Scramblin' thru... the Opium Wars
Paper boats don't typically fair well in battle... [Click picture for a larger version.]
Just Say "No" to Drugs... and the British
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Toward
the end of the 18th Century, the Chinese Qing ["Ching"] Dynasty (which lasted from 1644-1912, or, you know, longer than the U.S. has been independent), grudgingly accepted commercial relations with Britain. Britain was the thing all the "cool countries" were doing in the late 1700s (well, except for the U.S. - we were soooo over Britain by then). Trade into China from Britain was limited to only one Chinese port, which kept
the balance of trade in China's favor. Of course, the British wanted more. (Sorta like when you eat Chinese food. You're going to be hungry an hour later.)
During the 1780s, British merchants introduced Indian opium to China. Addiction spread, and by 1800, the opium market had "mushroomed", shifting the balance of trade in favor of Britain. (Essentially, Britain roofied China in order to get what it wanted. Classy move.) Because trade in opium was illegal in China, British merchants unloaded their cargo offshore, which allowed them to sell it to Chinese smugglers who took it inland. By the 1830s, the threat opium posed to China was massive. Opium addiction destroyed lives, and the drain of silver was causing fiscal problems for the Qing Government. In 1838, China began seizing opium stores, so Britain opted for the only logical response when one's illegal drug trade is halted: war. The British sent 42 warships from their outposts in India, beginning the First Opium War (1839-1842). With their outdated weapons, the Chinese did poorly against the more "modernized" British. (And by "modernized" we still mean marching in lines and using muskets...) The Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War, was concluded at gunpoint in 1842. It ceded the Chinese island of Hong Kong to Britain and opened five additional Chinese ports to foreign trade and residence. (Britain kept Hong Kong until 1997.) Ironically enough, nothing was said about opium in the treaty to end the Opium War! A Second Opium War broke out 14 years later. This conflict (1856-1860) was an inevitable sequel to the first. The Chinese were not eager to implement the terms of a treaty they saw as unfair... or signed at gunpoint. British merchants were unhappy because they did not see a huge rise in profits from the Chinese trade after the First Opium War. They blamed the Chinese for dragging their feet and not openly welcoming Western goods - like opium. (I mean, come on, China... all Britain wants is for you to buy its drugs!) Opium smuggling continued, and this increased the Chinese resentment of foreigners. The second conflict between the British and Chinese began over rather ridiculous circumstances. On October 8, 1856, Chinese officers decided to search for a notorious pirate that was allegedly on a ship called Arrow. The Arrow was owned by a Chinese resident of Hong Kong. After boarding the ship, they took down the British flag that was flying off the mast. This minor incident quickly escalated into a war, because, again, bloody conflict is the logical response to someone touching your flag. The British sent an expedition and were joined by a French task force out to punish China for allowing a French missionary to be murdered in February of the same year. (And when historic rivals Britain and France pair up, you know that can't be good!) The Anglo-French force made quick work of the Chinese. The Treaty of Tianjin (not signed at gunpoint) allowed diplomats to take up permanent residence and own land in China. It also opened up 10 new ports to foreign trade. The opium trade, the entire reason for the wars, was legalized. These Opium Wars were very important to China's modern history. The wars, and the unequal treaties, forced China's markets to open up to the West and made the once secluded Chinese vulnerable to outsiders. The events also contributed to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty (China's last imperial dynasty) in the early years of the 20th Century. Some historians argue that the conflicts, while painful, were a much needed jolt to shake China out of the past. China views the Opium Wars as a perfect example of "might makes right" and "Western bullying". |
Flag of the Qing Dynasty - no shocker that it has a dragon on it... [Click picture for a larger version.]
This political cartoon shows how gently Britain eased the opium trade into China... [Click picture for a larger version.]
Cheetos, anyone? [Click picture for a larger version.]
This thing was over before it began... [Click picture for a larger version.]
