Hiatus Update! – How Did We Not Know That
Help us improve the quality of our podcast by contributing to our Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/HowDidWeNotKnowThat
Show Notes
0:00:00.000,0:00:03.439
hello everybody and welcome back to
0:00:02.159,0:00:06.560
another episode
0:00:03.439,0:00:07.120
of how did we not know that i’m net i’m
0:00:06.560,0:00:10.160
jack
0:00:07.120,0:00:12.320
and today i’m excited
0:00:10.160,0:00:14.320
for jack’s episode do you want to tell
0:00:12.320,0:00:16.960
us what you’re going to be talking about
0:00:14.320,0:00:18.800
yeah today i’m covering the opium wars
0:00:16.960,0:00:19.359
and that and i did not plan for this
0:00:18.800,0:00:21.359
large
0:00:19.359,0:00:23.439
china sequence in the middle of the
0:00:21.359,0:00:24.960
season but it just ended up that way
0:00:23.439,0:00:27.119
but yeah it’ll it’s gonna be really
0:00:24.960,0:00:28.320
interesting this is a war that i always
0:00:27.119,0:00:30.560
heard about in
0:00:28.320,0:00:31.599
light but i never really looked into it
0:00:30.560,0:00:33.760
and i think
0:00:31.599,0:00:35.760
after this episode when you hear about
0:00:33.760,0:00:36.800
the opium war you’ll have a better
0:00:35.760,0:00:39.360
understanding
0:00:36.800,0:00:41.280
about why china has been closed off to
0:00:39.360,0:00:42.239
trade they have been a little less prone
0:00:41.280,0:00:45.440
to trade
0:00:42.239,0:00:47.440
which we discovered in gnats episode and
0:00:45.440,0:00:49.200
you’ll also probably have a better idea
0:00:47.440,0:00:49.600
as to some of the other events that come
0:00:49.200,0:00:51.360
after
0:00:49.600,0:00:53.680
the opium war and why that happened
0:00:51.360,0:00:56.640
because this really sets the stage for
0:00:53.680,0:00:59.120
a lot of the other uh catastrophes that
0:00:56.640,0:01:01.120
happen in china the opium wars
0:00:59.120,0:01:02.320
that’s war is plural so there are two
0:01:01.120,0:01:04.239
wars and
0:01:02.320,0:01:06.000
we’re going to start with the first one
0:01:04.239,0:01:08.640
and basically the opium wars
0:01:06.000,0:01:10.960
were a series of conflicts in china from
0:01:08.640,0:01:11.600
western imperial powers mainly great
0:01:10.960,0:01:13.360
britain
0:01:11.600,0:01:14.960
in their attempt to open up trade in
0:01:13.360,0:01:17.920
china
0:01:14.960,0:01:19.680
so for the first opium war it’s the
0:01:17.920,0:01:22.240
early 1800s
0:01:19.680,0:01:23.439
and great britain is not in great
0:01:22.240,0:01:26.560
financial shape
0:01:23.439,0:01:29.600
in the 1800s they’ve recently
0:01:26.560,0:01:30.400
like 20 years ago um lost the american
0:01:29.600,0:01:32.560
colonies
0:01:30.400,0:01:34.000
which you’ve lost like all that tax
0:01:32.560,0:01:35.439
revenue and you lost
0:01:34.000,0:01:38.560
the cotton production that you get from
0:01:35.439,0:01:40.079
the americas um and the tobacco etc
0:01:38.560,0:01:41.759
and they’ve spent a lot of money on
0:01:40.079,0:01:42.240
their colonization efforts around the
0:01:41.759,0:01:44.560
world
0:01:42.240,0:01:46.240
and their investment in india is not
0:01:44.560,0:01:48.560
paying off like they had hoped
0:01:46.240,0:01:49.600
they spent a lot of money conquering
0:01:48.560,0:01:51.439
india and
0:01:49.600,0:01:53.360
they wanted to grow cotton there but you
0:01:51.439,0:01:55.759
couldn’t really grow cotton as well
0:01:53.360,0:01:56.880
as they were doing in other countries so
0:01:55.759,0:02:00.079
they weren’t
0:01:56.880,0:02:02.240
it wasn’t like successful so at this
0:02:00.079,0:02:04.560
time there are already a lot of european
0:02:02.240,0:02:07.200
imperialist strongholds around asia
0:02:04.560,0:02:08.080
you have the british in india the french
0:02:07.200,0:02:11.200
and vietnam
0:02:08.080,0:02:13.040
cambodia laos and the dutch in
0:02:11.200,0:02:14.239
indonesia also the spanish in the
0:02:13.040,0:02:16.560
philippines so
0:02:14.239,0:02:18.480
it’s just like european powers are
0:02:16.560,0:02:22.480
everywhere around asia
0:02:18.480,0:02:24.480
and so well before this time
0:02:22.480,0:02:26.879
chinese products were in really high
0:02:24.480,0:02:27.760
demand in england such as their silk
0:02:26.879,0:02:30.720
porcelain
0:02:27.760,0:02:32.560
and a lot of tea like the british it’s a
0:02:30.720,0:02:34.480
stereotype but they really did
0:02:32.560,0:02:36.160
love tea all european countries were
0:02:34.480,0:02:37.280
interested in trade with china right but
0:02:36.160,0:02:39.760
great britain was like
0:02:37.280,0:02:40.800
really really liking their products but
0:02:39.760,0:02:42.080
on the flip side
0:02:40.800,0:02:44.160
china didn’t really have a lot of
0:02:42.080,0:02:45.920
interest for great britain’s products or
0:02:44.160,0:02:47.519
like any european products they just
0:02:45.920,0:02:48.239
didn’t think it was interesting or they
0:02:47.519,0:02:49.920
didn’t want it
0:02:48.239,0:02:52.160
can’t make a trade like that with
0:02:49.920,0:02:52.560
products instead england has to trade
0:02:52.160,0:02:55.760
hard
