After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the British, the Qing were forced into a humiliating pact known as the Treaty of Nanjing. Through this agreement, the British would be able to have the control over Chinese trade as they wished. Guangzhou, among other important ports, would be open to foreign trade after all. The island of Hong Kong would also be given to the British and notably, China would have to pay Britain an outrageous amount of silver dollars, a cruel aspect considering how silver played a part in shaping the First Opium War. But perhaps the most important part of this treaty was the extraterritoriality granted to Britain in China-they would be exempt from all of the Chinese laws for all of the Chinese subjects. This ‘unequal treaty’ would set the stage for a long period of a China under the foot of Western powers.
