Answer:
A
Step-by-step explanation:
In the early 19th century, British traders centred on the illegal importation of opium into China from India as a means of paying for the British purchases of tea and silk. The British used Chinese objections to opium importation as a pretext to
invade China and forcibly open it to Western trade. Chinese attempts to halt the opium trade, which had caused social and economic disruption, started the first Opium War (1839–42) between Britain and China. Britain’s victory in this conflict forced the Chinese create five treaty ports in which foreigners could live and work outside Chinese legal jurisdiction, trading with whomever they pleased.