The Opium Wars: How Britain Broke the Power of the Qing Empire

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Qing Dynasty ruled a vast and powerful empire. European merchants desired Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain, but China had little interest in British goods. To reverse the flow of silver, British merchants expanded the illegal trade in opium grown in India, creating an escalating crisis inside China. In 1839, the Qing official Lin Zexu confiscated and destroyed enormous quantities of British opium at Canton. Britain responded with war. Its modern warships and artillery overwhelmed Qing defenses, forcing China to sign the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain, five treaty ports were opened, and the Qing government was forced to pay a large indemnity. But Britain wanted even greater access to China. In 1856, a second war began, with France joining the British campaign. Foreign troops captured Canton, advanced toward Beijing, and burned the Old Summer Palace. By 1860, the Qing had been forced to accept new treaties that expanded foreign trade, diplomatic access, and privileges inside China. The Opium Wars did not immediately destroy the Qing Dynasty, but they shattered its authority, exposed its military weakness, and opened the empire to decades of foreign intervention. This documentary explores both Opium Wars—from the opium trade and Lin Zexu’s campaign to the Treaty of Nanjing, the invasion of Beijing, and the beginning of China’s “Century of Humiliation.” How did a conflict over trade and opium break the power of China’s last empire?