The importance of the Second Opium War to us need not be overemphasized, whether it is the focus of the history of the college entrance examination or the impact on our nation, its significance cannot be ignored. Now let's review this history with Xiaobian to see what new insights you have in the process of reviewing.
Highlights of the Second Opium War:
1. Reasons:
(1) Fundamental reasons: In order to further open up the Chinese market and expand the rights and interests of aggression.
(2) Direct cause: The "amendment negotiation" failed.
(3) Excuses: The British excuse "The Yaro Incident"; France uses the pretext "Father Horse Incident".
2. After:
(1) In the autumn of 1856, British warships shelled the city of Guangzhou, and the Second Opium War broke out.
(2) At the end of 1857, the Anglo-French coalition army captured Guangzhou and established a coalition committee.
(3) In 1858, the British and French forces captured Tianjin, and Russia, the United States, Britain, and France forced the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Tianjin.
(4) In 1860, the Anglo-French coalition army once again captured Tianjin, then captured Beijing, burned the Yuanmingyuan, and forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-British, Sino-French "Beijing Treaty".
Treaty of Tianjin and Treaty of Beijing:
(1) Contents of the Treaty of Tianjin: • Foreign ministers stationed in Beijing , The opening of ten additional treaty ports (Shantou, Taiwan, Tamsui, Jiujiang, Hankou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Yantai, Yingkou ) • Foreign warships can sail freely at the Yangtze River ports • Foreigners can travel to the mainland to travel through business missions , Compensate British and French military expenses of 2 million taels of silver each, and compensate British businessmen for losses of 2 million taels of silver.
(2) Contents of the Treaty of Beijing: • Recognizing the validity of the Treaty of Tianjin , opening Tianjin as a commercial port , cutting off the kowloon division to the first district , allowing Chinese workers to leave the country.
Russia's occupation of large areas of northern China:
1. Time:
Late 1850s to 1880s.
2. Overview:
(1) The Treaty of Yaohun (1858): More than 600,000 square kilometers north of the Heilongjiang River south of the Waixing'an Mountains were seized.
(2) Treaty of Beijing (1860): More than 400,000 square kilometers east of the Ussuri River, including Sakhalin Island, were seized.
(3) The Covenant on the Survey and Division of the Northwest Boundary (1864): More than 440,000 square kilometers south of Lake Balkhash were divided.
(4) "Revised Treaty" (1881): More than 70,000 square kilometers of northwest China were ceded.
Effects of the Second Opium War:
1. Politically:
It has caused China to lose more sovereignty and territory, and China has lost more than 1 million square kilometers of land. The Sino-Russian Treaty of Beijing also created conditions for Tsarist Russia to cede more of China's western territories. The degree of semi-colonial and semi-feudalization of Chinese society has further deepened; The rulers of the Qing Dynasty defected to foreign invaders and began to become their vassals and tools, and Chinese and foreign reactionary forces openly colluded to suppress the resistance of the Chinese people.
2. Economically:
The expansion of foreign forces of aggression into the coastal provinces and into the interior has made it easier for them to dump commodities, plunder cheap raw materials and labour-power, and subject China to the aggressive impact of the capitalist economy.
3. Legalization of the opium trade:
The fact that Chinese workers went abroad and foreigners were allowed to go to the interior to preach further exacerbated China's social contradictions.
