The British colonial struggle against China and its impact on the development of relations between the two countries (1839-1842)

Abstract

British foreign policy toward China in the period (1839–42) saw open hostility and a clear desire to drain the Chinese economy and harness it to the British colonial effort in Asia as a whole. The opium trade affected the Chinese people and prevented them from joining the ranks of the civilized countries of the world because of the disastrous effects of opium.
China was a weak primitive country with backward social and economic structures and unable to defend its sovereignty in the face of any serious potential external threat, due to its long isolation from developments in the outside world, which negatively affected the outside world. The ability to adapt and prepare for any real threat to come. One of the European colonial countries, led by Britain.
Because of the foregoing, Britain launched a large-scale war against China through its militarily superior fleet, which spared no effort to bombard Chinese ports for several days, which led to the military defeat of China and forced it to open its ports to the British fleet, which subsequently inflicted heavy damage in China.