first opium war
Before the First Opium War started early in the 19th century, the British started taking opium into China in order to balance their purchases of tea for export to Britain. In 1839, China prohibited the importation of opium by destroying at Guangzhou (Canton) a large amount of opium taken from British Merchants. Great Britain had been trying to end China's restrictions on foreign trade, by sending out gunboats to attack Chinese cities. China was unable to battle with the Britain's forcing them to sign The Treaty of Nanjing and the British Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue. These treaties provided that the ports of Guangzhou, Jinmen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai should be open to the British. Hong Kong was given to the British.