1 Economy: Before the Opium War, China was an independent, unified and centralized feudal country ruled by the Qing Dynasty. Self-sufficient natural economy plays an important role in the whole social economy. Farmers not only produce the agricultural products they need, but also produce most industrial products they need. With the development of commodity economy, the seeds of capitalism bred in feudal society gradually grew. However, under the bondage of feudal relations of production, the elements of capitalist mode of production developed slowly.

2 Politics:/kloc-In the second half of the 8th century, the Qing Dynasty has embarked on the road of decline. Its bureaucracy is corrupt, its armaments are lax, its finances are exhausted, its land is highly concentrated, the contradiction between farmers and landlords is becoming increasingly acute, the life of the broad masses of people is getting worse and worse, and the whole society is in turmoil. From the end of18th century to the beginning of19th century, farmers' resistance continued. /kloc-The Anbaili Uprising broke out in 0/796, covering five provinces of Hubei, Sichuan, Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu, with hundreds of thousands of participants and lasting for nearly ten years. The Tian Li Uprising broke out in 18 13 and spread to Henan, Shandong and Hebei provinces.

Military: The army is also corrupt and its equipment is lax. Before the Opium War, there were 220,000 Eight Banners and 660,000 green camp in Qing Dynasty. However, both the Eight Banners and green camp are corrupt, and officers pay for a lot of food and drink at their own expense regardless of camp affairs. Soldiers don't practice often. As for the coastal navy, most of them are old, weak and useless, and most of the warships are made of thin and old nails and ingots, which will be broken in a dozen. Such a corrupt army has no fighting capacity at all.

Second, the development and colonial expansion of western capitalism.

The world before 1: While the national strength of Qing Dynasty declined, capitalism in Europe and America developed very rapidly. 1640, the bourgeois revolution broke out in Britain. /kloc-in the 0/8th century, there was an "industrial revolution" in Britain, and industrial production developed by leaps and bounds. At that time, Britain became the most advanced and powerful capitalist industrial country in the world. After the British bourgeois revolution, bourgeois revolutions occurred in Europe and America, which opened up a broad road for the development of capitalism. By the18th century, western capitalism had developed greatly.

2 Western colonial expansion: "plunder is the survival principle of all bourgeoisie". With the rapid development of capitalism, the bourgeoisie began to look for new sales markets and raw material supply markets, and opened up a broader colony. Capitalist countries in Europe and America, led by Britain, have long had ambitions for China and eastern countries. /kloc-at the end of 0/6, the British colonial forces began to invade India. 1600 set up the East India Company to monopolize the eastern trade. 1793, Britain sent a delegation led by Ma Jiali to China, and proposed to open Ningbo, Zhoushan and Tianjin as commercial ports, cede the islands near Zhoushan and Guangzhou, and reduce the tax rate, which was rejected by the Qing government. Later, British warships invaded the southeast coast of China many times. In addition to Britain, French, American and other European and American capitalist countries have also extended their colonial expansion to the East and stepped up their aggression and expansion in the Far East, including China. Russia is committed to the territorial expansion of China. /kloc-in the middle of the 0/7th century, armed forces invaded the Heilongjiang River Basin and the area east of Lake Baikal. 1689, China and Russia concluded the treaty of Nebuchadnezzar Chu through equal consultation, 1727, and signed the treaty of Blenski. These two treaties define the eastern and central borders between the two countries. Since the middle of18th century, Russian invaders have continuously invaded and occupied the territory of China to the east and south of Lake Balkhash, and successively annexed West Kazakhstan and North Kazakhstan. With the rapid development of western capitalism and the crazy colonial expansion that followed, ancient China faced unprecedented challenges and crises.

The war against British aggression in the second quarter

First, the spread of opium in China and the ban on smoking.

1. Qing government's closed-door policy and Chinese and foreign trade

(a) the policy of closed doors:

A. Content: "Closed door policy" refers to the policy of strictly restricting foreign exchanges. Its contents mainly include: restricting foreigners' business activities, duration and place of residence, scope of activities, and exchanges between China and foreign countries. Establish a banking system, monopolize all import and export trade rights and restrict foreign trade.

