A key factor in the negative image of the Chinese was their association with
opium. Poppies, the source of opium, were introduced to China in the late
seventh century by Turkish and Arab traders. Over the years, opium use became so
pervasive in China that in 1836 the Chinese government banned the drug,
confiscated and destroyed it, closed dens where it was smoked, and executed
dealers. The Opium War (1839-1842) was triggered when the Chinese attempted to
enforce the opium prohibition against British merchants. China was defeated and
forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking (1842) which granted extraterritoriality (exemption from Chinese
law) to
foreign nationals , allowing the opium trade to
flourish.
|
|