Lin Zexu believed moral clarity and the largest drug bust in history could end the opium crisis and avert war. Yet, as his solution drained into Humen Bay, so too did the last hope of peace between China and Britain.
Time Period Covered:
1836–June 1839

Major Historical Figures:

The Qing Empire:
The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]
Lin Zexu, Imperial Commissioner and Governor-General of Huguang [1785–1850]
Deng Tingzhen, Governor-General of Liangguang [1776–1846]
Huang Juezi, Minister and court official (opium policy advocate)

The British Empire:
King William IV [r. 1830–1837]
Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901]
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary [1784–1865]
Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China [1801–1875]
Lancelot Dent, Opium trader and head of Dent & Co. [1799–1875]
James Matheson, Merchant and political advocate for war [1796–1878]

Major Sources Cited:
Fairbank, John K. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast
Platt, Stephen R. Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age
Wakeman, Frederic, Jr. “The Canton Trade and the Opium War,” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10
Wakeman, Frederic, Jr. The Fall of Imperial China
Lovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China

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