B. performance: restrictions on trade ports, types and quantities of export trade. Four customs trade: Guangzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningbo, Yuntai Mountain; Public banking system: foreign banks-public banks-thirteenth banks: government-licensed monopoly commercial institutions; Strictly restrict the residence and mobility of foreign businessmen in China.

C. purpose: to prevent the Han people from resisting, the fundamental reason is limited by the self-sufficient natural economic structure. "I have been in the imperial palace for many years, so I should treat the Han people as die-hards and not concentrate on them wholeheartedly." (Kangxi)

D. Reason: (1) Prevent Zheng Chenggong and other anti-Qing forces from colluding with the Han people and threatening their own rule; (2) Dealing with the harassment of western colonialists; (3) He is conservative and arrogant. He thinks that China has a vast territory and abundant resources, and everything is available. There is no need for foreign things at all, and foreign trade is dispensable. (4) Economic naturalness makes it possible to implement the closed-door policy.

E. Evaluation: At that time, the world had entered the era of free capitalism, the seeds of domestic capitalism in China had developed to a certain extent, and foreign capitalist forces had invaded China. The Qing government stubbornly pursued the closed-door policy, so it did not conform to the trend of the times, but ran counter to it, which did great harm to China's economic development. It protects the backward feudal natural economy, makes China lose the initiative in foreign trade, is not conducive to the growth of domestic capitalism, and hinders the people of China from learning advanced ideas, culture, science and technology from the west and the world; It also contributed to the reactionary thought of the rulers of the Qing Dynasty who were stubborn and conservative and tried to maintain the status quo without seeking progress.

② Sino-foreign trade: Sino-foreign trade deficit, taking Britain as an example. From the middle of18th century, Britain ranked first among China's foreign trade countries. In Sino-British trade, China has always been in a position of transcendence. 18th century 100, Britain delivered more than 200 million yuan in cash to China. Until 19 in the 1920s and 1930s, China still had to pay more than 200 million to 302,000 silver in legal trade every year. For a long time, British businessmen used a lot of silver to make up for the trade deficit with China. In order to change this situation, they always want to expand the sales market of British industrial products in China. But the problem is that none of the goods imported from Britain to China are welcomed by China people. Wool products are the first trump card imported by Britain, but the East India Company has been losing money in selling wool products to China 1800 years ago. The foreign bourgeoisie also admitted this point: "We use a word to describe this woolen trade, and this word is bound to be' failure'". The second batch of goods shipped by the East India Company to China are metal products, mainly lead, tin and copper, and a small amount of metal products, such as knives, watches and clocks. But their sales are limited and sometimes they lose money. The only thing that can guarantee profit is cotton shipped from India, but the quantity is not large, because it conflicts with the demand of the emerging cotton textile industry in Britain and cannot completely solve the trade deficit between China and Britain.

2. The spread of opium and its corrosion to China society.

Total:/kloc-In the first half of the 8th century, opium was imported into China as a drug. It was originally imported by Portuguese and Dutch businessmen. 18 After the 1950s, Britain became the largest opium dealer, and18 began to spread in the 9th century.

① Main reasons: In order to reverse the Sino-British trade deficit and obtain high profits, the British bourgeoisie insisted on opium smuggling trade and tried its best to destroy the ban on smoking in China.

Benefits: Opium trade can bring high profits to opium dealers. B is an important means for Britain to obtain huge financial income and sell goods to plunder raw materials.

③ China factor: The reason why opium traffickers broke the anti-smoking law in China is directly related to the corruption in China.

(4) Consequences: (a) The people of China have been devastated both mentally and physically. It has brought profound disasters to the people of China and affected the social and economic development of China. Further clarify the crisis of government rule.

3. Lin Zexu's Anti-smoking Campaign and Humen Tobacco

(1) The voice of the people

The biggest victims of opium flooding are the people, who are not fully aware of the Qing government's explicit prohibition and covert release. The worst-hit area is Guangdong, where people launched a vigorous anti-smoking campaign very early, among which the demonstration in Guangzhou 1838+ 12 in February had a great influence. The Qing government's strategy of protecting the invaders and suppressing the people is the expression of the people's resistance to the invaders.

