1780s-      the British increase their interest and activities in Asia; the British
                   trading presence in China is restricted to Canton
1784         Pitt reduces the duties on Chinese tea, making this sector of the
                    East India Company’s trade more lucrative; the British
                    exchange opium grown in India for Chinese tea
1793         Lord Macartney’s mission to China is well-received but the
                    Chinese maintain their barriers regulating foreign trade
1800         the Chinese government bans the importation of opium, but the
                    trade continues
1816         Lord Amherst’s mission to China is unceremoniously dismissed
                    by Chinese authorities
1820s       the Chinese emporer tries to quash the importing of opium by the
                    British; in the domestic realm, the empire weakens due to
                    widespread corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, and an
                    unfavorable balance of trade
1833         expiration of the East India Company’s monopoly of trade with
                     China; the era of free trade ensues; British merchants flood
                     the Chinese market with opium; by the late 1830s, more than
                     30,000 chests (each holding 150lbs of opium extract) arrive
                     in Chinese ports every year; relations between the Chinese and
                     British governments start to deteriorate
1839         Commissioner Lin Tse-Hsu confiscates and destroys opium stocks
                     in British warehouses in Chinese ports
                two drunken British sailors kill a Chinese villager and the British
                     refuse to hand the sailors over to the Chinese
                First Anglo-Chinese War (ends in 1842) – the British occupy
                     positions around Canton and easily defeat the Chinese forces
                     through technical and tactical superiority
1842         the Treaty of Nanking cedes Hong Kong to the British Crown
1843         a supplementary treaty forces the Chinese to open five treaty ports—
                     Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai—and pay a large indemnity for the war;
                     it also forbids Chinese courts from trying British citizens
1856         the Arrow incident at Canton (Chinese police arrest the crew of
                     a private vessel flying the British flag) provokes the
                Second Anglo-Chinese War (ends in 1858)
1857         the Treaty of Tientsin opens additional ports to foreign trade and
                     allows foreigners with passports to travel inland; Christian
                     missionaries also now have access to China
1879         peak of opium sales to China: £13 million