What do scholars consider the most important effect of the Opium War?

Research Paper First Draft
HIS 391
11/20/2019
What do scholars consider the most important effect of the Opium War?
The Opium War, which was war between China and Britain that took place between 1839 and 1860. In reality, there were two different wars: the first began in 1839 and lasted until 1842 and the second began in 1856 and ended in 1860. The background to this war is linked to the need for more open trade routes for Europeans as Chinese emperors had adopted isolationist policies, which affected trade. The deteriorating trade balance began to hurt Europeans, and the British began to sell opium. Attempts by Chinese rulers to ban the importation of opium, which became a major public health problem, led the British to attack Hong Kong, which started the war. China conceded and signed trade treaties that allowed opium to be sold.
After the British troops defeated the Chinese troops the Chinese surrendered and ceded the island of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom and accepted the opening of its ports to international trade. The British East India Company, which trade opium in India in the 1800s were allowed to trade opium in China from 1858 legally, which before had previously brought to China illegally from Indian traders. Legalization of the opium trade increased profits for the British trades, but he Chinese authorities were still focused on limiting the opium trade. Opium trade had grown gradually in China before the 1858 legalization and there was a ready market.
Europe had always looked to the East as a place with great commercial possibilities and the Europeans sought to find a route to reach Asia markets easily. The trade imbalance between i...