Opioid selling Indian opium which was smuggled into China in defiance of Chinese government bans. This led to the First (1839–1842) and Second Opium Wars (1856–1860) between China and Britain. In the 19th century, two major scientific advances were made that had far-reaching effects. Around 1804, German pharmacist Friedrich Sertürner isolated morphine from opium. He described its crystallization, structure, and pharmacological properties in a well-received paper in 1817. Morphine was the first alkaloid to be isolated from any medicinal plant, the beginning of modern scientific drug discovery. The second advance, nearly fifty years later, was the refinement of the hypodermic needle
Church Missionary Society in China Morrison, of the London Missionary Society established a mission in Guangzhou (Canton) in 1808, however the work of Christian missionaries was restricted by the Chinese authorities. After the First Opium War (1839–1842), Hong Kong came under the control of Great Britain and ports on the mainland, including Canton and Shanghai, become open to Europeans. in 1844 the CMS sent the Reverend George Smith (later Bishop of Victoria, H.K.) and the Revd Thomas McClatchie to establish the South China Mission at Shanghai. The South China Mission was extended to Zhejiang (Cheh-kiang) province at Ningbo (1848), Fujian (Fuh-Kien) province at Fuzhou (Fuh-Chow)