{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"","title":"Treaty of Nanking – Part 1: Opium, Silver, and the Gathering Storm","description":"Imagine a world where the fate of empires hangs on a single commodity. Where silver flows in one direction, and opium in another. Where addiction becomes a lever, and war is the price of imbalance.\r\n\r\nThe early nineteenth century saw tensions between Qing China and Great Britain reach a breaking point. British merchants thirsted for tea and silk, but China wanted nothing in return but silver. As silver drained from Britain, opium began to flow into China, unleashing addiction and social crisis. The Qing government, desperate to halt this tide, struck back. Commissioner Lin Zexu destroyed British opium stocks in 1839, a bold act that ignited the First Opium War.\r\n\r\nLearn more at: https://thetreatyarchive.com/treaty/treaty-of-nanking","author_name":"The Archive Network"}