Western History 176: What were the causes of the Opium Wars?

The Opium Wars were two conflicts that took place in the nineteenth century that had the net effect of extending the foreign influence in China substantially. On a broader level they also helped weaken the ruling Qing Dynasty providing further impetus to drive its eventual fall in the 1911 Revolution (the wars were a precursor to the Boxer rebellion of 1899–1901).

But why did these wars occur at all? To answer this question we have to look at the trade triangle that existed around 1830. At the top of the triangle was the rapidly emerging industrialized power of the United Kingdom (acting through the conduit of the British East India Company) who needed hard silver to subsidize its production of manufactured goods. China had the silver but there was very little that the Qing required from Britain. In fact British trade with China was largely limited to the port gateway of Canton.

If China had the silver Britain needed to supply her with a commodity in return. Something that was sustainable. The answer lay with Opium and it worked like this:

Britain would sell manufactured goods to India who would then supply the British with Opium in return. The Opium was then illegally sold to the Chinese via smugglers who then paid the Brits back in silver completing what was called the Canton (Guanghzou) triangle.

An Opium Den in China source: Asia Pacific Curriculum

The key for the British was to keep the Chinese demand for Opium at a high and in this regard they had success in Canton where addiction rates soared. For the Britain this was a win-win deal. They could cultivate the Opium in India and enrich their coffers with the silver while ensuring a market for their manufactured goods. For the Chinese in Canton the outcome was awful. Much needed silver was leaving the economy and they were saddled with the problems of addiction.

Source: UN Office on Drugs and Crime

China had to act fast and put a stop to a system that was damaging on several fronts. The Chinese High Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu published an open letter to Queen Victoria in 1839 asking for a halt to the trade. The British were willing to hand over a token amount of Opium but ruled out a cession in trade. A crackdown occurred. Shipments of Opium were confiscated, Chinese smugglers were executed and the trade was banned. The British demanded immediate reparations.

The Chinese Qing government in Canton was now in conflict with the might of the British Navy who used their advantage in gunboat warfare to decisively defeat the Chinese in 1842 forcing the latter to agree to the Treaty of Nanking that ended the First War.

Opium War source: Britannica

It was the first of the Unequal treaties. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain as were several smaller islands. It would become a Crown colony. In addition the ports of Shanghai, Canton, Ningbo, Foochow and Amoy were forced to open to British trade. Besides receiving most favored nation status from China the British also received reparation payments to the tune of 21 million dollars (about 630 million in today’s dollars). France would later secure similar concessions from the Qing Government in 1844 and 1845. The Qing hoped that these added concessions would expand less destructive trading options thus weakening the illegal opium trade. This was not the case.

Naval battle of the War source: Jeremiah Jenne

The Opium trade and the addiction scourge persisted and despite the Qing’s problems with the Taiping Rebellion of 1853 there was a concerted effort to stamp out the trade once and for all.

In 1856 another Commissioner Ye Mingchen took matters into his own hand and seized the Arrow, a ship that was believed to be involved in the illegal trade. Again the British responded with gunboat strength bombarding the city of Canton. France joined forces with Britain after one of their missionaries was killed in the Anti-European riots that wracked Canton.

However the military odds were once again stacked against the Qing who once again succumbed to the strength of a more modernized military (that included an American element as well). The Treaty of Tientsin signed in 1858 forced the Chinese to pay more reparations and open up a further ten ports to trade.

The Opium trade was legalized and missionaries were given greater access to China. However a second phase of war erupted. Again this did not work well in China’s favour with the occupation of the Forbidden City and the capture of the Old Summer Palace highlighting a dismal outcome. The stipulations of the Treaty of Tientsin were reconfirmed at the Convention of Peking in 1860.

From a territorial standpoint Britain now had control of the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island (part of Hong Kong). Outer Manchuria was ceded to Russia.

Which was the Most Powerful country during World War II?

