Article · Markets & Prices
The Trade Deficit Britain Closed With Opium
Britain drank Chinese tea and China wanted almost nothing Britain made, so the bill was settled in bullion, roughly £30 million of silver between 1760 and 1800. The East India Company's answer was to build a second consumer market on the other side of its own empire, and it worked exactly as a balance-of-payments device is meant to.
Sep 1, 2026 →