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Home / Periods / Opium Wars / First Opium War

War

First Opium War

1839–1842 CE

The First Opium War grew from conflict over Britain’s trade deficit with Qing China, the illegal importation of opium and Qing attempts to suppress the trade. Fighting began in 1839 after Commissioner Lin Zexu confiscated and destroyed opium held by foreign merchants at Canton.

British naval power forced access to coastal cities and river routes. The Treaty of Nanking ended the war in 1842, opened treaty ports, imposed an indemnity and ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, beginning a new phase of foreign intervention in China.

Tai-Pan uses the war’s conclusion and the seizure of Hong Kong as the political and commercial foundation for its fictional merchant houses. Maritime power, opium profits and unequal diplomacy shape the rivalry between Dirk Struan and Tyler Brock.

Related people for First Opium War

Charles Elliot1801–1875 Charles George Gordon1833–1885 Daoguang Emperor1782–1850 Empress Dowager Cixi1835–1908 George Elliot1784–1863 Gordon Bremer1786–1850 Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston1784–1865 James Matheson1796–1878 Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy1783–1859 Li Hongzhang1823–1901 Lin Zexu1785–1850 Qishan1786–1864 Sir Robert Hart1835–1911 Victoria1819–1901 William Jardine1784–1843

Series

Series about First Opium War (1 series)

Ibis Trilogy in Order

by Amitav Ghosh 3 books 4.1(60,349)

The Ibis Trilogy, written by acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh, is an epic historical fiction series comprising Sea of Poppies (2008), River of Smoke (2011), and Flood of Fire (2015). Set in the 1830s, the sweeping narrative centers on the Ibis—a repurposed slave ship—and traces the devastating geopolitical…

Books

3 Best Novels About the First Opium War

Non-Fiction

4 Best Non-Fiction Books About the First Opium War

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.