Opium wars | History homework help
April 30th, 2020
Opium War
Write a two- to three- page paper discussing the origins and outcome of the Opium Wars between Britain and China, explaining all of the following points:
- The rise of European imperialism in China and why it led to the British importing opium to China.
- The Emperor’s reaction to the opium smuggling.
- How the war began.
- Was it a result of China’s attempt to spoil British trade?
- Did the Chinese have a legitimate reason to do this?
- The consequences of the Treaty of Nanjing
- Some of the lessons that we can take from the history of the Opium Wars.
In order to gain a better understanding of the Opium Wars, listen to the following radio program and review the following multimedia essay:
- BBC Radio 4. (Producer). (2007). The opium wars [Episode in radio show]. In In Our Time. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00776k9
- MIT Visualizing Cultures. (2011). The first opium war: The Anglo-Chinese war of 1839 – 1842. Retrieved from http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/opium_wars_01/ow1_essay01.html
You may also wish to watch the following film:
- TianXIaWeiGong. (2007, August 7). The opium war [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWzeZ5sNxmk
To undertake the research for this assignment, review the following treaty (primary source) and read the following newspaper article:
- Asia for Educators. (n.d.). Excerpts from the treaty of Nanjing, August 1842. Retrieved from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/nanjing.pdf
- Watts, P. (2013, June 2). Field of dreams: A remarkable exhibition sheds new light on the dark history of the opium business. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/field-of-dreams-a-remarkable-exhibition-sheds-new-light-on-the-dark-history-of-the-opium-business-8636861.html
The paper must:
- Be two to three pages in length, not including title and reference pages.
- Be formatted according to APA style.
- Contain at least one quote from the treaty of Nanjing.
- Contain one quote from one of the other sources listed.
- Cite sources in text and on the reference page.