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When the emperor banned opium, the British sold it to smugglers. When the Chinese seized 20,000 chests of trafficked opium to stop it from being sold, the Brit

When the emperor banned opium, the British sold it to smugglers. When the Chinese seized 20,000 chests of trafficked opium to stop it from being sold, the British attacked China and made them sign an agreement to buy tons of stuff from the British, including opium. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36781368 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36781368

pbhjpbhj 8y ago
So Britain stopped trading, and traded legally with Chinese people who themselves smuggled the opium ... see to me that sounds like the smugglers are doing the worst thing there? The Chinese seized and destroyed opium from merchants from several countries, Britain sent forces to release merchants, ships, goods and was demanding compensation for the destroyed opium, which compensation they then fought to acquire. If the Emperor/Lin Xehu(sp?) at any time ordered that selling tea to foreigners was illegal(?), then it looks much worse for the outside forces; if not then it looks like balance of trade was a prime motivation on both sides, rather than (im)moral considerations. (https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842 https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842 https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6304d1/what_caused_the_first_opium_war_ive_read_several/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6304d1/what_... based on other tertiary sources I've read seem like good synopses.)
- partycoder 8y ago
  Stop complicating things. This is very simple: 1. The British planted opium then transported it to China and traded it. 2. The Chinese told them it was illegal. 3. They continued trading it. 4. The Chinese seized all of it. 5. They declared war so they could continue trading it. I don't see the confusion or debate here. What the British were doing was very simple: illegal drug trade for profit. What others were doing is a separate debate and does not absolve the British from anything. Don't mix things.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago

So Britain stopped trading, and traded legally with Chinese people who themselves smuggled the opium ... see to me that sounds like the smugglers are doing the worst thing there? The Chinese seized and destroyed opium from merchants from several countries, Britain sent forces to release merchants, ships, goods and was demanding compensation for the destroyed opium, which compensation they then fought to acquire. If the Emperor/Lin Xehu(sp?) at any time ordered that selling tea to foreigners was illegal(?), then it looks much worse for the outside forces; if not then it looks like balance of trade was a prime motivation on both sides, rather than (im)moral considerations. (https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842 https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842 https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6304d1/what_caused_the_first_opium_war_ive_read_several/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6304d1/what_... based on other tertiary sources I've read seem like good synopses.)

partycoder 8y ago
Stop complicating things. This is very simple: 1. The British planted opium then transported it to China and traded it. 2. The Chinese told them it was illegal. 3. They continued trading it. 4. The Chinese seized all of it. 5. They declared war so they could continue trading it. I don't see the confusion or debate here. What the British were doing was very simple: illegal drug trade for profit. What others were doing is a separate debate and does not absolve the British from anything. Don't mix things.