Explanation:
The second aspect is to discuss the outbreak of the first Chinese Opium and Second Opium wars. The Chinese Opium wars, also known as Anglo-Chinese Wars, were trade disputes between China and the British Empire. It resulted in diplomatic disputes between the two nations. China suffered the worst defeat in this war of Opium smuggling by the West. The major cause of the wars was due to opium smuggling in China by drug traffickers from Ireland and the United Kingdom of Britain (Willoughby, 13). The wars consisted of the First Opium War that happened from 1839 to 1842 and the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860.
Opium is chemically processed to produce heroin and is rare in China. Many Chinese people very much demanded the drug. Increased demand of Opium by Chinese was a business opportunity from Western Countries, India and Ireland. It was an illegal affair but British traders never wanted to stop doing this illegal business. The trade led to a rise of drug addicts in China that contributed to increased criminal activity. The effects of the drug had many negative effects in many Chinese societies and it was termed as a human tragedy.
The Imperial government stepped in to salvage the lives of many people who were perishing in many drug dens. In 1836, the government declared opium trading illegal and started to fight aggressively against such businesses. In 1839 Chinese administrative authorities took and burned opium that was being traded in Canton. The drug traffickers were not happy about the action of the Imperial government because the business was so forthcoming. The British responded by occupying positions in Canton, raising alarm on the side of China.
