The Opium Wars

Dan Snow's History Hit

2/2. The British Empire aggressively pursued the opium trade well into the 19th century, fueling an addiction epidemic within China. The Qing government was determined to stamp out this destructive trade, leading to the First and Second Opium Wars. But the British Royal Navy was at its apogee, and re-exerted British control over the Chinese state. In the infamous final chapter of this story, British and French forces looted and destroyed the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing stealing everything from priceless art to the Emperor's Pekinese dogs.

In the second episode of a two-part mini-series Dan and Dr Jeremiah Jenne, a professor of Late Imperial and Modern China, delve into the history of the Opium trade in the British Empire, how it brought crisis to China and started a war that still impacts China's relationship with the west today.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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