The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption

The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another
- Used Book in Good Condition
In this tragic and powerful story, the two Opium Wars of 1839â€“1842 and 1856â€“1860 between Britain and China are recounted for the first time through the eyes of the Chinese as well as the Imperial West. Opium entered China during the Middle Ages when Arab traders brought it into China for medicinal purposes. As it took hold as a recreational drug, opium wrought havoc on Chinese society. By the early nineteenth century, 90 percent of the Emperor's court and the majority of the army were opium addicts.

Britain was also a nation addicted-to tea, grown in China, and paid for with profits made from the opium trade. When China tried to ban the use of the drug and bar its Western smugglers from it gates, England decided to fight to keep open China's ports for its importation. England, the superpower of its time, managed to do so in two wars, resulting in a drug-induced devastation of the Chinese people that would last 150 years.

In this page-turning, dramatic and colorful history, The Opium Wars responds to past, biased Western accounts by representing the neglected Chinese version of the story and showing how the wars stand as one of the monumental clashes between the cultures of East and West.

"A fine popular account."-Publishers Weekly

"Their account of the causes, military campaigns and tragic effects of these wars is absorbing, frequently macabre and deeply unsettling."-Booklist
Country USA
Brand Sourcebooks
Manufacturer Sourcebooks
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9781402201493
ReleaseDate 2004-02-01
UnitCount 1
UPCs 760789206368
EANs 9781402201493

Country	USA
Brand	Sourcebooks
Manufacturer	Sourcebooks
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9781402201493
ReleaseDate	2004-02-01
UnitCount	1
UPCs	760789206368
EANs	9781402201493

The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another

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