how was tea connected to the opium trade and the opium war of 1839-1842?
2 answers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War#Background
Britain learned that the Chinese were interested in the opium they could get. And opium is a drug. However, what happens is the government soon learns about this, and they figure out that opium is actually hurting their people.
So they demand that the British stop selling opium. But they don't. So then what occurs is the war, or the Opium War. And it happens in 1839. Chinese troops surrounded the port at Guangzhou and demanded traders surrender their opium. They also went onto the ship and dumped over 20,000 different cases of opium into the ocean. So this very much angered the British. British warships then destroyed the forts on the coasts and rivers of China. And the Chinese emperor then ends up having to surrender in 1842.
So they demand that the British stop selling opium. But they don't. So then what occurs is the war, or the Opium War. And it happens in 1839. Chinese troops surrounded the port at Guangzhou and demanded traders surrender their opium. They also went onto the ship and dumped over 20,000 different cases of opium into the ocean. So this very much angered the British. British warships then destroyed the forts on the coasts and rivers of China. And the Chinese emperor then ends up having to surrender in 1842.