: “The British used the profits from the sale of opium to purchase such Chinese luxury goods as porcelain, silk, and tea, which were in great demand. They tried to bribe the Chinese with the gifts.”
The British East India Company established a monopoly on opium cultivation in the Indian province of Bengal, where they developed a method of growing opium poppies cheaply and abundantly.
The balance of payments for the first time began to run against China and in favour of Britain.
