The Treaty of Nanjing was signed to end the Opium War when the Chinese realized that the British cold defeat and overpower them in combat.
" Under the Treaty of Nanjing, China ceded the Island of Hong Kong to the British; abolished the licensed monopoly system of trade; opened 5 ports to British residence and foreign trade; limited the tariff on trade to 5 percent; granted the British Nationals extraterritoriality (exemption from Chinese laws); and paid a large indemnity."(1) " The Treaty was followed by other incursions, wars, and treaties that granted new concessions and added new privileges to the foreigners."(2) "The treaty has been known in China as the first of the 'unequal treaties.'"(3) "It was also known as the 'supplementary treaty' between China and Great Britain."(4)

In his diary, Chushiyuan wrote on September 3: "The Governor has issued a proclamation saying that he has received information from the Governor-General that peace has been concluded with the English foreigners. The fighting being now over, I call upon all refugees to return to the city. There is to be no more looting."(5)

In the Treaty of Nanjing, there are mentions to the money owed to Britain by China and the establishment of British ports on the Island of Hong Kong.
"Article VII: It is agreed that the total amount of Twenty-one Millions of Dollars, described in the three previous articles, shall be paid as follows: Six Millions immediately; Six millions in 1843[...]; Five Millions in 1844 [...]; Four Millions in 1845. That is Two Millions on or before the 30th of June, and Two Millions on or before the 31st of December; and it is stipulated, that Interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, shall be paid by the Government of China on any portions of the above sums that are not punctually discharged at the periods fixed.
Article III: It being obvious necessary and desirable, that British Subjects should have some Port whereat they may careen and refit their ships, when required, and keep Stores for that purpose, His Majesty the Emperor of China cedes to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., the Island of Hongkong, to be possessed in perpetuity by her Britannic Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and to be governed by such Laws and Regulations as her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., shall see fit to direct."(6)

This was a good move for China. It saved them from the hard times that they would have had to endure under the British. They had peace with one of their biggest enemies, and that helped them and their economy in the long run. Today, China is one of the most industrial countries in the world, but that would be different had they not signed.

I think that the Treaty actually saved China from some really horrible times if they hadn't signed. Sure, they lost Hong Kong for 100 years and the had to pay the Queen 21 million dollars but if they hadn't signed the treaty, the British would have probably defeated them completely and then they would have had to live under full British control over the whole country, not just parts of it. The world as we know it today would be completely different had China not signed the treaty.

Works Cited:
Images:
Unsigned, "Signing of the Treaty" [http://www.artasialink.com] January 28,2001
Traigader Corporation, "Nanjing Treaty,"[http://www.index-china.com/index-english/people-invasion-g.html] January 28,2001
Text:
(1)unsigned,"Emergence of Modern China"[http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/modern.html] January 29,2002
(2)unsigned,"Emergence of Modern China"[http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/modern.html] January 29,2002
(3) Tooker, Mark, "Nanjing"[http://www.magma.ca/~mtooker/cities/nanjing.htm] 1994-2000
(4)Marianne Bastide, Marie-Claire Bergère and, and Jean Chesneaux, China from the Opium Wars to the 1911 Revolution. (New York: Pantheon, 1976), 64
(5)China: Understanding its Past (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998) 103-105
(6) USC-UCLA Joint Asia Studies Center. "Treaty of Nanjing (Nanking), 1842" [http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/nanjing.htm] January 28, 2001

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