0:02:52.560,0:02:57.440
silver um to get the tea from china
0:02:55.760,0:02:59.200
great britain starts to look for a
0:02:57.440,0:03:01.599
solution to
0:02:59.200,0:03:02.959
that problem and they discover that
0:03:01.599,0:03:05.680
although india
0:03:02.959,0:03:08.560
is not good for growing cotton it is
0:03:05.680,0:03:13.040
really good for growing a plant called
0:03:08.560,0:03:16.400
the opium poppy so
0:03:13.040,0:03:18.400
this we start the opium trade so opium
0:03:16.400,0:03:20.400
which i said comes from this poppy plant
0:03:18.400,0:03:22.239
is a highly addictive drug
0:03:20.400,0:03:24.000
it forms the base of those really hard
0:03:22.239,0:03:27.280
drugs like morphine and heroin
0:03:24.000,0:03:29.040
right so the plan was to get the chinese
0:03:27.280,0:03:30.640
addicted to opium so then they would
0:03:29.040,0:03:32.000
have something to trade and solve the
0:03:30.640,0:03:33.840
trade deficit isn’t that
0:03:32.000,0:03:36.640
terrible but that’s really what they
0:03:33.840,0:03:38.159
were thinking oh my god they’re
0:03:36.640,0:03:39.760
literally like let’s give them the most
0:03:38.159,0:03:41.920
addictive things so then
0:03:39.760,0:03:44.159
here’s the thing though in china the
0:03:41.920,0:03:45.599
chinese emperor believed that western
0:03:44.159,0:03:47.920
powers were corrupt
0:03:45.599,0:03:49.440
and they didn’t want to trade with them
0:03:47.920,0:03:50.239
so they really wanted to strictly
0:03:49.440,0:03:52.080
restrain
0:03:50.239,0:03:53.439
trade with foreigners which can you
0:03:52.080,0:03:56.480
blame the guy like
0:03:53.439,0:03:59.599
i think they had a lot of technological
0:03:56.480,0:04:01.599
advancements too like they were doing
0:03:59.599,0:04:02.879
so much compared to a lot of countries
0:04:01.599,0:04:04.720
at the time i think but they were so
0:04:02.879,0:04:06.000
isolated so like people didn’t actually
0:04:04.720,0:04:09.439
yeah they had like coal
0:04:06.000,0:04:12.799
gun powder porcelain tea silk like
0:04:09.439,0:04:15.120
what do you need so basically the ching
0:04:12.799,0:04:16.720
emperor who is the emperor at the time
0:04:15.120,0:04:17.919
limited trade to something called the
0:04:16.720,0:04:20.639
canton system
0:04:17.919,0:04:22.800
canton is in the south of china so the
0:04:20.639,0:04:24.320
canton system there’s one port in the
0:04:22.800,0:04:27.040
canton region which is in
0:04:24.320,0:04:29.120
guangdong province and the port is in
0:04:27.040,0:04:31.280
guangzhou which is the city
0:04:29.120,0:04:32.880
so there’s only one port all the
0:04:31.280,0:04:35.680
foreigners got to go to this port
0:04:32.880,0:04:38.240
also at this port the trade between
0:04:35.680,0:04:41.280
foreigners has to go through
0:04:38.240,0:04:42.880
licensed chinese merchants and it has to
0:04:41.280,0:04:44.720
be subjected to a lot of government
0:04:42.880,0:04:45.040
regulation and they have to pay tax on
0:04:44.720,0:04:47.759
it
0:04:45.040,0:04:48.400
so it’s really like heavily scrutinized
0:04:47.759,0:04:50.160
trade
0:04:48.400,0:04:51.759
there were already small amounts of
0:04:50.160,0:04:53.919
opium that had been
0:04:51.759,0:04:55.040
in china they were either grown in china
0:04:53.919,0:04:57.360
or they had been
0:04:55.040,0:04:58.720
like smuggled in but they weren’t
0:04:57.360,0:04:59.600
getting caught it was just very small
0:04:58.720,0:05:01.759
amounts
0:04:59.600,0:05:03.680
and even with that small amount the
0:05:01.759,0:05:05.600
chinese government recognized that the
0:05:03.680,0:05:08.000
opium was becoming a really
0:05:05.600,0:05:10.639
serious social problem so in the year
0:05:08.000,0:05:12.400
1800 it banned both the production and
0:05:10.639,0:05:15.919
the importation of opium
0:05:12.400,0:05:18.400
wow legal now and in 2013
0:05:15.919,0:05:19.759
they went a step further and outlawed
0:05:18.400,0:05:22.000
the smoking of opium
0:05:19.759,0:05:23.600
and they imposed a punishment of beating
0:05:22.000,0:05:26.720
offenders a hundred times
0:05:23.600,0:05:27.840
oh my gosh they’re really like ah this
0:05:26.720,0:05:31.759
opium thing
0:05:27.840,0:05:34.880
is not the move yeah
0:05:31.759,0:05:36.960
that’s not fun i know and so in response
0:05:34.880,0:05:39.759
the british east india company
0:05:36.960,0:05:40.240
which was the company in east india that
0:05:39.759,0:05:42.720
was
0:05:40.240,0:05:44.560
producing the opium they hired private
0:05:42.720,0:05:46.400
british and american traders to
0:05:44.560,0:05:48.320
transport the drug to china
0:05:46.400,0:05:49.520
and then they had chinese smugglers
0:05:48.320,0:05:51.199
bring the opium in
0:05:49.520,0:05:52.880
from ships that were anchored off the
0:05:51.199,0:05:55.600
coast of guangzhou which is
0:05:52.880,0:05:58.479
canton area like we said so in less than
0:05:55.600,0:06:01.600
30 years from 1810 to 1838
0:05:58.479,0:06:02.240
opium in china had increased from 4 500
0:06:01.600,0:06:04.400
chests
0:06:02.240,0:06:06.560
which is like the container for opium to
0:06:04.400,0:06:10.160
40 000.
