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Ethical or not, when the Qing Dynasty government took steps in 1839 to curb what was supposed to be an illegal opium trade, Great Britain's superior fleet and forces were called into action to take control of the channels and regulations of trade with what was soon exposed to be an antiquated Celestial Empire (China). |
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The cession of Hong Kong Island and its strategic harbor to Britain was one of the important results of the Treaty of Nanking, which brought to a close the First Opium War in 1842. |
