Treaty of Nanking
The 1842 treaty that ended the First Opium War, ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, and opened five Chinese ports to British trade.
Hong Kong: A territory on China's southern coast, including Hong Kong Island, ceded to Britain in 1842. The treaty transferred Hong Kong Island to Britain, beginning its colonial rule.
Cession of Hong Kong Island: The transfer of Hong Kong Island from Qing China to Britain under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. This territorial clause made the treaty's most lasting geographic change.
First Opium War: An 1839–1842 war between Qing China and Britain over trade, diplomacy, and the suppression of the opium trade. The Treaty of Nanking formally ended this conflict.
Treaty of the Bogue: A 1843 treaty supplementing the Treaty of Nanking and granting Britain additional privileges in China. Unlike the 1842 treaty, it explicitly established British consular jurisdiction and most-favored-nation rights.
Unequal treaties: Treaties imposed on China by foreign powers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries under coercive conditions. The Treaty of Nanking became the first major treaty in this historical pattern.
Indemnity: Compensation paid by one state to another for losses, costs, or obligations arising from conflict. The treaty required Qing China to pay Britain 21 million silver dollars.
Opium trade: The commerce in opium, including British colonial exports to China that expanded sharply in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The trade and Qing efforts to suppress it helped precipitate the war.
Convention of Peking: The 1860 agreements that ended the Second Opium War and expanded foreign privileges in China. Its later concessions went beyond the ports and cession established at Nanking.
Treaty of Wanghia: A 1844 treaty in which Qing China granted the United States privileges similar to those Britain had obtained. It extended the treaty-port system to another foreign power.
Treaty port: A port opened by treaty to foreign trade and, often, residence and consular presence. The treaty designated five ports for British trade and residence.