Not to mention all the Brit ESL sleeper cells of Opium Traders awaiting activation. I was recruited for this but kicked out for drawing undue attention to myself by shooting some of my coolies.
God bless the Empress of India, um I mean the Queen.
No need to do even that. Just pile it up in Canton and the Chinese will distribute it efficiently throughout the length and breadth China like they did in the 19th Century when the British, er, forced them to by using, um, mind control.
In an Opium Factory
Rudyard Kipling
"But why are you so particular about the shell?’
‘Because of the China market. The Chinaman likes every inch of the stuff we send him, and uses it. He boils the shell and gets out every grain of the lewa used to gum it together. He smokes that after he has dried it. Roughly speaking, the value of the cake we’ve just cut open is two pound ten. All the time it is in our hands we have to look after it and check it, and treat it as though it were gold. It mustn’t have too much moisture in it, or it will swell and crack, and if it is too dry John Chinaman won’t have it. He values his opium for qualities just the opposite of those in Smyrna opium. Smyrna opium gives as much as ten per cent of morphia, and if nearly solid—90 consistence. Our opium does not give more than three or three and a. half per cent of morphia on the average, and, as you know, it is only 70, or in Patna 75, consistence. That is the drug the Chinaman likes. He can get the maximum of extract out—of it by soaking it in hot water, and he likes the flavour. He knows it is absolutely pure too, and it comes to him in good condition.’
‘But has nobody found out any patent way of making these cakes and putting skins on them by machinery?’ "
Rudyard had such a way with words. Complete story.
Going by your what you call…ummm…logic, we should just sell crack cocaine to every druggie out there because they like it. :loco:
To the Brit apologizers - Deny the British role all you want. Apparently there’s such a thing as Karma. Ever wonder why the once all powerful British empire is now reduced to a sad irrelevant nation that’s no more than the drooling lapping dog of the USA in a desperate and futile attempt to gain a measure of self-importance, contributing nothing of note to the world except the jokers you call the royal family that’s reduced to a third rate tabloid fodder good for a laugh or two.
well, red frog, somebody actually does sell crack cocaine to all the druggies out there…well, thse that want crack. and other people sell other things because they have a market. the drug pusher idea is long discredited. now date rape drugs spiking drinks, that a bit different…
and anyway, don’t you think it is about time to let the past be the past. who really cares any more now except people casting about for some reason to be angry? china (and its apologists like you) should bury the ancient and rusty hatchet with britain, as it should with japan, and get on with the future… unfortunately it is very easy to stir up shit about old troubles to stop peoiple looking at the very real current problems the country of china (and the separate country of taiwan for that matter) now face.
germany has been well integrated into the world of the post world war two era for many years, and much of europe had even greater justification being pissed off with them than china does with britain from the f…kin opium wars. get over it.
and yes, there is no such thing as karma. god is a myth, too. all of them. but you can believe in whatever crap you want, just don’t try and make me listen to you.
I’m not trying to get angry with the past - if you read the entire thread I’m merely stating that cultures develop according to the influences of the outside world and how a culture perceives another culture depends on past interactions. That is until some Brit jokers start to twist history.
You’re also free to not read my posts. Boy you guys get all touchy when it’s your people being grilled.
We Brits were loved – LOVED – when we were empire building. Everyone knows that.
Those fuzzy-wuzzies didn’t get where they are today without our benevolent guidance.
I think it’s more the passive aggressive and whiney tone.
HG
Never mind “we Brits”, the Scottish and Irish built the Empire. Typical English taking all the credit. When I were a lad…
I don’t know about loved because far as I remember the Brits were used for target practice by the yanks.
But I kinda figure any empire that have their soldiers dress in bright red uniforms with the words “Shoot me” must certainly be on the decline.
Reviving this thread as it seems closest to the interlinked issues discussed in Michael Turton’s latest column in the Taipei Times, linked below.
How many forumosans of British decent were taught or learned about the British assaults on Taiwan during the nineteeth century? Apparently they were looking for another market in which to dump and hook people on opium . . .
The twists-and-turns in this tale—told by Turton, who apparently is now channelling his inner Han Cheung—also involved some 243 Indians brought alongside the British belligerents. When their ship (the Nerbudda) ran into trouble at sea, a number of the Indians drowned and others were killed when they tried to make it ashore near Keelung. But some two thirds of these Indians survived before being force marched all the way to Tainan, where they were imprisoned and eventually apparently executed by Qing authorities. However brief, Indian presence in Taiwan then goes back at least to the 1840s—marking yet more stories in Taiwan that remain largely unknown.
Source: Notes from Central Taiwan: Taiwan: A history populated in might-have-beens - Taipei Times
Guy
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The Qing claimed the two British ships attacked Taiwan and were deliberately led to being wrecked, and the British claimed they were merely swept by storms and rammed into reefs.
Regardless, the British later did invade Taiwan for real during the Camphor War. The Qing government rescinded British monopoly right on Taiwan’s camphor, and William Pickering, the same one who made his name in the Rover Incident and later on in Singapore, got two British warships to come to his aid, and those ships sacked Anping, and demanded monopoly right be restored or Britian will annex Taiwan. Too bad for the people of taiwan, especially the indigenous ones, that the Qing government caved.
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Ahh the camphor trade! That really did damage to Atayal communities in particular, who were subjected to all sorts of new pressures from colonizers. But that is a separate topic and should be a separate thread . . .
Guy
What I’m trying to say is it is hard to say if there ever was a British assault on Taiwan during the Opium War. The difference in Qing and British accounts of the downing of the two ships are hard to sort out which side was telling the truth, down to even where Brig Ann wrecked. The Qing claimed that it wrecked in Taichung, however the British insisted it wrecked near Keeling just like the Nerbudda. I’m inclined to believe the British account, but if Brig Ann didnsink near Keelung, why would the Qing lie and alter the location to Taichung? The only possibility I can think of is that the defender of Keelung already got credit for downing one British ship, so they let their friend in Taichung to get credit for Brig Ann?
Anyway, Richard from Hikelopedia also did an episode on this.
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Not sure if I should start a Camphor War specific thread, use the Seqalu thread, or just use this thread, but since I shared Hikelopedia’s video here before, I’ll do it again.
My long await Hikelopedia’s Camphor War part 1.
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Part 2 of Richard’s Camphor War series
Richard brought up many points that I wasn’t aware of in his videos. I didn’t realize Pickering was forced to flee the island. The sources I read all pointed out that British enjoyed a camphor monopoly on the island before the local governor rescinded their monopoly, that’s when Pickering went on his warpath. Richard’s version is that the local government had always had a monopoly, and Pickering was basically trying to go around the local government. I also didn’t know that despite the Qing eventually signed an agreement to restore British camphor monopoly, the local governor didn’t really play ball.