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An ominous sense of inevitability hovered over Canton in the last days of 1839; war between the Chinese and the British was expected, for both sides had long felt the tensions arising from increased contact between an ever-expanding commercial system and a stagnant culture. The Opium War of 1840-1842 inaugurated China's modern century of humiliation. This book places it in historical perspective and also details the day-to-day crises that led up to the hostilities.