(2) The struggle between the banned faction and the banned faction within the Qing government (1836- 1838)

(1) Chijin Sect: Chijin Sect represents the decadent big landlords and bureaucrats in the Qing Dynasty. They have a close and powerful relationship with the opium trade. They don't want to give up their rich economic benefits in opium trade. They invent and prohibit secret luck from their own interests. First of all, Xu Naiji suggested that the effect of smoking ban was not good, so he changed other methods: A turned opium into a general commodity, B prohibited officers and soldiers from smoking it, and C allowed it to be planted in the mainland. His argument aimed at blocking the outflow of silver to solve the financial difficulties of feudal countries, which met the requirements of foreign opium dealers and their own involvement, and this argument was against the people of China.

(2) Prohibition: it is forbidden to send representatives and officials of intellectuals with patriotic ideas. Seeing the harm of tobacco poison to the Chinese nation and the crisis to feudal countries, they advocated the prohibition of opium from the perspective of safeguarding national interests and national interests. The representative of the crime is Huang Jue Zi's letter. He thinks that the ineffective smoking ban in the past was due to the incompetence of officials. He believes that the idea of "treating tobacco poison again and banning opium" should be adopted.

(3) Daoguang: Lin Zexu's "The Last Letter to the Emperor" stated that "if we still ignore it, after decades, there are not many soldiers in the Central Plains to defend the enemy, and there is no silver to pay". Daoguang's attitude changed from hesitation to toughness.

③ Anti-smoking struggle

(1) Lin Zexu's Strategic Thought of Opposing Aggression

A. mobilize the people to fight resolutely against the aggressors. Lin Zexu found in the coastal areas that the local people were very disgusted with the invaders and won the hearts of the people, but he had to be organized by an enlightened gentleman when organizing the group training. To organize sailor Qiang Bing, it is necessary to "drive the law".

B. We should convince people by reasoning and warn the aggressors by force. From the perspective of safeguarding national interests, he believes that smoking ban is just, and he also realizes that smoking ban cannot be limited to the scope of reason. "The British bully the weak and fear the hard", increase the number of soldiers and guns, and strengthen coastal defense.

C. treat it differently and make foreign countries control foreign countries. The aggression of western capitalist countries is based on the interests of all countries. Lin Zexu adopted the principle that "those who serve the law will go, and those who resist the law will go." Slogan. The purpose is to divide and disintegrate the invaders to reduce the pressure, and put forward the slogan of "repent and turn back as much as possible"

D. wait for defense, wait for work. According to the strength comparison between the two sides, because Britain has all kinds of weapons, its force is relatively weak and it is impossible to fight a surprise attack with the British army.

Total; Most of these thoughts represented China's highest strategic thought at that time, and most of them were not implemented.

(2) Smoking cessation measures in Britain

A. Packaging tobacco companies, obstructing smoking ban

B. In violation of this promise, tobacco dealers are more rampant in the United States.

C. deliberately create disputes and provoke war.

2. Britain launched a war of aggression against China (coastal officers and soldiers, people)

1. Nose-piercing naval battle: the battle between China and Britain in the south of Humen before the Opium War broke out.

