Opium for tea-fc

The author made a good point about smuggling opium in for tea, but he did not mention anything about the trade imbalance. China only had one port open at the time because China believed that the Western World did not have anything to afford the Chinese. So here, Britain is buying something they wanted but not receiving any money in return. Britain seen China as a land full of customers and no way to sell their products. The government looked for something they could use to trade with China in order to balance trade. Opium was used, not just to trade for tea but to help Britain balance the trade between the two countries. Britain acted like the modern day cartel looking for that quick buck to help Britain's pocket book.