Why did the British Attack the Chinese? - The First Opium War

Why did the British Attack the Chinese? - The First Opium War

It all began back in the 17th century when the British East India Company established budding trade relations with China. These ties would strengthen over time as the East India Company grew to dominate European trade with China and eventually led, in the mid 18th century, to the foundation of the Canton System in which the contemporary Chinese Qing dynasty would be able to better control the booming trade with the British.

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♦Music by Epidemic Sound

♦Sources :

Beeching Jack -The Chinese Opium Wars (Hutchinson, 1975)

Bingham John Elliot - Narrative of the Expedition to China from the Commencement of the War to Its Termination in 1842 (2nd ed.). Volume 2.


London: Henry Colburn.

♦Script & Research :
Skylar Gordon

#History #Documentary #China

[grandadmiralzaarin]

Cartel, "I'm the biggest drug dealer in history!"
CIA, "No, I am!"
British Empire, "Amateurs."

[aberongike]

Fun Fact： During the Opium War, Britain banned all British and colonies from smoking opium, But selling opium to foreigners is legal

[TheEbrithil]

The zooming out at the end, revealing India to be a part of Great Britain (as opposed to the Maratha Empire as seen earlier in the video) was pretty powerful

[akil]

“If two fish are fighting in a river an Englishman must have passed by” . Native American saying.

[CairnsG]

China: “No Britain, I don’t want your drugs!”
Uk: “Well I guess we’ll force you.”

[almighty]

Sad history of old China. It also explains why China is so eager to be strong again so that no bully boys can come and repeat this part of the insulting history.

[SpaceMonkeyBoi]

This is probably why their government gets antagonistic from time to time. First, European powers, then Imperial Japan. I know for a fact that they don't wanna go back to that.

[giorgijioshvili]

Hong Kong: Hey that's how i was born!

[depekthegreat]

This is an extremely so fascinating history of how this battle happened which you have narrated correctly, good friend!!!:-D

[petesthename]

Kind of an ominous ending showing the power of the British empire just before the world entered the era of pax Britannica.

At the start, britain only controls a small part of India, and while the Chinese are fully commuting to fight the British, it’s revealed that the Chinese were only a secondary goal. The war took place over a relatively short period, and by the end of the first war, it zooms out to show how britain Now has complete and absolute control over India

[joshuacondell]

"Pablo Escabar? He's got nothing on the British Empire."

[wolfu]

Fun fact: The term "Opium war" wasn't created by the Chinese, but by the British, more specifically, the newspaper "Times of London" in 1840. The term was adopted by the Nationalist's under Chiang Kai-Shek in the 20's and 30's.
In Britain, the opposition to this war was more widespread than people nowadays realize, and what lay the foundation for this immoral war, is more complicated, and also more interesting, then the general 'black vs white' image for how this war began.

[javierjp]

Britain in the 21st century: war on drugs
Britain in the 19th century: war *for* drugs

[ShredPhred]

Divide and conquer is an age old strategy used by many conquerors on weaker, less unified and organized adversaries.

Fun fact, plenty of collaborators on the Ching and native Han side willing to sell out for short term gain or to right perceived slights and wrongs done to them.

[costaathanasiou]

Can't blame the Chinese if they're negatively prejudiced towards the West. Interestingly enough it's Japan they consider as their most hated foe.

[timchiu]

Hey would you please make a video about how the Manchurians conquered and controlled China, Tibet and Mongolia and hence creating a mega empire? Most of the foreigners could not tell the difference between Qing dynasty and the Republic of China, as well as the Manchurians and Han Chinese.

[DIRKDIGG]

When you hear the British pontificating
Just tell them they are the biggest sovereign drug dealer in history

[dyingember]

The British had committed aggression of some kind against almost all countries on this planet.

[cly]

The internal war in the Ming Dynasty led to the collapse of the empire. The border general of the Ming Dynasty Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the customs.

[johnli]

The peddling of addictive drugs to another country, and then innocuously narrating it as trade, knowing full well the devastation it brings to another country, is pure evil. All must perpetually be vigilant, less you be fooled again.