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There was, in fact, huge demand. The delivery of British opium to China required a lot of help from Chinese merchants. Opium was legal in China and had been bro
by solidsnack9000 6y ago
There was, in fact, huge demand. The delivery of British opium to China required a lot of help from Chinese merchants. Opium was legal in China and had been brought in from abroad for several hundred years by that point. Importation was banned in the 1700s after the Portuguese got into the business; but excluding foreigners did not actually exclude foreign opium, since Chinese merchants would bring it in and pass it off as Chinese-sourced opium.
- clairity 6y agonone of those assertions provides any relevant rationale for huge pre-existing demand prior to the british desire to extract riches in exchange for drugs.
- solidsnack9000 6y agoDemand for opium was on the upswing in China before the British entered the trade. The British did not have a power to manufacture demand in China and in fact could not place personnel in China. British opium was smuggled into China by Chinese merchants.
- clairity 6y agoagain, all assertion, no rationale. besides, the british didn't need to be in the interior of china en masse to induce demand.
- solidsnack9000 6y agoI don't have a rationale for the increasing demand for opium in the 1700s -- I don't know why it was increasing -- but it is well documented.