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The Opium War The Opium Wars were really not about Opium. Instead, they were a result of Western (especially British) desires to further their economic interests in China. In addition to rigid restrictions under the Canton System of trade, the British suffered from a negative trade deficit with China. Therefore, I feel that Opium was only a symptom of a much larger problem, that problem being that the Westerners wanted a virtually unrestricted trading environment …

…between the British and the Chinese. The Chinese lost the war, for they didn’t really think that the British were all that capable. Once again, the Chinese were blinded by their superiority complex. As a result of the Opium Wars and further conflicts between the Chinese and the West, the unequal treaties were created, which served the best interests of the Western traders and forced the Chinese to accept the West in their country