1839 AD–1842 AD
The Opium War imposes the Treaty of Nanking
British Empire · Companies, trade & extraction · Slavery & coerced labor · War & conquest · Law & imperial government
China’s destruction of smuggled opium preceded a war in which British naval superiority forced open treaty ports, an indemnity, and the cession of Hong Kong. The treaty inaugurated an “unequal treaty” system and used force to protect a narcotics economy tied to India
Precision, calendar, and review
- Start
- year · no uncertainty qualifier in this record
- End
- year · no uncertainty qualifier in this record
- Calendar and convention
- Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
- Year zero
- The scale goes from 1 BCE to 1 CE without year zero. Changing era names changes labels only.
- Documentary review
- Date not recorded
Reading the date: duration of a process.
Sources
- www.nationalarchives.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Pending verification: the source could not be accessed
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
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This record is an editorial synthesis. Consult the sources to check claims and their limits. Chronological relationships alone do not establish causation.