The Opium Wars

During the Opium wars the Chinese and the British were trading goods for each other . The British wanted the tea that the Chinese had but they refused so the British gave them opium so they can get addicted to it and they can trade the opium for tea. When the Chinese emperor figured out opium was addictive and killing off the population they decided to end opium trade and the British got upset and decided to attack the Chinese people. The Chinese lost the first opium war because of their lack in modern weapons and technology and they were unaware of the British surprise attack. They signed the treaty of Nanjing and that was what led to the seond opium war.