 (Asked on Quora. My answer)

It depends on what portion of the war you are talking about and also what you mean by the word powerful. It is also important to distinguish between theatres of war.

The Economic Powerhouse throughout the war was the United States whose production capabilities were the driving force for an eventual Allied victory. On the ground the military picture is more complicated. Listed below is the respective theatre and the dominant player.

Asia/Pacific Ocean:

1937- June 1942: Japan

June 1942-VJ Day: United States

Although the Chinese initiative in holding the line against persistent Japanese advances should not be understated.

Eastern Europe

September 1st - January 1942 - Germany

January 1942-February 1943 - Roughly equal power between Germany/Soviet Union

February 1943 Onward - Soviet Union

Western Europe

War beginning - D-Day - Germany

D-Day onward - Allies (largely the United States although Britain was a key player).

Allies did make substantial gains through the soft Italian underbelly from 1943 onward.

Atlantic Ocean

Largely the Allies for the war but not without considerable shipping losses.

Mediterranean Sea

British/Italian shared power gradually shifting towards Britain as war progressed. Greatly expedited from 1943. German submarines and air attacks were menacing.

East Africa

Early Italian gains but by 1941 the British dominated the situation here.

North Africa

Early British gains. Rolled back by Rommel. Allied domination after the Second Battle of El Alamein (British with later US Support).

Overall: The Soviets emerged as the ultimate military land juggernaut. However they did rely on Allied support and materials to reach this point (not to mention German strategic failures). In all other areas the US largely dominated come war’s end. Production powerhouse was the United States. Soviets did extremely well under difficult circumstances.

What mistakes did Britain make during World War One?

(My answer on Quora)

It made several mistakes. The biggest one was getting involved in the First World War to begin with. Many see this as the onset of the rapid decline of Britain as a World Power. The entire war should never have been allowed to go beyond a continental conflict in the first place. 

Other mistakes occurred at Gallipoli (1915–1916) and the Dardanelles fiasco, the overestimation of their artillery barrage efficacy at the onset of the Battle of the Somme (1916) and the significant naval tonnage lost suffered at the Battle of Jutland (1916). Extremely high casualties suffered at the Battle of Passchendaele (1917) for very little territory gained was also not the finest hour in the history of the British military.

Why has the French military warned Macron of a potential Civil War?

 My answer on Quora.

The key issue is religious extremism which has the potential to really destabilize the Fifth Republic if it continues to pick up momentum. We have already seen such violence in the action of Islamists at Charlie Hebdo (January 2015), the Thayls Train attack, the Stade de France and Bataclan Theatre attacks, the Nice Truck mass killing, the Carcassonne and Trèbes attack. Within the last year France witnessed the killing of the teacher Samuel Platy and the Nice stabbing.

Attacks on Jews by religious extremists have also been common place. What the Sarah Halimi case and current protests mean for French Jewry.

Government responses have been very weak. The Generals are sounding the warning before the situation deteriorates further causing more violence. This is not just a French problem but is endemic to much of Western Europe.

A civil war is the last outcome that France needs.

What was the significance of the Spanish Civil War?

 The conventional wisdom is that the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) was somewhat of a prequel or “dress rehearsal” to the Second World War and there is something to that argument. It highlighted the bloodthirsty and dehumanizing nature of what was essentially an ideological struggle, showcased the destructive nature of aerial bombardment and provided a platform of action for the ambitions of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. On another level the war indicated the dangers, of how a relatively sophisticated nation state, can slide into years of terror, when the political center crumbles leaving the populace at the mercy of both the extremes of left and right.

To understand the war’s origins we need to go back to the year 1931 that saw the abolition of monarchy in the country, the end of the reign of Alfonso XIII and the birth of the Spanish Second Republic. Initially there was much optimism in Spain as the newly elected government promised much welcomed reforms that contrasted sharply with Miguel Primo de Rivera’s reactionary period as dictator from 1923–1930.

