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THE TERM OPIUM WARS refers to two infamous imperialist wars that Britain fought against Qing-dynasty China in the middle of the nineteenth century over Chinese restrictions on foreign commerce, such as China's high customs duties and particularly its ban on the importation and sale of foreign- grown opium. In 1750, Britain, the world's economically most developed country ai the time, had a per capita GDP of about $1,200 (in today 's dollars). The Indusirial Revolution had started in Britain around that time (notably with the invention of the steam engine in 1769). Industrialization - the use of energy io drive machinery and the accumulation of such machinery along with the products manufactured by it - was thus tied to Britain's emerging leadership role in the world economy. By around 1850, the wooden sailing ships of earlier ceniuries had been replaced by larger and fasier coal-powered iron sieamships. Coal-fueled steam engines sei off the great age of railroad building and also drove British factories producing iexliles and oiher indusirial commodities. Britain dominated global trade in this period and became the financial capital of the world, managing an increasingly complex global markei in goods and services. The British currency, the pound sierling (silver), served as the world's reserve currency. Because Britain's capitalist economy was the most technologically advanced in the world and iis indusirial products were competitive worldwide, British policy sirongly favored free markeis and free trade. Bui international moneiary relations were siili based on the value of precious metals such as gold and silver, which the predominanily rural, agrarian, and agricultural China of the nineteenth century had in abundance (especially silver, which was mosily imported from Laiin America and was the only commodity that the Chinese would accepi from foreigners as paymeni for iheir exports).
Before the first Opium War (1839-1842), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, the Qing imperial governmeni allowed foreign trade - including the ostensibly illicit opium imports - only ai the seaport of Guangzhou (C anion) and resiricted coniaci between visiting Wesierners and the native Chinese. Imperial officials feared that the introduction of Western materialism and commercialism, as well as the presence of crusading C hrisiian missionaries from the West, would upset the traditional Chinese way of life and undermine the old...