After the forest incident in the 19th year of Qing Daoguang, Charles &; S226 Yilu not only resisted the surrender of the forest case, but also prevented the British ship from making a voluntary guarantee. On September 17, Lin Zexu, an imperial envoy of the Qing Dynasty, ordered the Sorin case to be strictly dealt with, and ordered British merchant ships not to stay in Lingdingyang for three days, either to enter the customs with them or to return home. Previously, on the ninth day of September, the British merchant ship "Danmashige" defied the law and came to swear that it would never carry opium, and was immediately introduced to Huangpu for import trade. Based on the principle of "those who abide by the law come, those who resist the law go", Lin Zexu protected its safety and asked the shipowner to give a reward. This set a precedent for legitimate British businessmen. On September 28th, another British merchant ship "Saxony" (owner clang) was also ordered to pledge. Yifa became angry from embarrassment, that is, two warships, Smith (also known as Wolayin) and Warren, were sent to Chuanbiyang at noon to intercept the Saxons who had just entered the customs. Guan Tianpei, the prefect of Guangdong Navy, was about to find out, when the Smith fired first, and the trouble was over. Guan Tianpei then ordered the soldiers of this ship to fire back and ordered the rear ships to attack together. A naval battle provoked by the British invaders broke out in the pungent ocean. Guan Tianpei personally stood in front of the mast of the navy ship, pulled out his broadsword to supervise the battle, and shouted sharply, "Those who dare to retreat will be beheaded." When the shell of a British ship flew over the mast, it peeled off a piece of mast wood, grazed Guan Tianpei's hand, and the skin was broken and red. Guan Tianpei, desperate, still stood with a knife, took the silver ingot and put it on the case first. Anyone who hits an enemy ship with one shot will be rewarded with two pieces of silver immediately. The three bronze cannons carried on this ship are the most powerful. Guan Tianpei ordered the soldiers to aim at the Smith several times, interrupted its bow (called head and nose in Cantonese), and dozens of people in the bow rolled into the sea. The naval division bid for Zuo Ying's guerrilla Mai Zhang Ting, and the commander led the troops to attack the rear building of the Smith with double guns. British soldiers also fell into the sea with guns and occasionally hit the left and right hatches. The Warren was too scared to move forward and was not injured. After an hour or so of fierce fighting (12 noon to 2 pm), the sail "Smith" landed under a slanting flag and fled, and the "Warren" also fled. Three warships of the Qing navy were hit into the water, 15 soldiers died and dozens were injured. In this war, the Qing army was suddenly attacked, and the British weapons were dominant and suffered great losses. Nevertheless, we fought bravely. Lin Zexu said in his memorial to Daoguang Emperor on 10/6 that Guan Tianpei bravely supervised the war and the soldiers fought bravely. "After receiving the troops, the nearby fishing boats fished out 2 1 foreign hats, two of which were recognized as being worn by foreign officials and gave them foreign shoes and other items. It is still impossible to count people who go with the flow. " After reading Zhu Pi, Daoguang said, "It's commendable."

2. Cabinet Meeting:1At the beginning of August, 839, the news that Lin Zexu collected and destroyed opium in Guangdong reached Britain, and the British industrial and commercial bourgeoisie and opium trade groups immediately made a heated discussion. They have written to the British government, advocating an immediate war of aggression against China. Launching a war of aggression against China is not only an objective requirement for the expansion and development of British capitalism, but also a long-planned policy of the British government. Before the Opium War 1837 to 1838, Britain was in the second economic crisis. In order to get rid of the predicament and pass on the crisis, the British bourgeoisie stepped up its external expansion. 1 83910 June1day, the British held a cabinet meeting to discuss and decide on an armed invasion of China.

June 1840, George &; S226 Anfa led the "Oriental Expeditionary Force" consisting of 16 warships, 4 armed steamboats, 28 transport ships, more than 4,000 soldiers (later increased to15,000) and 540 cannons, which arrived in China and Guangdong from Indian and Cape Town, and the first Opium War officially began.

Third, the three stages of war.

1. Phase I:1840.6-1841.1"Nose piercing convention"

① Process: From the British blockade of the Pearl River Estuary in late June of 184 1 year to the Qing government's declaration of war on Britain in late June of 1 year, which lasted about 7 months. At this stage, the British army implemented an invasion plan with the main contents of blocking the Pearl River Estuary, occupying Dinghai and going north to Tianjin, so as to force the Qing government to submit. Except for Guangdong's active preparations for war, China generally holds a passive resistance attitude. As a result of Daoguang's "imprisonment" policy, Lin Zexu, Deng Tingzhen and other resistance factions were attacked and excluded. The compromise factions Qishan and Li Yibu gradually gained the right to negotiate with Britain, and Yifa proposed to Qishan the so-called "wearing a grass contract", ceding land and losing power.

② Features: The British aggressor troops harassed the southeast coast of China, and both China and Britain won or lost.

③ Description: China failed to ban smoking, and the command of the Opium War fell into the hands of capitulators.

