📜 The First Opium War - Part 1 - Extra History
In 1792, Great Britain had just come out of an expensive war that cost them their control over many of their colonies in North America. Other wars had also cost them their access to the silver mines of South America, which had been helping fund so much of their trade with the Qing Dynasty of China. European traders all wanted greater access to China, but the Emperor was wary of letting outsiders too far into his country and kept them all penned up at the port of Canton, which was strictly regulated by the Hong business group. A flourishing blackmarket trade grew, but Britain wanted more. One trader, acting on his own initiative, grew bold enough to approach Beijing and attempt to get a hearing over his trade grievances, but the Chinese considered this a huge breach of protocol and an offense to the Emperor. Britain had to do something, however: they imported over 10 million pounds of tea each year, equal to 10% of the government's annual spending, and the fact that China did not have anywhere near as great an interest in British products meant that they were running an enormous trade deficit they could no longer sustain. The Crown appointed an official envoy, Earl George Macartney, with orders to end the Canton system, establish an embassy, and acquire rights to an island that would be under British control in the same way that the Portuguese controlled Macao. The mission failed spectacularly. Although Macartney got permission to sail north and meet the Qianlong Emperor in his summer palace at Jehol, he refused to perform the traditional kowtow which was required upon meeting the Emperor. He presented gifts from the British court, but the Chinese interpreted these gifts as tribute, not trade enticements, and decided they had no need for nor interest in what he offered. Since he failed to get them to agree to any of his three requests, Britain wanted to find another way to address the trade imbalance with China. Soon, this would lead them to start bringing in opium.

Learn about the disastrous Macartney Embassy that tried and failed to improve British trade relations with China: http://bit.ly/28Ro4B1

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*Miss an episode in our Opium War Series?*
Part 1 - https://youtu.be/fgQahGsYokU
Part 2 - https://youtu.be/qHmuuc7m1AA
Part 3 - https://youtu.be/jAjUqwauf-A
Part 4 - https://youtu.be/s9WRmsHFUg0
Series Wrap-up & Lies Episode - https://youtu.be/v9beMOxGOrk
♪ "Waning Moon" by Sean and Dean Kiner - Available on Patreon! - https://youtu.be/BeBeJnqk6V0

Thanks for the high-quality conversations & for following our community guidelines here: https://bit.ly/ECFansRNice

Artist: Lilienne Chan I Writer: James Portnow I Voice: Daniel Floyd I Editor: Carrie Floyd I ♪ Extra History Theme by Demetori: http://bit.ly/1EQA5N7

#extrahistory #opiumwar #history

📜 The First Opium War - Part 2 - Extra History
The tea trade flowing from China had left the British government in staggering debt. They had loaned huge amounts to the Honourable East India Company (EIC) to conquer India, and to pay their debts, the EIC turned that land into poppy fields and manufactured opium in huge quantities. Since China had banned the opium trade, the EIC set up a market in Calcutta (part of their Indian territory) and turned a blind eye to the black market traders who smuggled it into China. By 1839, over 6.6 million pounds of opium were being smuggled into China every year. The Chinese DaoGuang Emperor appointed an upright official named Lin Zexu to halt this opium trade. Lin orchestrated a massive campaign to arrest opium traders, force addicts into rehab, and confiscate pipes. He even laid siege to British warehouses when the merchants refused to turn over their opium supply, instead taking it all by force and burning it. The outraged merchants sought redress from their government, but although the Chief Superintendant Charles Elliot promised them restitution, the government never had any intention of paying them back. Amid the unrest, two British sailors brutally murdered a Chinese man. Lin Zexu demanded their extradition, but Elliot insisted on trying them aboard his ship and sentencing them himself. Lin Zexu had enough. He halted the British food supply and ordered the Portuguese to eject them from Macau. They retreated to a barren island off the coast (now known as Hong Kong). Since the island could not support them, Elliot petitioned the Chinese to sell them food again. He received no response. Then he sent men to collect it directly, but on their way back they were halted by the Chinese navy, and the first engagement of the Opium Wars began.

Learn about the disastrous Macartney Embassy that tried and failed to improve British trade relations with China: http://bit.ly/28Ro4B1

* Watch Extra History ad-free & get 1-week early access on *NEBULA* https://go.nebula.tv/extrahistory
* Suggest & Vote on our next episodes, get exclusive content & 24-hour early access on *PATREON* https://bit.ly/EHPatreon
* Show off your fandom with *MERCH* from our store! http://extracredits.store/
*Interested in sponsoring an episode?* Email us: extracredits@standard.tv

TWITTER: http://bit.ly/ECTweet I FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/ECFBPage
INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/ECisonInstagram I TIKTOK: https://bit.ly/ECtiktokz
BLUESKY: https://bit.ly/ECBlueSky I TWITCH: https://bit.ly/ECtwitch
GAMING: https://www.youtube.com/@extracredits

*Miss an episode in our Opium War Series?*
Part 1 - https://youtu.be/fgQahGsYokU
Part 2 - https://youtu.be/qHmuuc7m1AA
Part 3 - https://youtu.be/jAjUqwauf-A
Part 4 - https://youtu.be/s9WRmsHFUg0
Series Wrap-up & Lies Episode - https://youtu.be/v9beMOxGOrk
♪ "Waning Moon" by Sean and Dean Kiner - Available on Patreon! - https://youtu.be/BeBeJnqk6V0

Thanks for the high-quality conversations & for following our community guidelines here: https://bit.ly/ECFansRNice

Artist: Lilienne Chan I Writer: James Portnow I Voice: Daniel Floyd I Editor: Carrie Floyd I ♪ Extra History Theme by Demetori: http://bit.ly/1EQA5N7

#extrahistory #opiumwar #history