Before the Opium War, China was an independent feudal country. Because China's natural economy is dominant, China is in an advantageous position in the legal trade between China and Britain. In order to change the trade surplus, Britain smuggled opium to China. The import of opium has brought profound disasters to the Chinese nation. People strongly demand that smoking be banned. The anti-smoking movement led by Lin Zexu dealt a heavy blow to the British invaders. From 65438 to 0840, Britain launched the Opium War against China. In the war, patriotic officers and soldiers fought bravely with the people of Sanyuanli. However, due to the compromise policy pursued by the Qing government, the war eventually failed. From 65438 to 0842, Britain forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-British treaty of nanking, and China's independence and territorial integrity began to be destroyed, and it began to be reduced from a feudal society to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. During the war, some patriotic intellectuals woke up, and a new trend of thought of "learning from the West" sprouted.
1856- 1860 The Second Opium War was a war of aggression against China launched by Britain and France to expand their rights and interests of aggression. The American and Russian fishermen benefit. The Tianjin Treaty and the Beijing Treaty signed by the four countries forced the Qing government to lose more territory and sovereignty in China, and foreign aggression expanded to coastal provinces and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The degree of semi-colonization of China society has further deepened.
To be more specific, the advantages of the Opium War are very small, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The disadvantage is that China is semi-colonial.