Opium Wars

The early 1830’s saw china embroiled in a tussle with Britain East India Company that controlled trade in the country. The company engaged in unlawful importation of opium in large quantities, something that did not go down well with government of the day, the Qing government. There was concern on the social and economy effects brought about this trade leading to Opium Wars in china with Britain prompting sanctions and signing of treaties. The paper gives an opinion on the outcome of supporting and resisting the importation of opium to china.

To begin with, the supply and importation of opium and its use is a welcome idea in the Chinese environment and economy. China witnessed increased use of opium, something that the Qing government opposed and tried to lay down strategies of curbing the vice, for instance by doubling taxation on opium imports. Arguably, the importation of opium was significant in improving the country’s economy through taxations and other revenues collected from the flourishing trade. The monopolization of the business by the British was a good attempt of controlling the business and attracting more cash flow into the industry. Given that the Chinese population was comfortable with the use of opium, it was essential to legalize it to allow the citizens conduct their business amicably. In aIDition, importation of opium opened up jobs for the locals to earn a living.

It was important for china to co-operate with Britain and U.S.A to avoid the hostilities that came with the opium wars (Boot, 2014). There was no need for the confiscation of Canton warehouse where the British merchants carried out their business. Instead, the government should have encouraged them to run their businesses for the locals to earn a living through securing jobs in the warehouse. As such, the country’s economy could rise and avoid the wars witnessed in Beijing and other areas. The wars that the Qing government faced defeat could have not occurred if the government could have not come out to fight this vice. The wars had far-reaching consequences on china including expansion of foreign territories, cases that were avoidable.

On the other side, introduction of opium in the Chinese market was an all-time bad idea. The smuggling of opium, mainly from British India, sparked conflicts that destroyed china’s traditional system for dealing with foreign commerce. This forcibly opened China to the illegal importation of opium and other commodities (Bijian, 2006). The trade that flourished in the aftermath of legalization both revealed and created the enormous market for the drug. In the end, this served as an inspiration for the Chinese farmers to plant their own poppies, and spawned networks for the importation, preparation and distribution of opium involving all levels of the Chinese society. It is evident that casual opium smoking was common just like alcohol drinking in the western World; however, this led to devastation of Chinese individuals and their families. Seemingly, the dependence of opium was so intense, therefore, making it difficult to eliminate the vice once. This shows the failure of government in controlling trade and her people. Arguably, opium in china was a vice that had come to destroy the society and throw families out of balance.

The inauguration of the nationwide campaign by the Qing government against opium is a welcome idea that purposely meant to salvage the Chinese from opium slavery. The effort put by the government to end this was enormous and good enough it succeeded in ending poppy cultivation in some china provinces. The most unfortunate thing is the emergence of the poppy cultivation in the country and its involvement in generating revenue to support the Military Campaigns of Chinese government. Consequently, the eventual collapse of the trade is welcome for the success of china.

The laws that the government came up with to curb the sale of opium were oppressive but unavoidable. For instance, the strangulation of individuals found guilty of selling opium. As such, it served as serious punitive measure that could scare away any individual with an intention of engaging in the business of selling opium. The use of opium has several effects on the users’ health and physical outlook. For instance, individuals taking it regularly they could develop a bad breathe, sallow face, and black teeth (Bijian, 2006). Consequently, given that, the majority of the Chinese could use this opium, then that means that a whole nation could have inactive and weak men who could not be intellectuals with poor health. At large scale, the nation could suffer from an economic crunch because of having few intellectuals with clear understanding of life, leading to more activities that are criminal in aIDition to a dwindling economy.

In conclusion, there was no anticipation that the trade would flourish and throw the Chinese government out of control. It is clear that there is need for a country to always step up, champion for the rights of her citizens, and stamp out vices that destroy the economic and social structures in place.

References

Boot, M. (2014). The savage wars of peace: Small wars and the rise of American power.

Bijian, Z. (2006). China’s Peaceful Rise: Speeches of Zheng Bijian 1997-2005. Washington: Brookings Institution Press.