Generally speaking, yes it is true that the <span>Opium Wars opened Asian nations, particularly China, to trade with Europe, since through these wars the British practically "forced" China to trade with them. </span>
In a famous speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, William Jennings Bryan declared that mankind should not be "crucified on a cross of gold."
An example of data that a historian would use is "pictorial data", since illustrations can provide unparalleled insight into the past--sometimes even more so than books.
