1839–1860Reputable sourceWell documented
The Opium Wars
On the timeline · around 1839–1860 ·
What happened
British merchants flooded China with Indian opium to balance their trade, creating mass addiction. When China moved to stop it, Britain went to war — twice — forcing the opium trade open and seizing Hong Kong.
Why it matters
The Opium Wars are history's starkest example of a drug reshaping geopolitics: a narcotic used as an instrument of empire, humiliating China and helping topple a dynasty.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica. Opium Wars · Reputable source
Related timelines
- History of China → — A drug trade that humbled an empire