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| Opium routes between British-controlled India and China.ocw.mit.edu |
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| Opium smokers produced by BEI company.www.nuttyhistory.com |
Better known as British East India company (EIC), it became a
commercial body with vast resources and slowly assumed the form of a
sovereign power. During their operations in the Indian subcontinent, not only did it cause harm to the welfare of Indians but also to other people in the
neighboring countries like China. The company created its own military
and administrative divisions to counter tough competition from other
European nations, thereby becoming an imperial power in its own right.
In order to check the growing power of the company in Asian
countries, the British Parliament created a government- controlled policy-making
body with the Regulating Act of 1773. The British government took away
the East India Company's monopoly in 1813, and after 1834 BEI company worked as
the government's agency in the de facto British colonies until 1857.
During this period the British ruled vast territories far larger than
the United Kingdom itself and created colonies such as Singapore.
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| opium export to China from India, BEI.www.veteranstoday.com |
Since there was enormous profit in export market, the British concentrated on exporting opium from India to China. They needed more money to maintain the colonies and also to expand them. The opium came from the Princely States or the plantations of the British East India Company. In 1770s the British brought many areas in India under opium cultivation and got a large sum by way of tax on one hand and generated enormous profits by exporting it to destinations like China. In mid 1830s the EIC was exporting opium worth 15 million dollars annually. Previously the Chinese consumed opium on a small scale supplied mainly by the Arab and other traders and was widely used as a medicine in the seventh or eighth century.
Thanks to the Portuguese who introduced a new
form of smokable opium to China in the early 1700’s. The opium was
mixed with tobacco and became a new habit in China and it was popular hit among t the young and wealthy Chinese who considered it as a status
symbol. Opium trade was originally dominated by the Dutch, but was soon
taken over by the British due to British rule in India. The British started to trade opium
for silver in southern China, and from there the opium trade exploded.
The export of opium to China assured the British of a large steady flow of silver into India which helped them consolidate their hold on the subcontinent, in particular, Bengal which became its financial base/hub. For this reason the EIC pushed more export of opium to China, unmindful of a big chunk of population becoming slaves to opium smoking. In 1834-35 alone, the English Co. exported 10,107 chests of opium from Calcutta to China, chiefly to the port of Canton, unashamedly turing a large population of Chinese into zombies.
In 1834 overall trade profits dipped from Rs.9,413,091 Rupees to Rs.6,827,628 (despite a sharp increase in shipments to China) on account of decline in price from $2,075 (average for 1821-22) to just $955. During the period 1848-49 the profits shot up to Rs.24,103,775 rupees because of demand. It means there was ever increasing addicts in China.
The more the Chinese addicts on the streets of China in every nook and corner, the more profits for the British company, the better the security of the British society. The British treasury was full to the brim. One culturally rich Asian country was slowly perishing on one hand, England was prospering on the other hand at the cost pain and suffering in the other country. During this time Indian farmers were forced to cultivate opium and exploited to the core by paying poor wages, despite long hours of hard labor in the hot country.
The first anti-opium edict was issued by Emperor Yung Ching in 1729 and imports of opium into China stood at 200 chests annually. In 1799 more restrictions were added to curtail opium import. Despite the threat of severe penalties, strict customs rules, severe trade restrictions on foreigners, the Chinese rulers could not stop the illegal import of opium from India which gradually rose from 5,000 chests in 1820, 16,000 chests in 1830 and to whooping 40,000 chests in 1838 before the First Opium War.
After the Treaty of Nanking (1842), Britain got Hong Kong, reduced the opium tariff and regularized the import of opium. In 1858 annual imports had risen to 70,000 chests (4,480 long tons). Second opium war between the British and China in 1856 opened up more ports for the British and trade access to Britain and other foreign countries.
Emperor Dao Guang (1821-1850) of the Qing Dynasty, having come to know that the opium was destroying a large section of the population and the Chinese culture, stopped opium imports into China through any means. But the shrewd British official of the EIC supplied opium through a big network of sea- pirates to the Chinese market. In the wake of more illegal imports in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, nine out of ten were addicts. Thanks to the British ingenuity and business acumen to destroy long-cherished Chinese culture and tradition..