2. The second stage:1841.1.27-1841.5.27 Guangzhou Peace Treaty.

① Process: The second stage of the war lasted for 4 months from184165438+10 to the conclusion of the Guangzhou Peace Treaty on May 27th. At this stage, although the Qing government declared war, it had no real determination to resist the war. Officials such as Yishan and Yang Fang, who were sent to Guangzhou by Daoguang to take charge of the military, were so incompetent that they collapsed in the battle against Britain, and finally signed the humiliating Guangzhou Peace Treaty. The broad masses of people in Guangzhou were extremely angry at Yishan's peace with the British army, rose up against the British army, and broke out the Sanyuanli anti-British struggle, which showed the heroic spirit of the China people who were indomitable and dared to fight.

② Features: A The Qing government changed from organizational resistance to compromise and surrender, and the peaceful war was uncertain. Daoguang has no determination to fight the British soldiers to the end. The policy of Yiyishan is "it is better to protect the people than to protect the bandits".

3. The third stage:1841.5.28-1842.8.29 treaty of nanking.

① Process: The third stage of the war, which lasted for one year, began with the British army attacking Xiamen again in 184 1 and ended with the signing of treaty of nanking on August 29th, 842. At this stage, the British army focused on attacking Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and forced the Qing government to submit completely by force. Although the Qing government mobilized heavy troops to go to Zhejiang, after the defeat of the front line, it was bent on peace and was finally forced to form an alliance at the gates in Nanjing.

(2) Attack route: Xiamen ——————————— Zhenhai ———— Ningbo ———————— Nanjing.

Taiwan Province Province, China

③ Features: The British army mainly attacked Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the emperor changed from indecision to surrender.

In a word, during the Opium War, the Qing government took the route of compromise and surrender, the broad masses of the people invaded loyal opposition, and the people were the main force to win the anti-aggression struggle.

4. Britain defeated China in the Opium War and the reasons for its failure.

1. Differences in war decision-making objectives

(1) Britain: Britain was very clear about its decision-making objectives before the decisive battle, but China lacked clear decision-making objectives. Starting from the strategic goal of commodity trade, Britain has been preparing to invade China by force and open the door to China-to unite Indian troops on the basis of British warships, and the battle route is from south to north, about April.

(2) China: From the beginning of the war to the final defeat, he has been in a passive state and has no clear war goal. China has been closed to the outside world for a long time, which makes the Chinese nation know nothing about the outside world. Daoguang attributed the outbreak of the war to Lin Zexu's anti-smoking movement, but he didn't realize that opium trade was a means for Britain to open the door to China and reverse the trade deficit between China and Britain. Although the Qing government also showed resistance to the British army, the goal was still unclear, and wherever it hit, it was counted. Although Lin Zexu made preparations for resistance, it was limited to the coastal areas of Guangdong. At first, no one realized the real purpose of Britain. Daoguang just wants to drive away the enemy, winning first and losing later.

2. Advantages of both sides' strength

(1) In terms of weapons and equipment, China's army is at a disadvantage, and in terms of numbers, China is more than the British army.

(2) During the Daoguang period, there were more than 800,000 regular troops in China, as well as Xiang Yong and Yingyong. The total strength of British troops in China is 6,543,800+,and the total strength initially sent to China is 4,000. Later, the most reinforcements were sent, about 6.5438+0.5 million. However, China and Britain have their own advantages and disadvantages in every battle, but in actual combat, the British army has an advantage in key battles.

(3) the Qing army is slack. For example, in Zhejiang coastal fortresses, only Lin will be fired from the gun position, and most of them are led by civil servants or relatives of the emperor during the war. In war, disadvantages can be transformed into advantages and advantages can also be transformed into disadvantages, but it is the combat troops that play a decisive role. If China's army is united, it is not impossible to win the war.

3. The inevitability and possibility of British victory

Advantages: Strong national strength and strong economic strength have strengthened the combat effectiveness of the British army. (2) the ship is strong and the gun is profitable; Disadvantages: (1) It is difficult to mobilize more troops to fight in China, and it is difficult to supply logistics. As for the topography and landforms of China and the war in China, the British were never familiar with China. The deeper inland, the more useless British warships are. (3) Britain launched a war of aggression, which was unjust. It was opposed not only by the people of the world, but also by the British people.