Alfonso XIII - source: Dictator’s Wiki

The new government that dominated politics in Spain in 1931 consisted largely of a coalition of Republicans, Liberals, Communists, Anarchists and Socialists. It adopted a political agenda predicated on economic, cultural and political reform that took a sharp turn towards anti-clericalism and collectivism ushering in an era that looked to cut into the social fabric of Spain’s traditional core. Land distribution policy was particular troublesome and divisive.

The ruling coalition couched its ideas in an amalgamation of modernization and socialist reforms. Union voices made their presence felt through the actions of the UGT and the CNT-IFA who appeared to be gravitating towards a type of Syndicalism that pressured the Government from the Left.

The right wing opposition consisted of three main groups - Monarchists (broken down into the Alfonsists and Carlists), the Roman Catholic Church and after 1933 the Falangists (Spanish Fascists). The latter was led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the son of the former dictator who modelled the Falangists along the lines of Mussolini’s Italian Fascist Party.

While the left enjoyed strong union support, the Right had substantial backing in the Army and Spanish Industrialists who were concerned about the growth of Socialism and Communism within the Republican government. Within the Spanish Cortes (Parliament) right wing interests were largely represented by the CEDA alliance.

As the 1930s evolved the Republican government was forced to put down several insurrections driven by Army elements on the right. At the same time Syndicalists were attacking it from the Left. Concessions to the left were predictably met with more demands and the government coalitions tended to be unstable. CEDA, which represented Middle Class and Conservative Catholic interests was largely excluded from power by a series of alliances even when a center-right coalition dominated the Cortes.

Instability was the byword for the Republic and the chasm between the political poles had escalated rapidly. Isolating Military figures such as Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco (who was sent to the Canary Islands) could only stave off for so long the growing discontent. Oddly enough the enfranchisement of women did result in a surge in support for the centre-right parties that was reflected in the 1933 election.

By early 1936 the drum roll towards more violence was beating with greater intensity. Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, the country’s President was cycling through Prime Ministers. In May 1936 he was replaced by former Prime Minister Manuel Azaña Díaz. Political infighting was endemic. Meanwhile influential general Francisco Franco had left the Canary Islands and arrived at Spanish Morocco. From the North Mola was actively planning for action against the Republican government.

On the 12th of June the Falangists killed police lieutenant José Castillo. The left responded by executing Monarchist José Calvo Sotelo. War began on the 17th of July 1936. Franco’s rebels had Spanish Morocco. He was by now leader of the Nationalists (and soon to be Caudillo) having united all opponents of the Republican government under this broader banner. Nationalist troops would soon seize key towns and cities in the South and Far North.

However the rest of the country was dominated by Republican forces of various stripes. Worker groups had seized control of Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia, parts of Levante and Aragon. They began establishing collectives placing the economy under full worker control. July-September 1936 was known as the Summer of Anarchy.

With German help Franco’s Army of Africa was air lifted to the Spanish mainland nullifying the Naval blockade that had so far served the interests of the Republic.

Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War source: Omniatlas

For three years the war dragged on. The Nationalists controlled most of the countryside while the Republicans dominated the cities with the sole exception of Sevilla. Nazi Germany and Italy backed the Nationalists while the Soviet Union stood behind the Republican forces. France and Britain condemned the Nationalists but largely avoided directly assisting Republican forces, Nevertheless International brigades of outside volunteers rushed to join the Republican side. Included in this band was George Orwell who wrote about his experiences in his book Homage to Catalonia (1938).

The CNT Defense Committee fighting the Nationalists in Barcelona source: Socialist Worker

Fighting was brutal with war crimes committed by both sides. Purges were frequent as was the use of torture and mass killings. The bombing of the town of Guernica (1937) by the German Luftwaffe in support of the Nationalists was a particular tragic event and highlighted the destructive nature of air attacks which would become all too apparent in World War Two.

