The Opium Wars

The Opium war was between China and England. It started in 1839 and ended in 1842. China was isolated for many years, the British wanted to trade with China for there most popular natural resource which was tea. But China did not want any help from them. So, in order to get the tea, British started to sell Opium to the Chinese people. When the British offered opium the Chinese gladly said yes. Opium was a type of drug that was very strong and easy to get addicted to. It was used for medications and to take the pain away. Opium can be dangerous, but the British felt the rulers in China had no right to keep opium from their people. Western Civilization had grown.

As time went by they decided to make a new product using opium. The governments signed a peace treaty that allowed the British to use five ports instead of one. They mixed tobacco with Opium and promoted smoking Opium in China. Over two million pounds of Opium were being sold to China every year. The British were successful with the new ideas that China was coming up with. In 1838, efforts to trade opium were ended, and anyone who was trying to trade it would be killed. China was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, and the British supplementary Treaty of the Bogue in 1843.This war was called the Opium wars because it was a fight for Opium. China wanted it out while the British wanted it in. The British won this war due to their high technology and powerful army. As a result the Chinese lost power of an important Island call Hong Kong.

Film Lesson " Mountains Of The Moon"

While searching for the Nile River Europeans faced many obstacles and hardships while going thought Africa. They were curious in finding the largest river in the world which was the Nile River. One major conflict was the native tribes. They were fascinated seeing”white people”in there territory because they never had seen anyone like them. They felt threatened by the Europeans so they would then frighten them with there spears. The Europeans which were Richard Burton and John Speke weren’t use to the living conditions in Africa. They had a lot of walking to do while carrying heavy equipment. While they were sleeping many Africans would come to steal there belongings. John got infected by a bug that got inside his ear and got shot with an arrow that went right through his face. To get to the Nile River they had to pass through the Sahara dessert which was very difficult. They were thirsty and tired of walking. When ever they found a lake to finally drink from it was infected with dead animals. While being on this long journey they saw lions which they had to escape from. They had to be careful and cautious because there were many diseases that were easy to catch and easy to get infected by. Towards the end of there journey they finally found the source of the Nile River which is Lake Victoria.

The third largest river which is named Lake Victoria was named after the British. They named it after there English Queen. It was weird that it was named after Victoria because this land was already discovered, people already lived there, and it was in the middle of Africa. Europeans decided to name it after a queen even though it wasn’t there property. The lake should have been named by the Africans because this was there land, country, and territory. Still today the lake is named Victoria.

Europeans had many technological advantages over African people that made it easier to conquer Africa. One of there technological advantage was there weapons. They carried guns and shields which were very dangerous and powerful while the Africans had arrows. They also carried telescopes, compasses and magnifying glasses to help them during there journey. They had important and advanced equipment which helped them conquer Africa.