The Opium Wars

The Opium Wars was a battle between Britain and the Chinese. The Chinese had all the resources they needed but the British wanted to trade with them because they needed some of their resources. The Chinese unfairly traded little of their resources for many of the British resources. The British were determined to find a product the CHinese could use. They discovered the the Chinese doctors used opium to stop pain. The British started trading the opium with the Chinese. The Chinese soon found out that opium is also a addiciting drug that harms your body. The Chinese Emperor wrote a letter to Britain telling them to stop trade and that it is unfair that they allow opium in China but not their own country. China got no responce from the letter so they decided to wage war against Britain to stop opium trade. This is why The Opium Wars has it's name. The Chinese stood no chance against the technology of the British such as their well built boats and their cannons. They lost the almaost as soon as it started. China was starting to fall apart, people did not trust their Emperor anymore because many were starting. The opium trades did stop eventually but it is unclear as to why.