Everyone just sign the Treaty of Nanking and nobody gets hurt. Niiiice and slow. There we gooooo... [Click picture for a larger version.]
Woah woah woah. Did you just touch our flag? OK. I'm gunna pretend I didn't see what I clearly... just... saw. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Opium War II... is there a war that Britain wouldn't fight?! [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Still doing the whole "red coat" thing, huh, Britain?
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Opium is a
narcotic drug produced from the poppy, an agricultural crop. It can be processed into morphine
(a painkiller), which, in turn, can be made into heroin. It is smoked, eaten,
or injected. Today, over two million Americans are heroine addicts.
An opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 1800s, most notably in China, Southeast Asia, North America (San Francisco, New York, and British Columbia), and France. (Do we see a connection here? All of these areas either were directly part of the Opium Wars, traded with nations that were involved, or housed large number of Chinese immigrants... Chinatown in San Fran and NYC.) Opium dens were frequented by (and associated with) the Chinese who supplied the opium as well as the paraphernalia such as the specialized pipes needed to smoke the drug. Patrons would recline in order to hold the long opium pipes over oil lamps that would heat the drug until it vaporized, allowed the smoker to inhale the vapors. As time passed, opium dens were visited by non-Chinese and all members of society. By the end of the 1800s, however, most cities and countries had outlawed public opium dens... so people just smoked at home. (The U.S. outlawed opium altogether in 1905.) The consumption of poppy seeds used on bagels and muffins can produce positive results on drug screening tests. Opiates (like morphine and codeine) can be detected in urine for at least 48 hours after one eats food containing poppy seeds. As little as a single bagel covered with poppy seeds could produce a false positive test for these drugs and make a drug-free person look like a heroin user! 
Yea... that's it officer... it was that poppy seed muffin I ate a few hours ago... yea... that's it...
In a classic episode of the TV show "Seinfeld", Elaine falls victim to the poppy seed positive test... so she goes about getting urine from an unlikely source. [Click picture to view the clip from "Seinfeld".]
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A poppy field. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Poppy seeds. [Click picture for a larger version.]
An opium den in San Francisco. [Click picture for a larger version.]
A Victorian Era opium den. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Opium addicts. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Looks like ordinary food containers...
BAM! Transformer Happy Meal toys! (Granted, the Lowfat Milk container sucked because all it did was pop our arms and legs. But that's what you get if you order Lowfat Milk. Of course, '80s McDonald's purists will appreciate the Styrofoam Chicken McNugget box!) [Click picture for a larger version.]
In 1987, the Transformer line of Happy Meal toys expanded. And life was good. [Click picture for a larger version.]
"Made in Hong Kong"... four beautiful words that meant you were getting some quality plastic work!
BOOM! Case in point. Every single kid that grew up in the 1980s had one (or all) of these "Imperial Dinosaurs" that were made in Hong Kong. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Hong Kong: The Birthplace of '80s Toy Fun! [Click picture for a larger version.]
After its release from British colonial status, this became Hong Kong's flag.
