Opium Wars - Imperialism in China

The Opium Wars took place around 1839-1842 then again from 1856-1860. The reason for this war is because the British were importing more from China than they were selling to China, the British needed to find something that the Chinese would buy. That's how Opium came to be sold in China by the British. The Chinese did not like this, but the British continued to sell Opium in China. These wars between Britain and China were called the Opium wars because the main problem was Opium! Opium is the dried latex obtained from opium poppies. Britain and the Western powers defeated China in the Opium Wars which eventually resulted in the Treaty of Nanjing and the Treaty of Tianjin.