Books
War
Opium Wars
1839–1860 CE
The Opium Wars were fought between Qing China and Western powers, especially Britain, in the mid-nineteenth century. They centred on trade, opium, sovereignty, military imbalance and diplomatic coercion. Defeat forced China into unequal treaties, treaty ports and territorial concessions.
They mattered because they exposed Qing vulnerability and began what Chinese memory calls a century of humiliation. The wars also connect merchants, addicts, officials, missionaries, sailors and diplomats in morally charged settings. Fiction about treaty ports and imperial pressure can use the Opium Wars to explore greed, addiction, empire and resistance.
Related people for Opium Wars
Charles Elliot1801–1875 Charles George Gordon1833–1885 Daoguang Emperor1782–1850 Empress Dowager Cixi1835–1908 George Elliot1784–1863 Gordon Bremer1786–1850 Guangxu Emperor1871–1908 Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston1784–1865 Hong Xiuquan1814–1864 James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin1811–1863 James Matheson1796–1878 Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy1783–1859 Li Hongzhang1823–1901 Lin Zexu1785–1850 Mao Zedong1893–1976 Prince Gong1833–1898 Qishan1786–1864 Sir Robert Hart1835–1911 Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin1766–1841 Victoria1819–1901 William Jardine1784–1843 Xianfeng Emperor1831–1861
Non-Fiction
7 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Opium Wars
Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.
