The Opium Wars

The Opium Wars were fought between the British and the Chinese from 1839-1842. It had begun because The Chinese government did not want the the British to sell opium in China anymore. Tea from China had become very popular in Britain, but the British needed to use gold and silver to pay for it. The British wanted to balance out trade, so they began to sell tobacco mixed with opium to the Chinese. However, the Chinese were becoming addicted to the drug, so the government wanted to stop the opium trade. Lin Tse-hsü had attempted to stop the Britsh by shutting down all traffic in opium and destroying stores that sold opium. He also tried to send a letter to England to try and get them to stop selling opium in China. England refused and Lin Tse-hsü threatened to cut off trade between England and China, which started the Opium Wars. During the Opium wars, England completely outclassed China in military strength. They had weapons and technology that was far more advanced than China had, so they easily defeated the Chinese.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

In Mountains of the Moon, the explorers faced serious problems while trying to find the source of the Nile River. One of the biggest problems was disease. There were plenty of insects in Africa, and a lot of them would carry diseases on them. The terrain of Africa made it even harder to get through. A lot of the northern part of Africa is made up of the Sahara Desert. A lot of people died trying to cross through it. The natives had caused them problems as well. To help them with their expedition, the explorers would hire native people to help guide them through Africa. There were times when some of the natives would betray them. They would also steal some of their supplies when they would leave, making it even harder to get through Africa. Also, there were hostile tribes in Africa that would attack them on sight. When the explorers finally reached the Nile's source, they decided to name it Lake Victoria, after their queen. It is strange that to this day, no one has changed the name despite the fact that other people lived there before it was named. After the explorers reached Lake Victoria, other Europeans quickly went into Africa and completely took over. It was easy for them because the Europeans were more technologically advanced than the African Natives. For example, the Europeans had guns to defend themselves with. The natives only had spears or bows and arrows. The Europeans were also able to find a cure for malaria, which actually made it possible for them to get through Africa.