-
Opium War
The Opium Wars were two conflicts between China and Western powers primarily over trade imbalances and the British opium trade.
The First Opium War (1839-1842) was sparked by China's attempts to suppress the opium trade, leading to British military intervention to protect their economic interests.
The Treaty of Nanking (1842) ended the First Opium War, granting extraterritorial rights to Western powers, ceding Hong Kong to Britain, and opening several Chinese ports to foreign trade.