The main cause of conflict between Britain and China in the mid-19th century was:
- Britain imported Indian opium into China to break into the Chinese trade.
During this period, the British East India Company began smuggling opium from India into China, which led to widespread addiction issues among the Chinese population. The Chinese government, concerned about the social and economic impacts of opium, tried to enforce strict anti-opium laws. However, the British merchants, backed by their government, continued the illegal trade to maintain their profits.
This conflict over the opium trade eventually escalated into the First Opium War (1839-1842) between Britain and China. The war resulted in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, where China was forced to cede Hong Kong to Britain and open several ports for trade. This event marked the beginning of a series of unequal treaties that favored Western powers and significantly weakened China's sovereignty.
