4,500 chests of opium sold in China (1810)

In 1810, American merchants held roughly 10% of the opium trade at Canton, dealing in less expensive but inferior Turkish opium. The legacy figure of 4,500 chests sold is not supported by the supplied passages. The trade operated under the Canton System, which concentrated Western trade at Canton despite opium being illegal in China; the wider illegal trade later became one of the world's most valuable single commodity trades.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. The Canton System focused Western trade on the southern port of Canton. Chinese merchants, known as Hongs, managed trade in the port. Western demand for tea caused a British trade deficit, prompting the East India Company to sell opium to independent traders. These traders shipped opium to China to exchange for silver, despite the drug being illegal in China.

Trade Dynamics. By 1804, the trade deficit had turned into a surplus, leading to seven million silver dollars going to India between 1806 and 1809. Americans entered the opium trade with less expensive but inferior Turkish opium. By 1810, they had around 10% of the trade in Canton. This illegal sale became one of the world's most valuable single commodity trades.

People involved

Sources

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.