② China: Advantages: ① China is a big country with a large population and strong war potential. (2) The Qing army greatly surpassed the British army in number, with sufficient troops and timely replenishment. (3) Fighting at home, whether it is material supply or troop mobilization, is easy, especially after the war goes deep into the mainland from the coast, China's favorable factors can be brought into play. (4) China is waging a just war, and the resistance of China people is very strong. As long as the Qing dynasty called on the people to resist Japan, it would certainly bring disaster to the British army.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) The conclusion of the first batch of unequal treaties and the social changes in postwar China.

1, the signing of the first batch of unequal treaties

(1) treaty of nanking1842 On August 29th, the old citizen, Ilbu and Pudingcha signed the Sino-British Jiangning Treaty, namely the treaty of nanking.

(1) Content: treaty of nanking is the first unequal treaty in the modern history of China. Its main contents are as follows:

(1) China has opened five trading ports, namely, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai.

China ceded Hong Kong to Britain.

(3) The compensation is 2 1 ten thousand yuan.

(4) British businessmen "should pay taxes and fees on import and export goods and negotiate rules fairly".

(5) Cancel the "free travel" system.

(2) Influence: After the treaty of nanking was signed, on July 22nd, 1843, Britain forced the Qing government to fabricate the "five-port attachment clause", namely the Humen Treaty. Through the Humen Treaty, Britain gained some important privileges:

(1) Consular jurisdiction. According to the treaty, when the British commit a crime at a trading port, "the articles of association and laws must be approved by the British and sent to the steward for compliance", and the China government has no right to deal with it.

(2) Unilateral MFN treatment. According to the treaty, when China grants any rights to other countries in the future, it "also allows the British to share".

(3) the right of residence and land lease. The treaty stipulates that the British can rent land to build houses in Hong Kong. Later, foreign invaders used this privilege to establish concessions in trading ports.

(2) Annex: In addition, the Humen Treaty is accompanied by customs tariff. The tax rate of import and export goods stipulated in it is much lower than that before the Opium War, and it is also stipulated that all import and export goods not included in this tariff are "worth 150".

After the signing of treaty of nanking and Humen Treaty, western capitalism and China were very jealous of Britain's aggressive interests, and they followed suit, fishing in troubled waters and forcing the Qing government to sign unequal treaties.

(3) Wang Xia Treaty1844 On July 3, China and the United States signed the Wang Xia Treaty. In this treaty, the United States not only enjoyed the privileges that Britain obtained in treaty of nanking, but also added the following important aggressive rights and interests: (1) Expanding the scope of consular jurisdiction. According to the treaty, all lawsuits between Americans and people from China or other countries in China shall be tried by American consuls, and the China government shall not ask. (two) to further strengthen the agreement tariff rights. (3) US warships can "inspect trade" at various ports in China. (4) The United States can establish churches, hospitals, etc. At the treaty port.

④ Huangpu Treaty:18441kloc-0/0 On October 24th, China and France signed the Huangpu Treaty. Through this treaty, France also obtained all the privileges stipulated in the Sino-British and Sino-American treaties, and at the same time obtained the right to preach freely at various trading ports. Since then, missionary work has become an important means of political, economic and cultural infiltration of China by western aggression forces.

⑤ Unequal Treaty with Russia: After the Opium War, Russia stepped up its aggression and expansion activities centered on plundering the northeastern and northwestern frontier territories of China. 185 1 On August 6, 2000, the Sino-Russian Trade Charter of Ili Talbahatai was signed, and Russia seized various political and economic aggression privileges such as establishing consuls, consular jurisdiction, trade tax exemption and establishing trade circles in Xinjiang.

Belgium, Sweden, Norway and other western countries followed suit, demanding to contract "aid cases". According to the so-called "equal treatment" principle, the Qing government allowed it. At the same time, Portugal also seized the opportunity to usurp China's jurisdiction over Macao.

The signing of a series of unequal treaties, such as the treaty of nanking, is a chain imposed on the people of China by the European and American bourgeoisie.

Since then, under the impetus of western capitalism, China has been involved in the whirlpool of world capitalism.