The Bombing of Guernica as immortalized by Picasso source: The Independent

Madrid held out for two and a half years in the face of a bloody siege by the Nationalists. However after Franco had consolidated Nationalist control over Basque territory in the North he swept southeast to the coast splitting Republican controlled territory into two halves. Momentum was with the Nationalists. The Internationalist Brigade has been disbanded some time earlier and the Soviets appeared to be losing their enthusiasm for the struggle. Soon Republican strangleholds would fall.

Francisco Franco source: biography.com

By the 1st of April 1939 the War was over. Franco’s better trained troops aided by the Fascist powers were victorious in a series of sweeping advances. Franco was now in control of all of Spain. His chief rivals on the Right, José Sanjurjo and Emilio Mola had both died in plane crashes. Sabotage was suspected for both fatalities but this was never proven.

As dictator Franco would govern Spain until his death on the 20th of November 1975 with Spain facing international isolation during his tenure in power. King Juan Carlos I was restored to the Spanish throne with Spain becoming a Constitutional Monarchy. Although the Germans and Italians had given him critical support during the Civil War Franco made the wise choice of Maintaining Spain neutrality during World War Two thus avoiding the destruction of his country that would likely have ensued. He did however express sympathy for the Axis Powers.

From an Allied perspective his neutrality was critical as it allowed the Allies to have an ease of entry into the Mediterranean through the straights of Gibraltar with Franco choosing to ignore Hitler’s please to seize the British controlled rock fortress.

Sources:

The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Paperback – June 1, 2006 by Anthony Beevor.

The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge by Paul Preston (2006)

Would Maxwell or his contemporaries have known or thought that electricity and electrical phenomenon are made up of transverse waves instead of longitudinal ones prior to his paper that light was a transverse wave?

 My answer on Quora.

Yes they would have. The best evidence that we have that Light is a Transverse wave is that fact that it can be polarized so that the electric field of the EM waves oscillate along one plane. Polarization cannot take place with longitudinal waves such as sound as the transmission direction is the same as that of the disturbance causing the wave. In transverse wave transmission directions are perpendicular to the disturbance and c

Source: Socratic

People have been aware of the phenomena since the age of the Viking. Etienne Louis Malus (1801) showed hope light intensity follows a square drop off law that is related to the angle of rotation between two polarization sheets. Sir David Brewster (1812) further showed how surface reflection at a specific angle (the so-called Brewster angle) can produce polarized light (of use in kaleidoscopes).

The Brewster Angle (Theta B) is the angle of incidence that provides for reflected polarised light Source: This Condensed Life

How many troops landed on D-Day?

 (Asked on Quora - my answer).

Ken Ford and Steven Zaloga in their book Overlord: The D-Day Landings (2009) provide a figure of 156,115. This relies heavily on the number determined by Ellis, Allen and Warhurst (2004).

This breaks down into 57,500 American troops (Omaha and Utah) and 75,215 British and Canadian soldiers (Gold, Sword and Juno). A further 15,500 Americans and 7,900 British troops were dropped from the air.

The casualties for the June 6th landing likely topped 10,000+ with 4,414 confirmed dead.

Sources:

Ford, Ken; Zaloga, Steven J. (2009). Overlord: The D-Day Landings. Oxford; New York: Osprey.

Ellis, L.F.; Allen, G.R.G.; Warhurst, A.E. (2004) [1962]. Butler J.R.M (ed.). Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. London: Naval & Military Press.

If Magna Carta and all copies were destroyed would Britain return to the tyranny of the kings or would it have no impact?

 (Asked on Quora - my answer).

No. Britain would not return to the tyranny of the kings. In fact I doubt whether there will be any change to the status quo. For one there has been substantial development in both political and social reform since the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. These not only include the Reform Acts of 1832, 1867 and 1884 but also the Case of Proclamations (1610) which argued that ‘the King hath no prerogative, but that which the law of the land allows him."