0:06:06.560,0:06:14.319
so like almost 10 times oh my gosh
0:06:10.160,0:06:17.680
and that’s not a long time period i know
0:06:14.319,0:06:19.759
so things are not looking great uh
0:06:17.680,0:06:21.520
and then we get into some conflict
0:06:19.759,0:06:22.400
between the chinese and great britain
0:06:21.520,0:06:25.680
the chinese
0:06:22.400,0:06:27.600
emperor is furious about this
0:06:25.680,0:06:29.600
so he employs quite a few different
0:06:27.600,0:06:31.360
officials over the course of time to
0:06:29.600,0:06:33.919
combat the opium issue
0:06:31.360,0:06:36.160
so one of the officials is lin lindsay
0:06:33.919,0:06:37.840
and he’s ordered to go down to canton
0:06:36.160,0:06:41.120
and destroy all the opium
0:06:37.840,0:06:43.280
that’s his main job so in may of 1839
0:06:41.120,0:06:44.560
lindsay sue does a few things to try and
0:06:43.280,0:06:46.000
combat the trade
0:06:44.560,0:06:47.840
first thing he does is he writes a
0:06:46.000,0:06:48.960
letter to queen victoria and he
0:06:47.840,0:06:50.560
questions
0:06:48.960,0:06:52.880
britain’s political support for the
0:06:50.560,0:06:54.560
trade and the morality of pushing drugs
0:06:52.880,0:06:56.000
but it’s highly unlikely that she
0:06:54.560,0:06:59.599
actually got that letter
0:06:56.000,0:07:01.759
but he wrote it he’s like please stop
0:06:59.599,0:07:03.039
then he rapidly progresses the
0:07:01.759,0:07:05.599
enforcement of the ban
0:07:03.039,0:07:06.960
and he arrests 600 chinese dealers of
0:07:05.599,0:07:10.240
opium
0:07:06.960,0:07:12.080
wow but most importantly he demands that
0:07:10.240,0:07:14.160
the british chief superintendent of
0:07:12.080,0:07:14.720
trade in china whose name was charles
0:07:14.160,0:07:17.199
elliott
0:07:14.720,0:07:17.919
hand over all the stalks of opium at
0:07:17.199,0:07:19.440
canton
0:07:17.919,0:07:20.960
and they were going to give them tea in
0:07:19.440,0:07:22.240
exchange for the opium
0:07:20.960,0:07:23.759
then they were going to destroy all the
0:07:22.240,0:07:24.319
opium they weren’t going to like sell it
0:07:23.759,0:07:26.160
out but
0:07:24.319,0:07:27.759
they wanted all the opium like this is
0:07:26.160,0:07:29.840
my personal status
0:07:27.759,0:07:33.039
yeah he’s like good excellent the
0:07:29.840,0:07:35.599
emperor comes in he’s like smoking
0:07:33.039,0:07:36.560
okay so the british refuse they’re like
0:07:35.599,0:07:39.599
ah no thanks
0:07:36.560,0:07:41.520
so lin jesus stops all foreign trade and
0:07:39.599,0:07:44.240
he confines the foreigners to
0:07:41.520,0:07:46.080
one area wow yeah and then they’re
0:07:44.240,0:07:48.000
quarantined in that area so the
0:07:46.080,0:07:49.039
quarantine time period lasts for six
0:07:48.000,0:07:50.879
weeks and then
0:07:49.039,0:07:53.840
the merchants finally give in and they
0:07:50.879,0:07:58.080
hand over 20 000 chests of opium
0:07:53.840,0:08:00.800
but that’s not enough so lynn’s troops
0:07:58.080,0:08:02.080
then go and they destroy all of those
0:08:00.800,0:08:03.840
chests that they handed over
0:08:02.080,0:08:05.919
but then they also seize and destroy
0:08:03.840,0:08:07.440
opium that was being held on the british
0:08:05.919,0:08:10.560
ships oh my gosh
0:08:07.440,0:08:13.520
like they are hiding so much i know
0:08:10.560,0:08:15.360
i know so the british are not happy
0:08:13.520,0:08:17.039
about this and charles elliot
0:08:15.360,0:08:18.479
claims that these ships were in
0:08:17.039,0:08:20.879
international waters
0:08:18.479,0:08:23.440
but lynn claims that they were anchored
0:08:20.879,0:08:26.400
in and around chinese lands
0:08:23.440,0:08:27.120
whose side are you on you know and then
0:08:26.400,0:08:30.639
lastly
0:08:27.120,0:08:33.919
lynn pressures the portuguese who had a
0:08:30.639,0:08:35.120
colony in nearby macau which i did not
0:08:33.919,0:08:38.320
know but yeah that’s
0:08:35.120,0:08:40.719
they owned my cow i guess
0:08:38.320,0:08:41.519
did they colonize macau no i’m sorry i
0:08:40.719,0:08:44.560
didn’t know i
0:08:41.519,0:08:44.560
didn’t know that wow
0:08:44.800,0:08:48.640
yeah we should cover that because i have
0:08:46.480,0:08:51.760
no idea so he pressures them
0:08:48.640,0:08:52.560
to expel the uncooperative british from
0:08:51.760,0:08:54.399
that area
0:08:52.560,0:08:55.839
and force them to move to the island of
0:08:54.399,0:08:58.480
hong kong
0:08:55.839,0:08:59.120
so i mean lin tried really hard i admire
0:08:58.480,0:09:01.360
this guy
0:08:59.120,0:09:02.160
yeah okay so yeah british are not
0:09:01.360,0:09:05.200
unhappy
0:09:02.160,0:09:07.920
and for them the destruction of
0:09:05.200,0:09:09.360
opium was a violation of britain’s
0:09:07.920,0:09:11.279
concepts of trade
0:09:09.360,0:09:12.720
because britain really believes in the
0:09:11.279,0:09:14.080
concept of free trade like the
0:09:12.720,0:09:14.480
government should not get involved in
0:09:14.080,0:09:16.880
that
0:09:14.480,0:09:19.360
and the politicians in great britain had
0:09:16.880,0:09:21.839
been looking for an excuse to expand
0:09:19.360,0:09:23.600
british imperial interests so they used
0:09:21.839,0:09:24.320
the opium incident to act more
0:09:23.600,0:09:26.160
forcefully
0:09:24.320,0:09:27.760
with china they were they were like
0:09:26.160,0:09:29.440
