How the Opium Wars Worked

Screaming skull lore is something that is unique to Britain, though specific skull lore varies. The first episode has roots in the English Civil war, and the second is tied to colonialism in the Caribbean and the slave trade. Research: Berry, Helen. “Exclusion Crisis: Challenging ... Show More

Sara Weiss wrote a lengthy account of life and afterlife on Mars, a place she said she visited through psychic travels starting in 1892. Research: Calanchi, A. (2024). “Renewed in health”: Meeting Giordano Bruno on planet Mars. Between, 14(27), 93-109. https://doi.org/10.13125/20 ... Show More

This 2021 episode covers Colchester, who claimed to be psychic and may have warned President Abraham Lincoln that he was going to be assassinated. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

<p>2/2. The British Empire aggressively pursued the opium trade well into the 19th century, fueling an addiction epidemic within China. The Qing government was determined to stamp out this destructive trade, leading to the First and Second Opium Wars. But the British Royal Navy w ... Show More

We’re still in ancient times, picking up from last episode, where we ended with the fall of the Shang. Part 2 will cover the rise of the Ji 姬 Clan and the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. We’ll look at the Zhou up through the Spring and Autumn period and a little of the Warring Stat ... Show More

How did Britain create a violent monopoly on opium production in India in the 1700s? What was the Opium Agency? Why did Chinese elites use opium during sex? Anita and William discuss how the East India Company competed with other traders to sell Indian opium to China despite it b ... Show More

How did the British taste for tea start a war over the right to sell drugs to China? When did tea become fashionable in Britain? How did the Dutch bring tea to India? William and Anita explore how the nation’s love of tea created a domino effect that led to the East India Company ... Show More

What led to the Second Opium War? Why wasn’t China colonised by Europeans? When did China start referring to this period as the “century of humiliation” and how did this narrative shape nationalism in the 20th century? Anita and William are joined by Stephen R. Platt, author of I ... Show More

Who were Jardine and Matheson? What was life like for workers growing opium in India? How does George Orwell relate to the East India Company opium trade? William and Anita explore how William Jardine and James Matheson accumulated immense power and wealth by becoming internation ... Show More

Who led the first British envoy to China? What did Europeans think of China in the 1700s? Why did the diplomats bring a huge planetarium as a gift for the Chinese emperor? William and Anita continue the story of the build up to the Opium Wars with the story of the doomed British ... Show More

In the late 1800s, groups of working-class Chinese citizens became frustrated by their dire economic straits and the rampant Western influence over their country. They formed a revolutionary secret society, and resolved to reclaim China for themselves. Learn more about your ad ch ... Show More