2/1/07 The Emergence of the British Global Economy

In class we discussed opium trade and the effects of it. Between 1830 and 1870 China was importing an incredible amount of opium. This opium was impoted by both the british and the Americans. Because of these British began to control China economically, although not politically. We then discussed the effects of opium and free trade on some of the major regions in the world. The effects on britain were that they needed more money to buy raw materials. The effects on India (and other colonies) were that they were forced to sell other goods besides cotton, because of Britains market monopoly, in order to purchase british finished goods. In addition, the effects on China were that they needed to generate revenue to counterbalance the large amount money being spent on opium by the general public. Overall, free trade and opium encouraged many people to start working towards making money rather than goods to barter. We then finished our discussion by examining the importance of singapore to the opium trade.