As many foreign countries condemned opium smoking and with international efforts, it slowly declined, and thousands of Chinese were saved from near death. Opium addiction in China came down drastically over a period of time. The Chinese will never forgive the Britain for their role in turning a large section of the population into Zombies. Nothing gave the aristocratic British Bobs more joy than their fast-filling coffers with silver " from opium trade".
Tit-Bits:
Opium is a poison and its undesirable and violent effects will undermine the morality and capability of a well- cultured society. The younger generation will be degenerating and become hooked to it. If addicted, the person will go to any length to please him in a state of extreme excitement, unmindful of harms he is doing to himself as well as to others. Before rehabilitation, he may face death.The British traders in India under the East India company were unscrupulously spinning large amount of money for them at the expense of gullible Chinese.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_opium_in_China
http://www.britannica.com/topic/opium-trade
The export of opium to China assured the British of a large steady flow of silver into India which helped them consolidate their hold on the subcontinent, in particular, Bengal which became its financial base/hub. For this reason the EIC pushed more export of opium to China, unmindful of a big chunk of population becoming slaves to opium smoking. In 1834-35 alone, the English Co. exported 10,107 chests of opium from Calcutta to China, chiefly to the port of Canton, unashamedly turing a large population of Chinese into zombies.
In 1834 overall trade profits dipped from Rs.9,413,091 Rupees to Rs.6,827,628 (despite a sharp increase in shipments to China) on account of decline in price from $2,075 (average for 1821-22) to just $955. During the period 1848-49 the profits shot up to Rs.24,103,775 rupees because of demand. It means there was ever increasing addicts in China.
The more the Chinese addicts on the streets of China in every nook and corner, the more profits for the British company, the better the security of the British society. The British treasury was full to the brim. One culturally rich Asian country was slowly perishing on one hand, England was prospering on the other hand at the cost pain and suffering in the other country. During this time Indian farmers were forced to cultivate opium and exploited to the core by paying poor wages, despite long hours of hard labor in the hot country.
The first anti-opium edict was issued by Emperor Yung Ching in 1729 and imports of opium into China stood at 200 chests annually. In 1799 more restrictions were added to curtail opium import. Despite the threat of severe penalties, strict customs rules, severe trade restrictions on foreigners, the Chinese rulers could not stop the illegal import of opium from India which gradually rose from 5,000 chests in 1820, 16,000 chests in 1830 and to whooping 40,000 chests in 1838 before the First Opium War.
After the Treaty of Nanking (1842), Britain got Hong Kong, reduced the opium tariff and regularized the import of opium. In 1858 annual imports had risen to 70,000 chests (4,480 long tons). Second opium war between the British and China in 1856 opened up more ports for the British and trade access to Britain and other foreign countries.
Emperor Dao Guang (1821-1850) of the Qing Dynasty, having come to know that the opium was destroying a large section of the population and the Chinese culture, stopped opium imports into China through any means. But the shrewd British official of the EIC supplied opium through a big network of sea- pirates to the Chinese market. In the wake of more illegal imports in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, nine out of ten were addicts. Thanks to the British ingenuity and business acumen to destroy long-cherished Chinese culture and tradition..
As many foreign countries condemned opium smoking and with international efforts, it slowly declined, and thousands of Chinese were saved from near death. Opium addiction in China came down drastically over a period of time. The Chinese will never forgive the Britain for their role in turning a large section of the population into Zombies. Nothing gave the aristocratic British Bobs more joy than their fast-filling coffers with silver " from opium trade".
Tit-Bits:
Opium is a poison and its undesirable and violent effects will undermine the morality and capability of a well- cultured society. The younger generation will be degenerating and become hooked to it. If addicted, the person will go to any length to please him in a state of extreme excitement, unmindful of harms he is doing to himself as well as to others. Before rehabilitation, he may face death.The British traders in India under the East India company were unscrupulously spinning large amount of money for them at the expense of gullible Chinese.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_opium_in_China
http://www.britannica.com/topic/opium-trade
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