The Opium Wars

The Opium Wars was when European nations, mainly England were selling opium to China and using it so they would be able to buy more stuff from the trade ports on China's East coast. It started when England was running low on silver which was their main trading resource with China. They were trying to think of a product that they had that China didn't. They finally came up with Opium, a very addicting drug that was banned in England. Smugglers gave some Opium free around the ports so that people would get addicted and when traders came looking for tea and other things they would trade it for Opium.
After a while many people in China became addicted to Opium and eventually the Emperor cough word of it and sent a letter to England. The note was a plea to England to stop selling Opium to the Chines people. He said "Why do you sell a drug to our people that is baned in your country?" The English refused and continued to sell Opium. Eventually China set up a barricade around the port with their best ships. The English then arrived with their more advance steam ships with their guns and cannons and literally blasted threw the barricade. Probably only one or two English ships were sunk and the entire Chines barricade was destroyed. After this China was forced to sign a treaty with many countries that opened new ports and each country controlled at least one port.