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Remember when you used to get good toys in Happy Meals? Like straight
legit toys... not half-assed cardboard thingamabobbers? (Of course, this was
before Apple Dippers and Milk took the "Happy" right out of Happy Meals. But if
you want that rant, click here.) Chances are, back in this "Golden Age" of
Happy Meals, you saw "Made in Hong Kong"
stamped somewhere on the toy. So how did Hong Kong come to dominate the plastic
and toy market? After being ripped away by Britain by gunpoint at the end of the First Opium War, Hong Kong remained in British hands from 1842 until 1997. Poor Hong Kong, right? Wrong! Hong Kong immediately prospered
as a result of its favored position as the center of flourishing trade between
Europe and Asia. Hong Kong's economy developed in a completely different direction than China's
after World War II. As Hong Kong became more industrialized, it found a starving
market in Southeast Asia for consumer goods, which were in short supply at the
time. Economic development took off after 1949 when the Communist takeover
of China caused refugees (of all social classes) to flood into Hong Kong. The poor Chinese refugees provided a reliable
source of manpower (whoo hoo... cheap labor!), while the rich Chinese businessmen brought with them
capital and technological expertise. Certainly, Hong Kong rode the perks of
being under British administration all the way to the bank. The colony enjoyed access to
the British market on preferential terms, and when the U.S. placed restrictions
on products originating from Communist China in 1952, Hong Kong was keep off
that "naughty list" because it was "British". All of these factors led to the rapid expansion of industries
such as textiles, plastics, fancy goods... and toys. By 1959, there were over 300 plastic factories in
Hong Kong, and only six years later that total jumped to 1,200. Many of
these specialized in toy production. In the 1970s, rising oil prices led to an
increase in the cost of plastics as these are, of course, byproducts of the
petrochemical industry. As other Asian economies grew, it
made Hong Kong's toys less competitive. (Gee, thanks, healthy global competition!) In 1978, and after surviving two couple decades of embargos, Communist China was opened up to foreign investments. This time, instead of refugees going into Hong
Kong, many manufacturers relocated their factories back to
the Chinese mainland since Chinese workers in China were "cheaper" than Chinese workers in Hong Kong. This
chipped away at the toy industry in Hong Kong. There was a brief resurgence of Hong Kong toys during the 1980s thanks to the introduction of the Happy Meal at McDonald's in 1979. But, all good things must come to an end. On July 1, 1997, per the terms of the Treaty of Nanking, Britain's 99-year "lease" of Hong Kong ended, and the country was absorbed back into the jurisdiction of Communist China. (Those that are quick with math will realize that Britain's 99-year "lease" from 1842-1997 was, in fact, 155 years. Several treaties over the years kept "renewing" Britain's lease in the same fashion that dicks renew library books without returning them first.) Today, there is hardly any toy production in Hong Kong itself. The "handover ceremony" carried enormous historical ramifications, however, as it marked the official "end" of the once mighty British Empire (1583-1997). U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (Oh, sorry... that doesn't work in this case...)
Awkward! In this particular medal ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Union Jack is displayed promptly in the middle. To the left is China's flag. And to the right is Hong Kong's flag... from when it was a British colony. Looks like someone forgot to "update" their flag collection. (Yea, we're looking at you, Queen Elizabeth...) [Click picture for a larger version.]
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You mad, bro?
While Jesus never gave a sermon in which He "rallied" peasant armies, apparently his younger brother, Hong, did... [Click picture for a larger version.]
Lookin' smooth in their red unis... [Click picture for a larger version.]
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An economic
crisis followed the Opium Wars and resulted in the peasant revolt and devastating civil war known as the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864). This rebellion was led by Hong Xiuquan (1814-1864), a Christian convert [pictured left]. He
believed God had given him a mission of destroying the Qing Dynasty... oh, and that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ. So, this "bro" of Jesus created the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a separate country in Southern China with 30 million people. Hong's agenda included public ownership of land, equality for women, and replacing Buddhism and Confucianism with Christianity.
His peasant armies were called "longhairs" because they refused to wear the queue (their hair gathered up and braided in a long ponytail). Soldiers in this army of 500,000 were incredibly disciplined and hugely fanatic. They sported red coats with blue pants and had large numbers of women in their ranks. Ironically, Britain and France came to the aid of the Qing Dynasty (you know, the same one they had just beaten into submission a few years earlier) and
destroyed the rebels. Hong either committed suicide by taking poison or died of food poisoning. By the end, between 20-30 million people (mostly civilians) died in one of the deadliest military conflicts in history. The scars from the
rebellion are still felt today.
The Taiping Rebellion. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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An epic depiction of the two sides fighting during the Taiping Rebellion. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Section summary in 140 characters or less:Don't do drugs... especially when forced on
you at gunpoint, like Britain pushed opium on China; 2 wars later, Hong Kong's gone
for 155 years.
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