Red barbarians at the gates

The main British export from China was tea. However, they had to pay for it with silver coins and unminted silver, which created an imbalance in the balance of payments and forced merchants to find a commodity to sell to the Chinese to remedy this imbalance. Opium was intended to change this, but the imperial regime gradually tried to stop its importation. The measures taken at the end of the 1830s were a turning point in this respect, escalating the whole situation, which culminated in the first shots being fired in September 1839. In the ensuing war, the British fought for the legalisation of the opium trade, the opening of Chinese ports, and the expansion of diplomatic relations. Their military superiority was confirmed by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, under which they acquired the island of Hong Kong, among other things.