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what is opium wars?
From 16th century onwards, the Europeans tried to control the monopoly of trade in China. But China kept away from the imperialist control. Realizing the potential of Chinese trade, the Europeans refused to turn back. Then the Europeans mainly British, began illegal trade in China. They began smuggling opium to China. The British became rich through this trade. But it ruined the Chinese materially and morally. The opium trade drained Chinese wealth in a big way. This compelled the Chinese rulers to ban opium trade. This brought the British into a war against the Chinese. The Opium war exposed China’s Weakness. Europeans began to infiltrate in China. European powers partitioned China into sphere of influences. Thus China became an international colony.


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