looking for a reason to go to war and
0:09:27.760,0:09:33.120
then they were like using this
0:09:29.440,0:09:34.959
as the reason okay okay
0:09:33.120,0:09:36.720
that’s sketchy so they’re like they
0:09:34.959,0:09:38.560
wouldn’t have
0:09:36.720,0:09:40.480
it’s not like they were so upset about
0:09:38.560,0:09:42.800
the whole
0:09:40.480,0:09:44.399
opium situation well like them like
0:09:42.800,0:09:46.880
stealing all their opium
0:09:44.399,0:09:49.120
yeah because they knew it was unethical
0:09:46.880,0:09:52.720
i don’t even know if opium was like
0:09:49.120,0:09:54.399
legal in england so they knew what they
0:09:52.720,0:09:56.399
were doing
0:09:54.399,0:09:58.240
and then a lot of the politicians when
0:09:56.399,0:10:00.000
they’re making the arguments in
0:09:58.240,0:10:01.920
court as to whether or not they wanted
0:10:00.000,0:10:03.519
to go to war with china
0:10:01.920,0:10:05.920
a lot of them argued that china was out
0:10:03.519,0:10:08.560
of touch with civilized nations
0:10:05.920,0:10:11.040
which practiced free trade and they also
0:10:08.560,0:10:14.240
often called the chinese barbaric
0:10:11.040,0:10:15.519
and that they needed to go to china
0:10:14.240,0:10:17.760
and have a war with them because they
0:10:15.519,0:10:18.560
were just like savages and barbarians
0:10:17.760,0:10:21.600
and
0:10:18.560,0:10:23.200
wow all right so so there you go there
0:10:21.600,0:10:25.600
you have it
0:10:23.200,0:10:28.480
not great okay so then we have the first
0:10:25.600,0:10:31.200
opium war attack so in june 1840
0:10:28.480,0:10:32.640
16 british warships and opium merchants
0:10:31.200,0:10:35.760
arrive at guangzhou
0:10:32.640,0:10:38.800
and they attack china and
0:10:35.760,0:10:40.959
although there were like 50 000 chinese
0:10:38.800,0:10:43.279
soldiers to 6 000 british
0:10:40.959,0:10:44.320
the british had superior training and
0:10:43.279,0:10:46.320
technology
0:10:44.320,0:10:48.160
from all their colonization efforts so
0:10:46.320,0:10:51.279
they very quickly started seizing
0:10:48.160,0:10:54.399
cities and winning battles it was like
0:10:51.279,0:10:56.320
yeah just really not a chance
0:10:54.399,0:10:58.720
england had like the strongest navy at
0:10:56.320,0:11:00.320
the time so a naval attack like they’re
0:10:58.720,0:11:00.880
gonna win no matter what like that’s
0:11:00.320,0:11:02.160
what they do
0:11:00.880,0:11:04.560
all these countries that they’re
0:11:02.160,0:11:09.040
colonizing they attack them
0:11:04.560,0:11:11.519
through water see yeah and it was like
0:11:09.040,0:11:12.399
yeah even though the gun powder like for
0:11:11.519,0:11:14.720
guns is from
0:11:12.399,0:11:15.600
china the chinese were still using like
0:11:14.720,0:11:18.160
spears
0:11:15.600,0:11:19.920
in the wars and i guess like not very
0:11:18.160,0:11:21.839
high quality guns
0:11:19.920,0:11:24.160
and the british were using like the best
0:11:21.839,0:11:24.160
guns
0:11:24.320,0:11:28.800
i think so yeah it’s pretty bad for the
0:11:27.040,0:11:31.360
chinese lynn
0:11:28.800,0:11:32.480
boylan wins issue he gets sent into
0:11:31.360,0:11:34.480
exile
0:11:32.480,0:11:36.000
um because the emperor is like furious
0:11:34.480,0:11:37.920
that this is happening and then
0:11:36.000,0:11:39.360
lots of chinese generals are committing
0:11:37.920,0:11:43.279
suicide because
0:11:39.360,0:11:46.160
it’s so bad they can’t defeat the forces
0:11:43.279,0:11:47.519
so really sad and this pattern continues
0:11:46.160,0:11:49.600
throughout the war and then they end up
0:11:47.519,0:11:53.040
capturing several major ports
0:11:49.600,0:11:56.399
along the coast then in 1842
0:11:53.040,0:11:58.959
they capture the city of uh jejung
0:11:56.399,0:11:59.600
which allows them to blockade the yancey
0:11:58.959,0:12:02.320
river
0:11:59.600,0:12:04.399
and that is like final straw because
0:12:02.320,0:12:05.040
once they blockade the yancey river that
0:12:04.399,0:12:07.360
means that
0:12:05.040,0:12:10.560
they can’t transport food down to other
0:12:07.360,0:12:13.040
parts of the country anymore
0:12:10.560,0:12:15.680
so that’s regarded as the last major
0:12:13.040,0:12:17.600
battle of the first opium war
0:12:15.680,0:12:19.120
and at this point the chinese have lost
0:12:17.600,0:12:22.160
the war and they need to sign
0:12:19.120,0:12:22.160
a peace treaty
0:12:22.800,0:12:26.480
so the treaty they sign is called the
0:12:25.120,0:12:29.519
treaty of nan king
0:12:26.480,0:12:31.200
and in august of 1842 the war is
0:12:29.519,0:12:32.880
officially ended and the chinese
0:12:31.200,0:12:34.160
officials are forced to sign the treaty
0:12:32.880,0:12:38.320
of nanking
0:12:34.160,0:12:41.040
so this treaty is also the first of what
0:12:38.320,0:12:44.160
china later refers to as the series
0:12:41.040,0:12:47.040
of unequal treaties so they’re like
0:12:44.160,0:12:49.360
wow a series yeah there’s a lot of them
0:12:47.040,0:12:52.639
so this is the first of those
0:12:49.360,0:12:54.480
yikes and so
0:12:52.639,0:12:57.040
here’s what the treaty of nanking does
0:12:54.480,0:12:59.040
it ends the canton system of trading
0:12:57.040,0:13:00.320
and then the treaty provided the british
0:12:59.040,0:13:03.120
with a few
0:13:00.320,0:13:04.959
a few benefits the first was a deep
0:13:03.120,0:13:07.360
