When the British came to visit china in 1793 they brought all sorts of goods, in exchange for tea, however China was uninterested and outraged at the British for brining things that he felt had no use. McCartney also did not kowtow, making the Emperor even angrier and the language barrier between the two countries stopped McCartney from explaining himself.
THE SECOND OPIUM WAR 1856-1860
To make money, the British smuggled opium into China, and millions became addicted. This lead to the first opium war.
Opium is very addictive, and causes many health problems and the increasing opium trade with Britain meant that China was importing more goods then it exported. Solving this financial problem led to the first opium war.
Britain started to become dissatisfied with China as China was not abiding to the agreement they had signed. In 1856 the governer of Canton Ye Ming Chen stopped Hong Kong ship that he believed was committing piracy. The British were furious and attacked China. This caused the Second Opium War.
After China lost the first opium war, and the treaty of Nan Jing in 1842 ended the war, which meant giving up a piece of the land to the British, which was Hong Kong! At this time, it was just a small fishing village but after the 2nd opium war (1860) Britain got part of the Kowloon peninsula and in 1898, Britain got the New Territorys.