COLONIALISM AND IMPERIALISM
IMPERIALISM IN ASIA
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Because Britain lacked silver
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Because Britain lacked gold
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Because opium was in demand in the market
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -Britain wanted to expand its imperial power and sell more goods, especially the opium whose import the Chinese tried to ban, while the British sold or smuggled in anyway. In other words, it was a case of commercial and imperialist British greed trying to force opium on the Chinese.
Detailed explanation-3: -Britain was selling opium to China and causing a severe crisis of addiction within the country. In an attempt to put a stop to this, China ended up at war with Britain – twice. China already had prohibition against opium when the British began trading it, but that did not deter them.