water port in hong kong
0:13:04.959,0:13:09.040
second was monetary composition for all
0:13:07.360,0:13:10.720
of the opium that was destroyed in
0:13:09.040,0:13:13.279
reparation for the war
0:13:10.720,0:13:14.320
then they opened five new chinese treaty
0:13:13.279,0:13:16.240
ports
0:13:14.320,0:13:18.320
yeah then they also granted everyone
0:13:16.240,0:13:19.440
extra territoriality for british
0:13:18.320,0:13:21.760
citizens
0:13:19.440,0:13:24.480
so that means that they were subject to
0:13:21.760,0:13:26.480
the british not the chinese laws
0:13:24.480,0:13:27.839
extra territory i think of it like
0:13:26.480,0:13:30.800
diplomatic immunity
0:13:27.839,0:13:32.720
because you know diplomats get that too
0:13:30.800,0:13:34.399
yeah so it’s like the same as that but
0:13:32.720,0:13:37.200
then they’re giving it to like
0:13:34.399,0:13:37.920
people like just they’re just giving it
0:13:37.200,0:13:41.040
to everyone
0:13:37.920,0:13:44.320
and so i’m sure that got abused
0:13:41.040,0:13:47.279
like crazy yeah definitely
0:13:44.320,0:13:48.160
so um another thing that was in the
0:13:47.279,0:13:50.959
treaty was
0:13:48.160,0:13:52.880
the most favored nation clause which
0:13:50.959,0:13:54.320
states that any rights gained by
0:13:52.880,0:13:56.240
other foreign nations would
0:13:54.320,0:14:00.320
automatically apply to great britain
0:13:56.240,0:14:02.240
as well so this allows westerners to
0:14:00.320,0:14:05.360
start building churches and spreading
0:14:02.240,0:14:07.120
christianity in china
0:14:05.360,0:14:08.959
and then on the china side they got
0:14:07.120,0:14:11.760
nothing
0:14:08.959,0:14:14.720
wow so it’s like really interesting
0:14:11.760,0:14:16.639
because i feel like there’s so many
0:14:14.720,0:14:17.839
like it’s almost like they partly colin
0:14:16.639,0:14:19.680
like you know
0:14:17.839,0:14:21.680
it sounds like a lot of rules that would
0:14:19.680,0:14:23.440
be set in place if they like colonize
0:14:21.680,0:14:25.680
the entire
0:14:23.440,0:14:27.199
country but it’s like they i don’t know
0:14:25.680,0:14:28.639
they did it
0:14:27.199,0:14:30.240
sorry i’m now i’m just like thinking out
0:14:28.639,0:14:32.880
loud but it’s like they’re colonizing
0:14:30.240,0:14:34.560
it but without having to set up like the
0:14:32.880,0:14:35.920
government that has to like
0:14:34.560,0:14:37.839
rule the country they’re just like
0:14:35.920,0:14:40.320
getting some of the
0:14:37.839,0:14:41.360
benefits you know yeah no that’s a great
0:14:40.320,0:14:43.519
way to say it
0:14:41.360,0:14:44.639
i think this is my friend that i’m going
0:14:43.519,0:14:46.959
to ask later
0:14:44.639,0:14:48.399
she was telling me about this i didn’t
0:14:46.959,0:14:50.560
even understand like what she was saying
0:14:48.399,0:14:52.399
but basically like during this time
0:14:50.560,0:14:54.560
period it was like all european powers
0:14:52.399,0:14:56.320
were like trying to get a bite of china
0:14:54.560,0:14:58.480
if that makes sense and she’s like
0:14:56.320,0:15:00.480
it’s like a dog trying to like bite a
0:14:58.480,0:15:02.480
beach ball like everyone wants a piece
0:15:00.480,0:15:05.279
of it but it’s like too big
0:15:02.480,0:15:06.959
so you can’t take it over so every like
0:15:05.279,0:15:08.399
this was like their way of like taking a
0:15:06.959,0:15:09.839
bite almost
0:15:08.399,0:15:11.760
yeah well yeah because you were saying
0:15:09.839,0:15:14.240
like england wasn’t doing or
0:15:11.760,0:15:16.160
the uk great britain wasn’t doing like
0:15:14.240,0:15:17.600
well financially at the time
0:15:16.160,0:15:19.040
and they knew that there was no way they
0:15:17.600,0:15:21.519
could like successfully colonize the
0:15:19.040,0:15:24.639
entire country so this is just like
0:15:21.519,0:15:27.040
economically they’re colonizing it
0:15:24.639,0:15:28.639
i guess this marks the end of the first
0:15:27.040,0:15:31.839
opium war
0:15:28.639,0:15:34.720
and yeah not a great time for china
0:15:31.839,0:15:36.480
then we enter the second opium war time
0:15:34.720,0:15:39.920
period
0:15:36.480,0:15:41.279
so after the end of the first opium war
0:15:39.920,0:15:42.480
in 1842
0:15:41.279,0:15:44.720
with the signing of the treaty of
0:15:42.480,0:15:48.000
nanking um
0:15:44.720,0:15:49.680
the great britain obviously received a
0:15:48.000,0:15:51.519
lot of enormous benefits over
0:15:49.680,0:15:53.040
china but the british were still
0:15:51.519,0:15:55.839
unsatisfied
0:15:53.040,0:15:57.759
so trade did not expand as much as
0:15:55.839,0:15:59.199
foreign merchants had hoped and they
0:15:57.759,0:16:01.920
continued to blame the chinese
0:15:59.199,0:16:05.360
government for this
0:16:01.920,0:16:07.920
to be fair though the chinese court
0:16:05.360,0:16:09.920
did keep finding excuses to not accept
0:16:07.920,0:16:10.720
foreign diplomats at the capital city of
0:16:09.920,0:16:12.240
beijing
0:16:10.720,0:16:14.240
and it’s compliant with the treaties
0:16:12.240,0:16:16.240
fell far short with western countries
0:16:14.240,0:16:19.199
expectations
0:16:16.240,0:16:19.839
um yeah which anyone who’s not familiar
0:16:19.199,0:16:21.920
with
0:16:19.839,0:16:24.720
the diplomatic system in china you have
0:16:21.920,0:16:25.680
to present your cases to like the high
