In the mid-1800s, Great Britain fought two wars against China. The reason was not to conquer territory. Or get gain valuable resources. No, this was to force Chinese officials to allow British-grown opium to be imported into their country. So perhaps we can call this the story of the ruthless English drug lords.
Sources
"Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age" by Stephen R. Platt
"The Opium Wars in China" = https://asiapacificcurriculum.ca/learning-module/opium-wars-china
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Destroying_Chinese_war_junks,_by_E._Duncan_(1843).jpg
The Explorers Podcast is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com
Interested in advertising on the Explorers Podcast? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices