explain the British policy of opium trade with China
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Explanation:
Opium trade
BRITISH AND CHINESE HISTORY
WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
See Article History
Opium trade, in Chinese history, the traffic that developed in the 18th and 19th centuries in which Western countries, mostly Great Britain, exported opium grown in India and sold it to China. The British used the profits from the sale of opium to purchase such Chinese luxury goods as porcelain, silk, and tea, which were in great demand in the West.
Opium trade
BRITISH AND CHINESE HISTORY
WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
See Article History
Opium trade, in Chinese history, the traffic that developed in the 18th and 19th centuries in which Western countries, mostly Great Britain, exported opium grown in India and sold it to China. The British used the profits from the sale of opium to purchase such Chinese luxury goods as porcelain, silk, and tea, which were in great demand in the West.
clipper ship
clipper ship
The clipper ship Le-Rye-Moon, built for the opium trade, 19th-century wood engraving from the Illustrated London News.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Opium trade
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DID YOU KNOW?
Many members of the clergy and the press in both the United States and Britain denounced the first Opium War as unjust.
In 1750 the British East India Company gained control over opium-growing districts of India.
Opium had been used as a euphoric drug by the Sumerians before 3000 BCE.
Opium was first introduced to China by Turkish and Arab traders in the late 6th or early 7th century CE. Taken orally to relieve tension and pain, the drug was used in limited quantities until the 17th century. At that point, the practice of smoking tobacco spread from North America to China, and opium smoking soon became popular throughout the country. Opium addiction increased, and opium importations grew rapidly during the first century of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12). By 1729 it had become such a problem that the Yongzheng emperor (ruled 1722–35) prohibited the sale and smoking of opium. That failed to hamper the trade, and in 1796 the Jiaqing emperor outlawed opium importation and cultivation. In spite of such decrees, however, the opium trade continued to flourish
Early in the 18th century the Portuguese found that they could import opium from India and sell it in China at a considerable profit. By 1773 the British had discovered the trade, and that year they became the leading suppliers of the Chinese market. The British East India Company established a monopoly on opium cultivation in the Indian province of Bengal, where they developed a method of growing opium poppies cheaply and abundantly. Other Western countries also joined in the trade, including the United States, which dealt in Turkish as well as Indian opium.