0:16:24.720,0:16:28.800
imperial
0:16:25.680,0:16:29.920
court before they get heard and that all
0:16:28.800,0:16:32.079
happens in the north
0:16:29.920,0:16:32.079
but
0:16:33.040,0:16:40.399
how do we not know but what
0:16:36.800,0:16:43.519
where am i okay so at this time
0:16:40.399,0:16:45.920
the qing dynasty of china is also still
0:16:43.519,0:16:48.079
very weakened from the first opium war
0:16:45.920,0:16:50.959
so the british decide that they want to
0:16:48.079,0:16:53.440
extract even more concessions from china
0:16:50.959,0:16:54.959
and this time france wants a piece of
0:16:53.440,0:16:57.519
the action
0:16:54.959,0:16:58.320
what i really don’t have to do with
0:16:57.519,0:17:01.120
anything
0:16:58.320,0:17:02.720
france was like let’s go france really
0:17:01.120,0:17:05.679
wanted to do trade with china
0:17:02.720,0:17:06.319
um and they were looking for a way in so
0:17:05.679,0:17:09.520
they’re like
0:17:06.319,0:17:10.799
yeah i’ll take that so in october of
0:17:09.520,0:17:13.520
1856
0:17:10.799,0:17:14.480
chinese authorities arrest the chinese
0:17:13.520,0:17:16.720
crew of a ship
0:17:14.480,0:17:18.000
operated by the british they’re chinese
0:17:16.720,0:17:20.799
citizens that’s within their
0:17:18.000,0:17:22.480
rights it’s not against the treaty um
0:17:20.799,0:17:24.720
but then the british used this as an
0:17:22.480,0:17:25.360
excuse to start using military forces
0:17:24.720,0:17:29.440
against
0:17:25.360,0:17:32.880
china again to open up more trade
0:17:29.440,0:17:34.080
wow okay yeah so france teams up with
0:17:32.880,0:17:36.480
britain this time
0:17:34.080,0:17:40.080
and they also invite the united states
0:17:36.480,0:17:42.640
and russia to get in on it
0:17:40.080,0:17:44.240
um but both the usa and russia opted out
0:17:42.640,0:17:46.160
because they were both recovering from
0:17:44.240,0:17:48.320
wars but in 1856
0:17:46.160,0:17:49.200
joint french and british forces captured
0:17:48.320,0:17:51.200
guangzhou
0:17:49.200,0:17:52.799
again which is that that point in the
0:17:51.200,0:17:54.240
south and they move north towards the
0:17:52.799,0:17:56.960
capital beijing
0:17:54.240,0:17:58.080
on the way they capture a city called
0:17:56.960,0:18:00.720
tianjin
0:17:58.080,0:18:02.480
and get the treaty of tianjin sign which
0:18:00.720,0:18:04.720
was supposed to be the end of the war
0:18:02.480,0:18:06.640
but the treaty never gets ratified
0:18:04.720,0:18:07.840
and i didn’t know what ratified meant
0:18:06.640,0:18:09.600
before i looked this up so
0:18:07.840,0:18:11.840
ratified is like it gets signed but
0:18:09.600,0:18:15.200
ratified like we accept it as the law
0:18:11.840,0:18:17.840
and we actually in response to it
0:18:15.200,0:18:18.640
um and then in 1860 they finally capture
0:18:17.840,0:18:20.320
beijing
0:18:18.640,0:18:23.120
and they destroy the imperial summer
0:18:20.320,0:18:24.080
palace and then the emperor flees to
0:18:23.120,0:18:26.720
manchuria
0:18:24.080,0:18:28.960
and they force his brother to sign a new
0:18:26.720,0:18:32.080
round of unequal treaties
0:18:28.960,0:18:33.280
oh my gosh it’s really sad to read about
0:18:32.080,0:18:34.559
this stuff
0:18:33.280,0:18:36.480
the signing of these treaties is
0:18:34.559,0:18:37.200
referred to as the convention of pecking
0:18:36.480,0:18:39.840
because
0:18:37.200,0:18:41.039
it resulted in the signing of three
0:18:39.840,0:18:43.200
different treaties
0:18:41.039,0:18:45.440
for great britain france and the russian
0:18:43.200,0:18:47.520
empire so britain and france
0:18:45.440,0:18:49.120
allowed russia to join in on the treaty
0:18:47.520,0:18:50.960
even though they didn’t do anything
0:18:49.120,0:18:53.360
because they wanted more military
0:18:50.960,0:18:55.280
pressure on china to uphold the treaties
0:18:53.360,0:18:57.120
and face repercussions
0:18:55.280,0:19:00.000
if they backed out because now there’s
0:18:57.120,0:19:03.360
three of them oh my god this is awful
0:19:00.000,0:19:05.840
i know russia got a free ride from this
0:19:03.360,0:19:07.360
yeah and like just the reasoning behind
0:19:05.840,0:19:10.720
it like it’s
0:19:07.360,0:19:13.840
really i don’t want to say smart
0:19:10.720,0:19:16.640
but like that’s strategically like
0:19:13.840,0:19:17.679
that sounds like it’s a sound plan but
0:19:16.640,0:19:20.000
like it’s evil
0:19:17.679,0:19:20.960
more the merrier to harass so this
0:19:20.000,0:19:22.960
treaty
0:19:20.960,0:19:25.120
well okay the all of the treaties
0:19:22.960,0:19:27.200
because there’s three of them this time
0:19:25.120,0:19:29.120
and like collectively some of the things
0:19:27.200,0:19:30.000
that they stated were that the territory
0:19:29.120,0:19:32.240
of hong kong
0:19:30.000,0:19:34.000
is now completely lost to british rule
0:19:32.240,0:19:35.039
so that’s when hong kong gets handed
0:19:34.000,0:19:38.640
over
0:19:35.039,0:19:40.320
okay opium is legalized so
0:19:38.640,0:19:42.320
after the first opium war it still
0:19:40.320,0:19:44.799
wasn’t legalized
0:19:42.320,0:19:45.679
but now it’s like officially legalized
0:19:44.799,0:19:48.559
then they open up
0:19:45.679,0:19:48.960
11 more ports for trade and then they
0:19:48.559,0:19:51.200
allow
0:19:48.960,0:19:52.160
more christian missionaries to come in