On top of that one could add Dr. Bonham’s Case (the precursor to judicial review in the US), the Petition of Rights (1628), the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Claim of Civil Rights Act of the same year

In addition one has several centuries of English common law to fall back to for precedent as well as other Democratic initiatives such as the Slave Trade Act of 1807, the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 and the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918.

While it is true that the Magna Carta was a profoundly influential document in its original context, political theory has developed significantly since the 13th century especially with respect to natural rights and contract law for which are greatly indebted to such profound thinkers as Edward Coke and John Locke.

Western History 175: How did the British Empire develop in the 19th century?

We have already looked at how the British Empire had grown from early beginnings to its global  status that existed at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815). The Empire was continually transforming itself often motivated by both internal and external socio-political developments. In 1807 the slave trade had been abolished in the British colonies and by 1833 slavery as an institution was banned throughout the Empire (Slavery Abolition Act of 1833).

The British Empire (1898). Where the Sun never settled source: British Empire.co.uk

The Period after 1815 - leading up to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899  - is often referred to as Pax Britannica and represents a high point in British history certainly with respect to the tiny Island’s political and economic clout on an international level. Rivalries though with competing Empires was fierce and was characterized by the Great Game as each power jockeyed for an edge of superiority. British interests were driven by its Colonial office that traces its origin to 1801 as part of the Board of Trade, but became more active in its own right from 1850 onward reaching a peak between 1895-1900,  when it was headed by Joseph Chamberlain.

Joseph Chamberlain - arch Imperialist - Headed the Colonial Office  source: Britannica

Predictably the British clashed with other powers namely the Russians in Crimea but there were also further challenges within the Empire as was characterized by the Indian Mutiny. Splendid Isolation guided British political thought at the time but invariably resources would be stretched as they were over the Scramble of Africa. China was often a hotbed for foreign trading inroads with Britain at the forefront of the initiatives here. Local resistance was overcome by gunboat diplomacy that the Empire wielded through the tremendous advantage of the Royal Navy. Both the First and Second Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860 respectively) were decided in British favour resulting in an expansion of London’s footprint although the backlash to this power grab would result in the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901)..

In 1875 British fortunes took a sharp upswing with the government of Benjamin Disraeli buying  the 44% share that the Egyptian ruler Isma’il Pasha had in the Suez Canal (which had opened in 1869 under French Emperor Napoleon III). Britain would move to consolidate her control of Egypt and cement her joint partnership with France regarding the management of this vital waterway. As a short cut to India the Suez Canal’s utility could never be underestimated.

In 1885 there was however a turn for the worse when British troops were defeated by a much larger Mahadist force led by Muhammad Ahmad of Sudan. The latter were victorious at the Siege of Khartoum  resulting in the death of General Charles George Gordon. The war in Sudan had followed the British conquest of Egypt in 1882. London’s fortunes were restored  in 1898 when British forces under Sir Herbert Kitchener defeated the Mahadist troops at the Battle of Omdurman.

Charles Gordon under attack by Mahadist forces: source: Britannica

British advances continued with men such as Cecil John Rhodes taking the initiative to expand the Empire from the Cape to Cairo. In doing so they acquired more territory for the Empire in Southern Africa (what would eventually become Rhodesia) in the 1880s and 1890s. A conflict with France in Fashoda (on the Nile) in 1898  British would also resolve itself along British preferred lines.

The steamship and later the telegraph rapidly improved transportation and communication throughout the Empire. A cable network, known as Red Line, linked several sites in 1902 easing the challenges of a broader administration.

The Network of Atlantic Cables that greatly expanded the communication capabilities of the Empire. source: Atlantic Cable

Territories that Britain acquired during the 19^th century include New Zealand (1840), Fiji, Tonga, Burma, Punjab, Brunei, Sarawak, Hong Kong, Sudan, Nigeria, Gold Coast (Ghana), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Egypt, Sudan, Cape Colony, Basutoland (Lesotho), Bechuanaland (Botswana), Natal, Mauritius, Gambia, British Guiana, Cyprus, Malta,  Malacca and Zanzibar.