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Historical accounts suggest that opium first arrived in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907) as part of the merchandise of Arab traders. [10] Later on, Song Dynasty (960–1279) poet and pharmacologist Su Dongpo recorded the use of opium as a medicinal herb: "Daoists often persuade you to drink the jisu water, but even a child can prepare the yingsu soup."
Following this treaty David Sassoon & Co. retreated from the opium trade, eventually stopping it completely, although this had been one of its principal business interests for a long time. [ 3 ] Upon Sir Edward Sassoon's death in 1912 his uncle Frederick David Sassoon (1853–1917), the youngest son of David Sassoon , was the dominant person in ...
Lin supervising the destruction of opium. In March 1839, Lin started to take measures that would eliminate the opium trade. [11] He was a formidable bureaucrat known for his competence and high moral standards, with an imperial commission from the Daoguang Emperor to halt the illegal importation of opium by the British.
By 1833, the Chinese opium trade soared to 30,000 chests. [6] British and American merchants sent opium to warehouses in the free-trade port of Canton, and sold it to Chinese smugglers. [7] [9] In 1834, the EIC's monopoly on British trade with China ceased, and the opium trade burgeoned.
Trade with China, especially in the illegal opium, grew, and so did the firm of Jardine, Matheson & Co., which was already known as the Princely Hong for being the largest British trading firm in East Asia. By 1841, Jardine had 19 intercontinental clipper ships, compared to close rival Dent and Company with 13.
Company started selling opium to Chinese merchants in the 1770s in exchange for goods like porcelain and tea, [64] causing a series of opioid addiction outbreaks across China in 1820. [65] The ruling Qing dynasty outlawed the opium trade in 1796 and 1800, [66] but British merchants continued illegally nonetheless.
In addition to the start of the opium trade, economic and social innovations led to a change in the parameters of the wider Sino-European trade. [54] The formulation of classical economics by Adam Smith and other economic theorists caused academic belief in mercantilism to decline in Britain. [55]
John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor.Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting opium into the Chinese Empire (Manchu China), and by investing in real estate in or around New York City.