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I need information about the 19th century Britsh opium trade in China in all its seedy glory...?

I know that after the sepoy rebellion in the late 1850s, the Honourable East India Company lost its monopoly over the opium trade, and I know the broad outline of the two opium wars story. But for those in the know, I am interested in the following questions. 1. Who actually produced the opium (indigenous laborers who sold it to the East India company, and later private firms? Or Gone With the Wind style planters?) 2. What social classes were involved in opium production, distribution, and consumption? What kind of money was on the line? Did this change after the mid 1850s? 3. What were the risks involved in the opium trade? Was it ever violent? If so, for whom? 4. What were major centers of opium production and distribution in China? Was it always smoked? 5. What are some good books you can recommend on this topic? Some to avoid? Thank you in advance!

Public Comments

1. 3. Yes, the Chinese outlawed it and tried to stop the trade of it. That was the cause of the Opium Wars. If they were willing to fight the British, you bet they were willing to fight the traders themselves. I'm a little confused. The Sepoy rebellion was in India, not in China, so I have a little confusion as to why that would end the EIC's control over opium trade for China...
2. There's a nice bit in Byron Farwell's 1972 book "Queen Victoria's Little Wars (London: W.W. Norton) pages 12-22. This is mainly about the Opium wars between 1840 and 1854. It doesn't get much seedier than this - forcing China to accept opium in trade at gunpoint. Britain's ethics in that time period are difficult to defend - - an enlightened empire acting as a major drug dealer. The details you are looking for will require some major digging probably in academic history journals if someone has written about this. Sounds like an excellent topic for a thesis. Good Luck. Added Notes - The Indian Mutiny of 1857 led to the replacement of the British East India Company by the direct control of Bengal under the British crown. Bengal was the main source of opium until Burma came under British control. & From the textbook I use in my world history course - - by 1838 the British were selling 40,000 chests of opium per year in China (each chest contains 150 pounds of opium extract). The primary mode of opium use in China was smoking. Also - From internet source listed below : 1700 The Dutch export shipments of Indian opium to China and the islands of Southeast Asia; the Dutch introduce the practice of smoking opium in a tobacco pipe to the Chinese. 1729 Chinese emperor, Yung Cheng, issues an edict prohibiting the smoking of opium and its domestic sale, except under license for use as medicine. 1750 The British East India Company assumes control of Bengal and Bihar, opium-growing districts of India. British shipping dominates the opium trade out of Calcutta to China. 1767 The British East India Company's import of opium to China reaches a staggering two thousand chests of opium per year. 1793 The British East India Company establishes a monopoly on the opium trade. All poppy growers in India were forbidden to sell opium to competitor trading companies. 1799 China's emperor, Kia King, bans opium completely, making trade and poppy cultivation illegal. 1841 The Chinese are defeated by the British in the First Opium War. Along with paying a large indemnity, Hong Kong is ceded to the British. 1852 The British arrive in lower Burma, importing large quantities of opium from India and selling it through a government-controlled opium monopoly. 1856 The British and French renew their hostilities against China in the Second Opium War. In the aftermath of the struggle, China is forced to pay another indemnity. The importation of opium is legalized. 1886 The British acquire Burma's northeast region, the Shan state. Production and smuggling of opium along the lower region of Burma thrives despite British efforts to maintain a strict monopoly on the opium trade. 1910 After 150 years of failed attempts to rid the country of opium, the Chinese are finally successful in convincing the British to dismantle the India-China opium trade.