Opium Wars Opium Wars The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving China and the British Empire over the British trade of opium and China's sovereignty. The clashes included the First Opium War (1839–1842) and the Second Opium War (1856–1860). The wars and events between them weakened the Qing dynasty and forced China to trade with the other parts of the world. In 1820, China's economy was the largest in the world, according to British economist Angus Maddison. Within a decade after the end of the Second Opium War, China's share of global GDP had fallen by half. In
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries the Cape of Good Hope into the east, and sometimes it came over land. Major outposts for the silver trade were located in Southeast Asian countries, such as the Philippines. The city of Manilla served as a primary outpost of the exchange of goods between the Americas, Japan, and China. However, there is a large amount of silver that crossed across the Pacific Ocean directly from the Americas as well. There are not many records of the amount of silver which crossed the Pacific due to it being discouraged by the Spanish monarchy, so estimates highly vary. Silver also found