For Britain, the banning of opium was only one reason to start the First Opium War. In July of 1839, two British sailors murdered a Chinese Villager. While China wanted to try the men, Britain didn’t want British citizens to be tried by a foreign legal system. As such, Britain refused to hand them over, increasing tensions between the two powers. Before the Second Opium War, a British ship was boarded with their occupants being arrested, and the British flag being lowered. As for the French, a missionary was murdered within the borders of China. These two countries teamed up and started the Second Opium War.

I believe China was in the right for banning opium and fighting back. This is due to the fact that opium was causing disruptions, and with foreign powers looking to expand their influence. Before the occurrence of the First Opium War, Britain was illegally importing opium to China, which caused the disruption of the economy and social order. As such, China did nothing wrong when it decided to ban opium. The murder of the Chinese citizen was also in China’s right to try them, since the murder occurred within China. Before the Second Opium War, when it came to the arrests on the British ship, the occupants were actually Chinese and were later released with no repercussions. The French seem to be justified, but they didn’t act until the British did. Therefore, China was in the right when it came to the First and Second Opium Wars.