WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The war ended on 17 August 1842, with the Treaty of Nanking enabling the British to ‘carry on their mercantile transactions with whatever persons they please’. The treaty committed the Chinese to free trade, including the trade in opium.

Detailed explanation-2: -Britain Launched the Opium War against China in 1840 and compelled the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Nanking, permanently ceding the Hong Kong Island to it.

Detailed explanation-3: -Peace negotiations proceeded quickly, resulting in the Treaty of Nanjing, signed on August 29. By its provisions, China was required to pay Britain a large indemnity, cede Hong Kong Island to the British, and increase the number of treaty ports where the British could trade and reside from one (Canton) to five.

Detailed explanation-4: -Although opium trade routes extending from the southeastern and southwestern regions of Asia closed temporarily during World War II (1939–45), cultivation of the plant continued and even prospered in areas of China. Opium smoking was finally eradicated by the Chinese communists after they came to power in 1949.

Detailed explanation-5: -The unequal treaties that western powers imposed on China undermined the ways China had conducted relations with other countries and its trade in tea. The continuation of the opium trade, moreover, added to the cost to China in both silver and in the serious social consequences of opium addiction.