In the mid-19th century, the British East India Company had a lucrative business smuggling opium from India into China. The Chinese government had been aware of the addictive potential of smoking opium and had made the importing of the substance illegal. China’s attempt to block its ports from ships carrying opium led to the First Opium War in 1834, with the British navy breaking the blockade. Nine years later, China’s seizing a British ship triggered the Second Opium War, which resulted in a quick British victory and the legalization of the opium trade.
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