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Gentlemen Drug Dealers
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George Walden reviews "Opium and Empire" by Richard Grace, which focusses on the origins of Jardine, Matheson & Co., the British firm run by two Scottish traders Jardine and Matheson. This firm was at the centre of the trade in opium carried out on the black market in China using opium brought from India. It paid for the shipping expenses to take tea and silks brought back in the British market. The confiscation of a shipment of opium in Canton, China, by a Chinese Commissioner led to the first of the opium wars. This ended with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 negotiated by Foreigh Secretary Palmerston giving Britain possession of the island of Hong Kong. It was the long history of such depredations, including the Japanese invasion in the 1930's that led to the nationalism and rise of Communists led by Mao in China by 1945.
The origins of Hong Kong in the opium wars and the opium trade- William Jardin and James Matheson of Jardin Matheson & Co
01/12/2015
Foreign Secretary Palmerston negotiated the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 giving England possession of Hong Kong for her commercial interests. A new book on the opium wars "Opium and the Empire," focusses on the role of two Scottish traders Jardine and Matheson in the opium trade carried out on he black market which paid for the shipping expenses for tea and silks brought back from China. It was the confiscation of opium from ships owned by their firm which led to the first Opium War. Walden points to the self delusion of these traders with huge commercial interests in the British Empire who even banned whisky in their areas, used a missionary for a translator, and pretended that the opium was only used by the upper classes in China like tea and whisky.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015
Looking back at Hong Kong and China today and yesterday- China in 1842 and in 1945, nationalism and commercial interests of foreign powers
01/09/2015
A wariness with foreign powers in China stems from the influences left behind from the British commercial interests and the Japanese invasion of China. Compared to that period, the period of collaboration on an equal footing and playing field is is a short and recent one that has taken place for just three decades 1985-2015. Fears that the accelerated development in China could slow down without a strong central government, combine with the awareness of the need for western technology and open communications in today's global economy to accelerate the development, create in the Chinese mind a problem that needs to be tackled carefully to continue progress. Awareness of the huge inequalities and corruption in the rush towards modernization, need to tackle extensive contamination of air and water, and need for social security and healthcare for an aging population create a new urgency for careful policy making to sustain progress.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015
‘China 1945,’ by Richard Bernstein
New York Times 01/09/2015
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