Skip to content
Émile Bayard · Public domain
Conflict East Asia

Second Opium War

1856 CE – 1860 CE · 4 years

Britain and France waged war on Qing China to force further trade concessions, burning the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. The resulting treaties opened more ports and legalised the opium trade.

See it on the timeline

Wikipedia

The opening of the article, and a way into the rest of it without leaving the site.

Second Opium War on Wikipedia.

Read the article Open on Wikipedia ↗

Belligerents

The main peoples, kingdoms and states involved.

  • British Empire & French Empire
  • Qing Dynasty

Key moments

Defining events in the Second Opium War.

  1. 1858 Battle of the Taku Forts
  2. 1860 Battle of Palikao
  3. 1860 Burning of the Old Summer Palace

Elsewhere in East Asia at the time

Records whose own span overlaps this one, found by the same test the canvas draws with. The bar under each card is where it sits inside this one.

See the whole view

Landmark · East Asia

Yakushima

3000 BCE – still standing

Polity · East Asia

Manchu Empire

Attested 1650 CE – 1914 CE

Trade route · East Asia

Tea Horse Road

700 CE – 1950 CE

Conflict · East Asia

Anglo-Burmese Wars

1824 CE – 1885 CE

Landmark · East Asia

Great Wall of China

700 BCE – still standing

Polity · East Asia

Russia

Founded 1263 CE · attested to 2026 CE

Conflict · East Asia

Taiping Rebellion

1851 CE – 1864 CE

Landmark · East Asia

Ha Long Bay

3000 BCE – still standing

Dated moments inside this span

Events the timeline places between 1856 CE and 1860 CE.

1856 CE Panthay Rebellion 1857 CE Indian Rebellion of 1857 1858 CE Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes 1858 CE Sanctuary of Lourdes

And in the rest of the world

Records running through the same years, on the other side of the map.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes Landmark · Europe 1858 CE – still standing British Raj Polity · South Asia 1858 CE – 1947 CE Crimean War Conflict · Europe 1853 CE – 1856 CE Theodore Roosevelt Figure · United States 1858 CE – 1919 CE Tea Clipper Route Trade route · Europe 1850 CE – 1880 CE Grand Canyon Landmark · Americas 3000 BCE – still standing
Image credits9 pictures from Wikimedia Commons