0:19:51.200,0:19:55.360
to the country
0:19:52.160,0:19:57.760
they give russia a lot more land in the
0:19:55.360,0:19:59.919
north it’s if you look at the map
0:19:57.760,0:20:00.960
like before and after this the second
0:19:59.919,0:20:03.360
war like
0:20:00.960,0:20:05.280
the entire top part of china is just
0:20:03.360,0:20:06.080
like cut off it’s tons of land that’s
0:20:05.280,0:20:09.600
given to
0:20:06.080,0:20:11.200
russia does it never get returned or
0:20:09.600,0:20:13.520
i don’t think so i think china’s still
0:20:11.200,0:20:15.520
the same size so they it solidified the
0:20:13.520,0:20:17.600
1859 treaty of nan king
0:20:15.520,0:20:19.280
which was the treaty that they signed
0:20:17.600,0:20:21.600
from the first opium war
0:20:19.280,0:20:23.919
and then it also contains terms from the
0:20:21.600,0:20:26.159
treaty of tianjin which they
0:20:23.919,0:20:28.559
had signed but didn’t ratify and that
0:20:26.159,0:20:29.600
allows russia great britain france and
0:20:28.559,0:20:32.799
the usa to do
0:20:29.600,0:20:35.039
trade with china so then now we go into
0:20:32.799,0:20:37.280
what are the consequences in china
0:20:35.039,0:20:38.480
because of the opium wars because can
0:20:37.280,0:20:41.840
you imagine
0:20:38.480,0:20:44.559
like it has been isolated for centuries
0:20:41.840,0:20:46.080
and then all of a sudden like all these
0:20:44.559,0:20:48.480
countries are coming in
0:20:46.080,0:20:49.760
and they do not have good intentions it
0:20:48.480,0:20:51.919
sounds like
0:20:49.760,0:20:53.039
literally their first introduction to
0:20:51.919,0:20:55.840
like dealing with
0:20:53.039,0:20:56.480
like western powers is them like force
0:20:55.840,0:21:01.200
feeding them
0:20:56.480,0:21:01.200
opio opioids yeah opium
0:21:02.400,0:21:06.640
yeah so after the opium wars opium
0:21:05.760,0:21:08.559
floods
0:21:06.640,0:21:11.200
into the country and it continues to
0:21:08.559,0:21:13.840
undermine the social fabric of society
0:21:11.200,0:21:16.080
and then historians believe that the
0:21:13.840,0:21:16.640
increase in opium flooding into the
0:21:16.080,0:21:19.440
country
0:21:16.640,0:21:20.880
and the qing dynasty’s concessions to
0:21:19.440,0:21:21.840
the french and the british after the
0:21:20.880,0:21:24.320
opium wars
0:21:21.840,0:21:25.200
contributed to the taiping rebellion
0:21:24.320,0:21:28.480
which was
0:21:25.200,0:21:30.000
an event that lasted in china from 1815
0:21:28.480,0:21:32.240
to 1864.
0:21:30.000,0:21:33.840
and this was one of the longest and most
0:21:32.240,0:21:36.240
bloody civil wars
0:21:33.840,0:21:37.200
ever in the country and that was led by
0:21:36.240,0:21:39.440
christians
0:21:37.200,0:21:41.679
who believed it was their sole purpose
0:21:39.440,0:21:46.000
to overthrow the qing dynasty
0:21:41.679,0:21:50.400
and 20 million people died in that wow
0:21:46.000,0:21:52.559
yeah and the opium wars are also
0:21:50.400,0:21:54.559
oh go ahead what do you say that just
0:21:52.559,0:21:58.720
hit me like 20 million people
0:21:54.559,0:22:00.640
right right oh holy cow it’s a huge
0:21:58.720,0:22:02.559
amount that’s really sad
0:22:00.640,0:22:04.559
yeah and then the opium wars are
0:22:02.559,0:22:05.760
actually also heavily cited by the
0:22:04.559,0:22:09.600
japanese
0:22:05.760,0:22:11.520
as their reason for industrializing
0:22:09.600,0:22:13.360
it’s like their reason and need to
0:22:11.520,0:22:13.840
industrialize and become an imperial
0:22:13.360,0:22:16.080
power
0:22:13.840,0:22:18.000
so they don’t suffer the way china did
0:22:16.080,0:22:20.000
at the hands of europeans
0:22:18.000,0:22:21.360
wow that’s really interesting okay so
0:22:20.000,0:22:22.880
they are they’re like looking at what
0:22:21.360,0:22:26.640
happened in china and they’re like
0:22:22.880,0:22:30.240
uh okay we gotta do something right
0:22:26.640,0:22:32.880
wow okay and then yeah
0:22:30.240,0:22:33.679
and china is greatly weakened of course
0:22:32.880,0:22:35.360
after
0:22:33.679,0:22:37.440
this event and they start to rethink
0:22:35.360,0:22:39.600
their relations to the outside world
0:22:37.440,0:22:41.120
and their need to industrialize and
0:22:39.600,0:22:44.240
modernize the military
0:22:41.120,0:22:46.320
politics and economic structures
0:22:44.240,0:22:48.240
political military political and
0:22:46.320,0:22:51.760
economic structures
0:22:48.240,0:22:52.960
yes so like everything they’re like wait
0:22:51.760,0:22:56.000
what are we doing
0:22:52.960,0:22:57.440
the controversy of the opium wars so i
0:22:56.000,0:23:00.880
do want to include this
0:22:57.440,0:23:01.520
because although great britain claimed
0:23:00.880,0:23:03.440
that
0:23:01.520,0:23:04.799
what they were doing was in the name of
0:23:03.440,0:23:07.360
free trade it
0:23:04.799,0:23:08.960
is at the expense of the destruction of
0:23:07.360,0:23:10.960
chinese society
0:23:08.960,0:23:13.200
and the opium wars were really
0:23:10.960,0:23:14.799
controversial in europe and america
0:23:13.200,0:23:16.400
as well any all the countries that took
0:23:14.799,0:23:17.679
part like they knew that it was a really
0:23:16.400,0:23:19.919
controversial war
0:23:17.679,0:23:21.679
they knew it was a bad idea and it was
0:23:19.919,0:23:23.520
driven by money and greed
0:23:21.679,0:23:25.200
