The Second Opium War was a war that took place in China in the mid-19th century, and it was a continuation and expansion of the First Opium War. The main reason for this war was the desire of Great Powers such as Britain, France and ** to China's resources and markets, but the ostensible excuses were the "Yarrow Incident" and the "Horse Priest Incident".
The Yarrow incident was the direct trigger for the Second Opium War. The Yarrow is a Chinese smuggling vessel that was registered in Hong Kong but later deregistered by the British authorities in Hong Kong and engaged in smuggling activities in China's territorial waters. In October 1856, Chinese sailors captured 12 sailors aboard the Yarrow near Canton, an action that was seen as a provocation to the British by the British consul in Canton, Pashali, who accused the Chinese sailors of insulting the British flag by entering the British ships for unreasonable searches. In fact, however, the Chinese sailors were carrying out their legitimate mission to combat smuggling, and did not take any provocative actions against the British ships. However, Britain used this as an excuse to launch a war against China.
Another excuse is the "Father Ma Incident", also known as the "Xilin Case". In February 1856, the people of Xilin County, Guangxi Province, were deported for rebelling against the illegal entry of a French Catholic priest, Marai, and the killing of villagers. Although France has repeatedly demanded that China surrender the Malai, China has rejected this unreasonable demand. France used this as an excuse to start a war against China.
However, these excuses were only superficial reasons, and in fact, the desire of the great powers for China's resources and markets was the main reason for the outbreak of war. During the war, the Anglo-French forces captured many cities in China, including Guangzhou, Tianjin, Beijing, etc., and carried out large-scale looting and destruction of these cities. The war brought great losses and suffering to China, and accelerated the decline and crisis of Chinese society.
In fact, before the outbreak of the war, China had tried to resolve the dispute through diplomatic means, but the great powers ignored China's wishes and rights and interests and forcibly launched the war. This also exposed China's diplomatic weakness and helplessness at that time, as well as the injustice and discrimination against China by the international community.
The impact of the Second Opium War was far-reaching. This war not only brought huge economic losses and loss of people's lives to China, but also greatly reduced China's international status. In addition, the war also accelerated the transformation and transformation of Chinese society, making China gradually move from closed to open, from traditional to modern. At the same time, the war also prompted the emergence and development of some reform and reform movements in China, which had a profound impact on the process of China's modernization.
The excuse for the Second Opium War seems so ridiculous and unreasonable in today's view. Whether it was the "Yarrow Incident" or the "Horse Priest Incident", they were just excuses for the great powers to start war. We should bear in mind the lessons of history and realize that a strong country is an important guarantee for maintaining peace and development. At the same time, we should also cherish the great time of peace and development and strive to promote the progress and development of human society.
To sum up, the excuse for the Second Opium War is absurd and unreasonable. The real cause of this war was the thirst of the great powers for China's resources and markets. We should recognize the importance of peace and development, bear in mind the lessons of history, cherish the great times of peace and development, and strive to promote the progress and development of human society.