In 1856, fourteen years after the conclusion of the first Opium War, British and French
forces once again invaded China, inflicting heavy destruction on China's cities and
the imperial Summer Palace, which they looted and burned to the ground. Many of
the same forces impelled this invasion as in the first Opium war: British demand for
raw materials like tea, frustration with the limited success of exports to China, and
Chinese resistance to foreign presence in the treaty ports. But the world had also
changed.
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Warning: the historical images in this unit can be offensive or disturbing |