and i just want to share one of the
0:23:23.520,0:23:26.720
politicians at the time his name was
0:23:25.200,0:23:29.840
william gladstone
0:23:26.720,0:23:32.159
he’s a english politician and his sister
0:23:29.840,0:23:34.159
had actually become addicted to opium
0:23:32.159,0:23:35.520
and so he gave a famous speech on the
0:23:34.159,0:23:38.480
corruptness of the war
0:23:35.520,0:23:40.400
saying quote i am not competent to judge
0:23:38.480,0:23:42.320
how long this war may last
0:23:40.400,0:23:43.679
but this i can say that a war more
0:23:42.320,0:23:46.240
unjust in its origin
0:23:43.679,0:23:47.760
a war more calculated in its progress to
0:23:46.240,0:23:48.400
cover this country with permanent
0:23:47.760,0:23:50.480
disgrace
0:23:48.400,0:23:51.440
i do not know and i have not read of
0:23:50.480,0:23:54.320
unquote
0:23:51.440,0:23:56.000
and then as we know great britain still
0:23:54.320,0:23:57.039
went forward with the war and a few days
0:23:56.000,0:23:58.880
later he writes
0:23:57.039,0:24:01.279
quote i am in dread of the judgments of
0:23:58.880,0:24:04.559
god upon england for our national
0:24:01.279,0:24:07.200
iniquity iniquity inequity and
0:24:04.559,0:24:09.200
it’s not in equity iniquity is like
0:24:07.200,0:24:10.799
immoral or grossly unfair behavior
0:24:09.200,0:24:13.440
towards china
0:24:10.799,0:24:15.760
so i’m in dread of the judge yeah so he
0:24:13.440,0:24:18.400
says that unquote
0:24:15.760,0:24:20.880
wow so yeah i don’t know if that’s like
0:24:18.400,0:24:23.760
better or worse that like
0:24:20.880,0:24:24.799
i don’t know it’s frustrating that like
0:24:23.760,0:24:27.279
maybe there are a lot of
0:24:24.799,0:24:28.720
people in those countries that didn’t
0:24:27.279,0:24:30.880
support the war that like knew
0:24:28.720,0:24:32.559
how evil it was but then like they’re
0:24:30.880,0:24:34.960
not able to stop it you know
0:24:32.559,0:24:36.720
yeah it doesn’t excuse great britain or
0:24:34.960,0:24:39.840
like the european powers at all
0:24:36.720,0:24:40.559
but um it kind of makes you understand
0:24:39.840,0:24:43.360
that there’s
0:24:40.559,0:24:44.320
always two sides in history and it just
0:24:43.360,0:24:46.159
depends on i guess
0:24:44.320,0:24:48.400
who is in power at the time to make
0:24:46.159,0:24:51.360
those decisions and
0:24:48.400,0:24:52.159
yeah they wanted money more than like
0:24:51.360,0:24:54.080
being ethical
0:24:52.159,0:24:56.000
i have a question like do you know
0:24:54.080,0:24:58.640
anything about opium use
0:24:56.000,0:24:59.200
today in china like is it still a really
0:24:58.640,0:25:01.360
big
0:24:59.200,0:25:02.559
issue that is a great question i don’t
0:25:01.360,0:25:04.559
know if it’s still
0:25:02.559,0:25:06.159
legal i think it’s probably still legal
0:25:04.559,0:25:08.320
but opium
0:25:06.159,0:25:09.840
of course floods in after the wars it
0:25:08.320,0:25:12.080
reaches like peak use
0:25:09.840,0:25:14.400
the imports of opium decline and then
0:25:12.080,0:25:15.840
they end during the first world war so
0:25:14.400,0:25:18.240
opioid abuse
0:25:15.840,0:25:19.200
like re-emerges in the late 1980s in
0:25:18.240,0:25:22.400
china
0:25:19.200,0:25:24.000
um but it has declined a lot since the
0:25:22.400,0:25:25.919
1800s
0:25:24.000,0:25:27.279
okay wow but that’s gonna affect like
0:25:25.919,0:25:29.520
the entire society
0:25:27.279,0:25:30.559
and even the economy i feel like i don’t
0:25:29.520,0:25:33.679
know
0:25:30.559,0:25:34.799
yeah and like that’s gonna affect the
0:25:33.679,0:25:36.159
country yeah you like
0:25:34.799,0:25:38.000
you’re saying at the beginning of the
0:25:36.159,0:25:39.360
episode like this is this kind of
0:25:38.000,0:25:42.799
explains
0:25:39.360,0:25:45.679
like why china in the past has been so
0:25:42.799,0:25:46.880
like wary of entering trade agreements
0:25:45.679,0:25:48.799
with countries like
0:25:46.880,0:25:52.159
in the previous episode like we talked
0:25:48.799,0:25:55.200
about how they were isolated again
0:25:52.159,0:25:56.720
after the communist revolution and
0:25:55.200,0:25:58.240
yeah it took them a while to open up
0:25:56.720,0:26:00.799
their doors but yeah they now
0:25:58.240,0:26:02.240
make sense like they didn’t have great
0:26:00.799,0:26:04.480
experiences
0:26:02.240,0:26:05.840
and and they don’t have to do trade
0:26:04.480,0:26:09.360
actually i forgot to
0:26:05.840,0:26:12.480
add to with the opium declining so
0:26:09.360,0:26:13.520
opium imports decline but also china can
0:26:12.480,0:26:15.760
grow opium
0:26:13.520,0:26:17.840
so they they start growing their own
0:26:15.760,0:26:19.600
opium to like
0:26:17.840,0:26:20.960
so it’s like china didn’t need to do
0:26:19.600,0:26:22.080
trade with people they’re really
0:26:20.960,0:26:23.679
self-sufficient
0:26:22.080,0:26:26.159
it’s crazy because like the country is
0:26:23.679,0:26:29.039
so huge and they have so many different
0:26:26.159,0:26:30.159
like climates and what do you call it
0:26:29.039,0:26:31.919
like topography
0:26:30.159,0:26:33.919
like i don’t know it’s like really
0:26:31.919,0:26:36.400
beneficial i think it
0:26:33.919,0:26:37.120
is so self-sufficient they can grow
0:26:36.400,0:26:48.159
anything
0:26:37.120,0:26:48.159
produce anything
How Did We Not Know That 