The First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42), also known as the First Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice.
Chinese officials wished to end the spread of opium, and confiscated supplies of opium from British traders. The British government, although not officially denying China's right to control imports, objected to this seizure and used its military power to violently enforce redress.
There was many confrontations between the British and Chinese and the Chinese were over powered In almost every battle. In June 1840, an expeditionary force of 15 barracks ships, 4 steam-powered gunboats and 25 smaller boats with 4000 marines reached Guangdong from Singapore. The marines were headed by James Bremer. Bremer demanded the Qing Government compensate the British for losses suffered from interrupted trade.
The next year, 1841, the British captured the Bogue forts that guarded the mouth of the Pearl River—the waterway between Hong Kong and Canton. Meanwhile, at the far west in Tibet, the start of the Sino-Sikh war added another front to the strained Qing military. By January 1841, British forces commanded the high ground around Canton and defeated the Chinese at Ningbo and at the military post of Dinghai.
By the middle of 1842, the British had defeated the Chinese at the mouth of their other great riverine trade route, the Yangtze, and were occupying Shanghai. The war finally ended in August 1842, with the signing of China's first Unequal Treaty, the Treaty of Nanking.
Anglo-French invasions (1856-60)
The Second Opium War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war of which the British Empire and the Second French Empire fought against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860. It was fought over similar issues as the First Opium War.The war/ invasion started On 8 October 1856 when Qing officials boarded the Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship (a lorcha) that had been registered in Hong Kong and was suspected of piracy and smuggling. Twelve Chinese crew members were arrested on suspicion of piracy by the Chinese authorities. The British officials in Guangzhou demanded the release of the sailors, claiming that because the ship had recently been British-registered, it was protected under the Treaty of Nanjing. The British insisted that the Arrow had been flying a British ensign and that the Qing soldiers had insulted the flag. The British then attacked Guangzhou.
Sino-French War (1884-85)
The Sino-French War, also