Answer:
The Second Opium War was a war of aggression against China jointly launched by Britain and France from October 1856 to October 1860 with the support of the United States and Russia. Its purpose is for Britain and France to further open up the Chinese market and expand their aggressive interests in China. Because Britain and France launched wars under the pretext of the Yarrow incident and the Horse Priest incident, it was called "The Arrow War" by the British. Also known as the Anglo-French expedition to China or the Second Anglo-Chinese War. At the same time, because this war can be seen as a continuation and expansion of the First Opium War (the essence of the two wars is the same), it is also called the "Second Opium War".
In 1860, the Anglo-French army invaded Beijing, the Qing Emperor fled to Chengde, and the Anglo-French coalition invaded the Yuanmingyuan and plundered the jewels and burned them. After the war Russia, after sending troops, presented itself as "meritorious in mediation" and coerced the Qing government to cede more than 1.5 million square kilometers of territory, thus becoming the biggest winner. The war ended with the Qing government being forced to sign the Beijing Treaty.
The Second Opium War forced the Qing government to sign Sino-Russian "Yaohun Treaty", "Tianjin Treaty" and "Beijing Treaty" and other peace treaties, and the aggression of the great powers was more profound. As a result, China lost more than 1.5 million square kilometers of territory in the northeast and northwest, and after the war, the Qing government was able to concentrate on suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and maintaining its rule. Foreign invading forces expanded to the coastal provinces and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
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