British East India Company Pamphlet, 1839

From the opium trade, the Honorable Company have derived for years an immense revenue and through them the British government and nation have also reaped an incalculable amount of political and financial advantages. The turn of the balance of trade between Great Britain and China in favour of the former has enabled India to increase tenfold her consumption of British manufacture; contributed directly to support the vast fabric of British domination of the East, to defray the expenses of His Majesty's establishment in India, and by the operation of exchanges and remittances in teas, to pour an abundant revenue into the British Exchequer and benefit the nation to an extent of £6 millions yearly without impoverishing India.

Source: The Treaty of Nanjing, August 1842

His Majesty the Emperor of China agrees that British Subjects, with their families and establishments, shall be allowed to reside, for the purpose of carrying on their commercial pursuits, without

molestation or restraint… It being obviously necessary and desirable, that British Subjects should have some Port whereat they may careen and refit their Ships, when required, and keep Stores for that purpose, His Majesty, the Emperor of China cedes to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., the Island of Hong-Kong, to be possessed in perpetuity(lasting forever) by her Britannic Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and to be governed by such Laws and Regulations as Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., shall see fit to direct...

The Emperor of China agrees to... a full and entire amnesty and act of indemnity, to all Subjects of China on account of their having resided under, or having had dealings and intercourse with, or having entered the Service of Her Britannic Majesty, or of Her Majesty's Officers, and His Imperial Majesty further engages to release all Chinese Subjects who may be at this moment in confinement for similar reasons.

Simplified: The Emperor of China agrees that British people can live and do business in China without any problems. To provide a place for British ships to be repaired and stocked, the Emperor gives the Island of Hong Kong to the Queen of Great Britain forever. The Queen can make rules for the island.

The Emperor also promises forgiveness and protection to all Chinese people who lived with or worked for the British Queen or her officers. This includes releasing any Chinese people currently in jail for these reasons.

Lin Zexu, Chinese Imperial Commissioner, Letter to Queen Victoria, 1839

Generally speaking, the succeeding rulers of your honorable country have been respectful and obedient... the Celestial Empire [China], following its traditional policy of treating foreigners with kindness, has been doubly considerate towards the people from England. You have traded in China for almost 200 years, and as a result, your country has become wealthy and prosperous. As this trade has lasted for a long time, there are bound to be unscrupulous as well as honest traders.

Among the unscrupulous (showing no morals) are those who bring opium to China to harm the Chinese; they succeed so well that this poison has spread far and wide in all the provinces. You, I hope, will certainly agree that people who pursue material gains to the great detriment of the welfare of others can be neither tolerated by Heaven nor endured by men. . . .

Since a foreigner who goes to England to trade has to obey the English law, how can an Englishman not obey the Chinese law when he is physically within China? The present law calls for the imposition

of the death sentence on any Chinese who has peddled or smoked opium. Since a Chinese could not peddle or smoke opium if foreigners had not brought it to China, it is clear that the true culprits of a Chinese's death as a result of an opium conviction are the opium traders from foreign countries… 

If the merchants of your honorable country wish to enjoy trade with us on a permanent basis, they must fearfully observe our law by cutting off, once and for all, the supply of opium.

Source: Lin Zexu, Chinese Imperial Commissioner, October 1839

On the outside, they seem intractable, but inside they are cowardly. If in future we fear them setting off border provocations, the ulcer of trouble they bring will grow day by day ... They are the minority, we are the majority. Though their ships are strong and their guns quick, they can only be victorious at sea – they cannot play their tricks in port, and Guangdong is well fortified.