What did British do to the Qing dynasty?
In 1842, the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking—the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties—which granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to British subjects in China, opened five treaty ports to British merchants, and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire
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What did the British trade the Chinese for their tea during the Qing dynasty?
In order to stop this, the East India Company and other British merchants began to smuggle Indian opium into China illegally, for which they demanded payment in silver. This was then used to buy tea and other goods. By 1839, opium sales to China paid for the entire tea trade.
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Why did the British want to trade with the Qing dynasty?
Britain wanted to expand its imperial power and sell more goods, especially the opium whose import the Chinese tried to ban, while the British sold or smuggled in anyway. In other words, it was a case of commercial and imperialist British greed trying to force opium on the Chinese.
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What happened to the Qing Dynasty in the 1800s?
In the early 1800s, the Qing dynasty was starting to struggle. Population growth meant there wasn't enough farmland or jobs to support everyone. Poverty led many to rebel against the Qing. Foreign powers were also starting to involve themselves in trade with China, which led to wars and treaties that harmed the Qing