Peter Frankopan

A tale of two addictions

Stephen R. Platt describes how the sale of vast quantities of opium to the Chinese became a vital source of revenue for Britain in the 19th century

China, wrote Adam Smith, is ‘one of the richest, that is, one of the most fertile, best cultivated, most industrious and most populous countries in the world’. It was an obvious exemplar for a man who was trying to write An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

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