Opium Wars

The Opium Wars were a series of conflicts between the Qing Dynasty and the western powers of Great Britain, France, and their allies. There were 2 Opium Wars, both triggered by tea.

It resulted in Qing defeat and the Treaties of Nanjing & Tianjin respectively. It was the spark that soon in 1911, destroyed the Qing Dynasty. It weakened China enough for the Japanese invasion that led to the Sino-Japanese Wars, and the western colonisation of China.