Shadows of Empire: Flow of Goods

The British smuggling of opium into China in the early 19th century led to widespread addiction among Chinese people. This had far-reaching detrimental effects.
As well as causing individual health problems, there was an increase in crime and domestic violence, and a breakdown of social norms and values. Families were torn apart, as people who were addicted neglected their responsibilities. Estimates of addiction rates in 1839 vary, but 4 million people is the lowest number estimated.

In 1839, the Chinese Emperor appointed Lin Zexu as Special Imperial Commissioner and issued an edict to halt the opium ‘trade’. Lin wrote to Queen Victoria pleading with her to stop the opium smuggling, but his letter went unanswered.

Lin then ordered the confiscation and destruction of British opium stocks in China. In response, the British government sent military forces to ensure the continuation of opium smuggling to China. The conflict escalated, leading to several battles called the First Opium War, and the defeat of the Qing Dynasty.

The Treaty of Nanking, signed in 1842, marked the end of the First Opium War. Hong Kong was ceded to the British, several Chinese ports were opened for trade and China was required to pay reparations to Britain.

The Second Opium War (1856-1866) involved France and the United States as well as Britain in conflict with China’s Qing Dynasty. The cause was, once again, the ‘right’ to import opium into China.

According to Dr Rolf Bauer, a professor of economic and social history at the University of Vienna, opium was the second-most important source of revenue for Britain in the 19th century.

Following the Western victories, the flow of opium to China increased and the problems of addiction worsened. By the middle of the 19th century, it’s estimated that between 13.5 million and 15 million Chinese people were addicted to opium.
Britain only stopped selling opium in China in 1915.

Even this did not free the peasants in the British Raj from their toil in opium fields. The farmers did not have a choice – they were forced by British colonial powers to provide land and labour to meet British export targets. Peasants who refused were kidnapped and arrested.

The British monopoly on India’s opium only ended when India gained independence in 1947.