In the Chinese national discourse, the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century are often remembered as the “Century of Humiliation.”
It refers to the roughly 100-year period from 1839 to 1945, when China suffered repeated defeats, territorial losses, and foreign domination.
It began with the two Opium Wars (First Opium War, 1839 to 1842, and the Second Opium War, 1856 to 1860), when the European powers, primarily the UK and France, crushed Chinese Qing armies to force open trade, especially in opium, and imposed humiliating, one-sided treaties on China.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of China’s weakness, its northern neigbor Russia, which was witnessing a resurgence in the 19th century, also occupied many traditional Chinese territories in the north, totaling more than one million square kilometers, the size of modern Egypt and Turkey combined.
Subsequently, the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) resulted in the loss of Taiwan and influence over Korea.
This ‘century of humiliation’ saw China reduced from a self-perceived “Middle Kingdom” to a semi-colonial state, losing sovereignty, territory (Hong Kong, Taiwan, parts of the north), wealth through indemnities, and national pride.
These back-to-back defeats and unfavorable trade treaties convinced Chinese officials that they were more than military defeats and symbolized a looming national crisis that could be overcome only by revolutionary changes.
The Qing dynasty collapsed in 1911, but the new young republic faced civil war and external aggression from Japan.
The period only ended with China’s victory over Japan in the Second World War and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 under Mao Zedong.
Now, nearly eight decades later, China is determined to avenge the historical wrongs and claim its rightful place in the league of nations.
However, as Karl Marx wrote in the 19th century, the same time when European nations were heaping humiliating treaties on China, that ‘History repeats itself, second time in a farce,’ it seems that history has come full circle.
Taiwan is once again the bone of contention between China and Japan; however, this time it is Beijing that is on the offensive.
And the same European nations that were seizing Chinese territories and forcing the Qing dynasty to accept unfavorable trade treaties are now lining up in Beijing to strike trade deals with China; this time, it is Beijing that is negotiating from a position of strength.
Similarly, Russia, owing to the war in Ukraine and the cripling Western sanctions, is totally dependent on China for the export of its oil and the import of dual-use semiconductors and electronics.
After French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China in December last year, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited China last week to negotiate trade deals, lower tariffs, and a liberalised visa regime.
Amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars, it seems the European powers are competing among themselves to normalise trade relations with China, the world’s second-largest economy, even at the risk of annoying Washington.
Just like in the 19th century, free trade is at the centre of these negotiations between Europe and China. The only difference is the inversion of power relations between the two over the last 180 years, as it is now Beijing, not London or Paris, that is in the position to dictate terms.
However, it is also a good time to revisit the 19th century, the high days of European colonialism, when the UK and France could cite almost anything, from trade to missionary work, and diplomacy to opium, to initiate wars with China and force unfavorable treaties on Beijing.
The Second Opium War: When The UK and France Attacked China
In the 19th century, two wars were fought between Western powers and China over the right to sell opium in China and free trade.
During the 18th century, China enjoyed a net trade surplus with the Western powers, not unlike the 21st century, when Beijing exported goods like silk, porcelain, cloth, and tea to Europe and imported silver in return, as Europe had little to sell in China.
However, in the 19th century, the British East India Company (EIC) found an ingenious solution to this trade surplus.
The British EIC was by now ruling the Bengal presidency in India. It forced the farmers in Bengal to grow opium and started smuggling it in huge quantities to China, to pay for the goods it was buying from China.
While opium had been used as medicine for centuries, around this time, people in China started smoking it for recreational use. Soon, millions of Chinese farmers were addicted to Opium.
For the Chinese emperor, it was a double whammy. On the one side, it shifted the trade balance in favour of the British, while millions of his subjects became addicted to opium, affecting their production capabilities.
The Chinese emperors issued a series of edicts banning the trade of opium. However, the British traders used their warehouses in Canton to smuggle opium into China.
The First Opium War was fought between the Chinese Qing dynasty and the British EIC from 1839 to 1842.
Following the British victory, they forced the Qing emperor to sign a series of unequal treaties, forcing him to allow the opium trade, pay war reparations, and give Britain substantial trade concessions, such as favorable tariffs.
China was also forced to cede Hong Kong to the UK for 150 years. The UK controlled Hong Kong till 1997.
However, within the next one-and-a-half decades, the Chinese emperor realised that he could not allow the opium trade in his territory.
When he ordered his officials to seize British ships carrying opium, it triggered the second opium war, which was fought from 1856 to 1860.
Notably, during the second opium war, France also joined the UK in attacking China, citing the murder of a French missionary in China.
The Chinese ships were no match to combined British and French navies. The war ended in another humiliating defeat for China.
After the war, the Chinese emperor was forced to legalize the opium trade, allowing Britain and France to expand the profitable trade.
Besides, ten more Chinese ports were opened to foreign trade, including Tianjin, Hankou, and Nanking.
Britain, France, Russia, and the United States were allowed to establish permanent residences in Beijing, the Qing capital.
Foreign merchants gained the right to travel freely throughout China and live in the interior, not just in coastal towns.
Christian missionaries were granted full rights to propagate their faith, own property, and reclaim previously confiscated church lands.
China was also required to pay large indemnities.
A few additional islands near Hong Kong were ceded to Britain.
Subsequently, Russia also forced China to cede nearly 400,000 square km of territory in Outer Manchuria.
Besides, foreign merchants gained favorable tariffs and were exempt from internal trade duties. Britain was also declared the most favoured nation.
These concessions greatly weakened Qing authority and prestige.
Even today, these treaties are remembered in China as symbols of foreign exploitation.
Nearly 180 years later, European powers are again lining up in Beijing to get trade concessions and sign free trade agreements; however, the balance of power has shifted in Beijing’s favor.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
