Why did the british sell opium in china?

Answer 1

the british wanted goods from china that they didn't have like exotic tea, porcelain, and silk. the only thing the Chinese would import was opium. that's how the opium trade began. however, the Chinese became very addicted to the drug and the british illegally brought opium into china through ports in the south.

Answer 2

First answer by Low: Contributor: none

England was out to make money on British-colonized countries, such as India. Since India produced opium, England wanted to make a profit from the prodcution of opium.

England also didn't produce commodities that the Imperial Chinese wanted, therefore England could only offer opium to the Chinese market. The British were out to make money with the cheapest amount of production costs, that is, narcotics.

The same holds today is some respects, with the US exporting cigarettes to the Chinese market.

Answer 3

Direct maritime trade between Europe and China started in the 16th century, after the Portuguese conquered the Indian settlement of Goa in the mid 16th century, and in 1557 settled Macau in southern China. After Spanish acquisition of the Philippines, exchange of goods between China and the West accelerated dramatically. The Manila Galleon brought in far more silver direct from South American mines to China than the overland Silk Road, or even Portuguese trade routes in the Indian and Pacific oceans could. Faced with a flood of trade, the Qing Government attempted to limit contact with the outside world, limiting trade to the port of Canton. Trade was subject to the scrutiny of Chinese officials. The Spanish Empire began to sell opium, along with New World products such as tobacco and maize, to the Chinese in order to prevent the trade deficit which was costing it so much silver.

Low Chinese demand for European goods, and high European demand for Chinese goods, including tea, silk and porcelain, forced European merchants to purchase these goods with silver, the only commodity the Chinese would accept. From the mid-17th century around 28 million kilograms of silver was received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese goods. This was not a viable long term trading dynamic. Britain's problem was further complicated by the fact that it had been using the gold standard from the mid 18th Century and therefore had to purchase silver from other European countries, incurring an additional transaction cost.

In the 18th century, despite ardent protest from the Qing government, British traders began importing opium from India. Opium was not prohibited in Britain. Because of its strong mass appeal and addictive nature, opium was an effective solution to the trade problem. An instant consumer market for the drug was secured by the addiction of thousands of Chinese, and the flow of silver was reversed. Recognizing the growing number of addicts, the Yongzheng Emperor prohibited the sale and smoking of opium in 1729, and only allowed a small amount of opium imports for medicinal purposes.

The Chinese governments to stop the trade led to the First Opium War from 1839 to 1842 and the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860.

Answer 4

I assume you're talking about the start of the Opium War?

Well, Chinese people back then believed that China was the closest someone could get to heaven on earth (the Middle Kingdom). So, when the British tried to trade with them, they refused to buy the products from the "barbarians." Meanwhile, the British kept on buying tea from China. The British were loosing tons of money, so they decided to start selling opium to the Chinese. Once this happened, people wouldn't stop buying it, and the British were making money again.

This ultimately started the Opium War, where the British fought the Chinese over the right to sell opium. The British destroyed the Chinese. (Fun fact: That is how the British got control of Hong Kong, which they kept up until 1997)

Answer 5

Firstly it was a business with a lot of cash to earn. Second reason can be considered as political: to make the people in a state of 'opiation', so that they don't work (or less work), almost sleep for the whole after taking opium. It was a kind of drug addiction.

Answer 6

to get the Chinese to sign the treaty of nanking and open more ports to British, lower taxes on British goods and apply the concept of extraterritorial rights.

Answer 7

For profit. They wanted payment in silver by preference.