Empire
- Hugh Gough · Commander of the land forces from 1841 · British Empire
- William Parker · Naval commander from 1841 · British Empire
- Henry Pottinger · Plenipotentiary from 1841; signed the Treaty of Nanking · British Empire
- Daoguang Emperor · Emperor of the Qing · Qing China
- Lin Zexu · Imperial Commissioner at Guangzhou, 1839–1840 · Qing China
- Qishan · Negotiator who replaced Lin Zexu in 1840 · Qing China
- Guan Tianpei · Admiral of the Guangdong fleet; killed at Humen in 1841 · Qing China
- Yishan · Commander at Guangzhou in 1841 · Qing China
- Yijing · Led the 1842 attack on Ningbo · Qing China
- Chen Huacheng · Admiral; killed at Wusong in 1842 · Qing China
- Keying · Envoy who signed the Treaty of Nanking · Qing China
Deaths
Death tolls are estimates and often contested. Each is a range from its sources; a figure one party gives is marked as theirs.
Military deaths · British and Indian troops and sailors
- 69 – 87
Killed in action over the whole war; the counts differ by source. Deaths from disease, which were far higher, are not included.
Military deaths · Qing soldiers
- 3,100according to a 2008 study by Zhang Li
An estimate of those killed in battle over the whole war, with more than 4,000 wounded. It includes bannermen and their families who died by their own hand at Zhapu and Zhenjiang. The toll is uncertain: some works give far higher figures.
Cultures it ended or changed
Sources
- Wikipedia (English). "First Opium War."
- Wikipedia (español). "Primera guerra del Opio."
- Wikipedia (中文). "第一次鸦片战争."
- National Army Museum. "First China War."
- Larson, Eugene. "First Opium War." EBSCO Research Starters, 2023.
- Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. "The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia, 1839–1844."
- Wikipedia (English). "Treaty of Nanking."
- Wikipedia (中文). "南京条约."
- Wikipedia (English). "Battle of Chapu."