The Opium Wars: When an Empire Used an Addictive Drug to Open China

At the end of the eighteenth century, British merchants bought tea, silk, and porcelain from China, while the Qing court demanded payment in silver. Silver flowed out of Europe and tea flowed into London. The East India Company needed a product it could sell back into China to pull the silver back. It found that product in opium grown in Bengal.

At the end of the eighteenth century, British merchants bought tea, silk, and porcelain from China, while the Qing court demanded payment in silver. Silver flowed out of Europe and tea flowed into London. The East India Company needed a product it could sell back into China to pull the silver back. It found that product in opium grown in Bengal.

At the end of the eighteenth century, British merchants bought tea, silk, and porcelain from China, while the Qing court demanded payment in silver. Silver flowed out of Europe and tea flowed into London. The East India Company needed a product it could sell back into China to pull the silver back. It found that product in opium grown in Bengal.

At the end of the eighteenth century, British merchants bought tea, silk, and porcelain from China, while the Qing court demanded payment in silver. Silver flowed out of Europe and tea flowed into London. The East India Company needed a product it could sell back into China to pull the silver back. It found that product in opium grown in Bengal.