HISTORY
THE AGE OF IMPERIALISM
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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opium
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rubber
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coffee
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rice
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Detailed explanation-1: -In order to stop this, the East India Company and other British merchants began to smuggle Indian opium into China illegally, for which they demanded payment in silver. This was then used to buy tea and other goods. By 1839, opium sales to China paid for the entire tea trade.
Detailed explanation-2: -Chinese goods such as silk, porcelain, and especially tea were very popular. However, Chinese merchants did not want to buy British goods in return. As a result, Britain had to pay silver for the goods that it was importing, eventually risking a silver shortage. Britain’s solution to this trade imbalance was opium.
Detailed explanation-3: -The primary motive of British imperialism in China in the nineteenth century was economic. There was a high demand for Chinese tea, silk and porcelain in the British market. However, Britain did not possess sufficient silver to trade with the Qing Empire.