On 29 August 1842, Great Britain and China concluded the Treaty of Nanking, which effectively ended the First Opium War.
This treaty, one of the first of many so-called "unequal treaties," marked a significant turning point in Sino-British relations.
Under its terms, China ceded the island of Hong Kong to Britain, opened five ports to British trade, and granted British citizens extraterritorial rights, exempting them from Chinese law.
The treaty also imposed a substantial indemnity on China and significantly weakened the Qing Dynasty's sovereignty, leading to increased foreign influence and internal strife in China.
This pivotal moment not only reshaped the political landscape of East Asia but also set the stage for further Western incursions into China, fundamentally altering the course of its history.
