Lesson 4: The Opium Wars

How did economic competition contribute to conflict during the Opium Wars?
How did Western powers use military strength to influence trade?
How did the Opium Wars reshape China's relationship with the global economy?

Trade imbalance
Economic coercion
Treaty system

HIS.9-12.3 Analyze complex relationships among multiple causes and effects of historical events.
HIS.9-12.4 Analyze the causes and consequences of historical events on a global scale.

Students analyze informational texts and evaluate economic arguments.

Students examine the causes and consequences of the Opium Wars to understand how economic interests and military power shaped international relations. Primary DOK level: 3.

Connections to modern trade disputes and economic competition between nations.

Students may oversimplify the conflict as purely military rather than economic and political.

Guided reading supports.
Visual timeline construction.

Short analytical response explaining how trade conflicts contributed to war.

Trade charts, treaty excerpts, maps.