We'll be Zooming this presentation from Victory Parkway to watch together at Adath Israel. In the 19th century, Western industrial nations extended their global reach through assertive colonization and compulsory free trade. Victorian-era Great Britain harbored a robust appetite for Chinese luxury items, including silk, porcelain, and tea. China demanded payment in silver, spurning the industrial goods Great Britain proposed,. Nevertheless, British-controlled India could cultivate opium, a substance outlawed in both Britain and China. Learn how the Opium Wars emerged as a means for Great Britain to enforce opium trade upon China, Presenter Gerald Checco is using his retirement to explore fascinating topics.

 

Moderator: Gerald Checco