Since Chinese tea was in great demand in Britain while its products were not popular in China, the early Sino-British trade was greatly in China's favour.
But Britain found the solution in opium grown in British India and shipped to China.
The annual import of 4,000 chests in the early 19th century multiplied to 35,000 chests in 1838.
The British trade imbalance with China was entirely reversed and immense sums of silver dollars drained out of China's economy. The scourge of opium addiction swept through China.
Estimates of the number of addicts ranged as high as 10 million, with serious repercussions on China's economy and its people's health.
Credit : History Museum of HK.
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