"Presently she cast a drug into the wine of which they drank to lull all pain and anger and bring forgetfulness of every sorrow."
The Odyssey, Homer
(Ninth century B.C.)
As a commodity, opium has created a definite impact on globalization; by exploring the history of this addictive commodity one can find clear connections amid the trade of opium and interdependence and interconnectedness amongst nations in every corner of the world. Taking into account it's destructive nature, it can be argued that through it's addictiveness, the commodity globalized it self, leaving several negative ramifications in it's wake. Investigating the historical aspect of opium trade and policies in Southeast Asia, focusing on China, India and the East Indian Company's involvement in the trade, the essay will aim to explain how factors such as internal and external conflicts, insecurity, underdevelopment and conflicts in different nations has developed the current trade, at the same time comparing 17th - 19th century health and social concerns to social and political drug related issues existing on a global scale today. Through analysis of different texts the consequences and outcomes distribution and utilization of opiates suffered by the international community as a whole will be explored, focusing mainly on production countries and the political consequences in Afghanistan and Mayanmar/Burma, in addition to the impacts trade and usage of the commodity has had on European social issues.
Opium was first used mainly for medical purposes before the 17th century, the transition from a recreational drug was marked by the change from swallowing the compound raw, to mixing it with tobacco and smoking it (Chang 1964). Although the morphine component...
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...9)7-9). In contrast the current issues and economics of the global trade can be said to be of greater magnitude, as opium has spread and through it's addictiveness it has interconnected and created dependence between it's users, producers and dealers. The product continuously being commercialized and designed for different users preferences, as well as interdependence through addiction defines the mark opium as a commodity put on globalization. One can se traces of the effects of opium in almost every corner of the world, it is clear that the interconnected commodity chain moves through history and across the world. In conclusion of this paper, opium's globalization has been made clear by discussing and comparing political and social, historical and current affairs, showing interconnectedness and interdependence around the globe through it's market and production.
"1750-1919: China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and Self-Strengthening (1800-1921)." Afe.easia.columbia.edu. Columbia University, 2009. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
Mitchell, M., & Gould, R. (2009). Opium has always been complex issue in laos: Drug played role in tribal culture, but addiction to it also ruined reputations. Winston-Salem Journal (NC). , Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=2W6782643631&site=src-live
Evidence from contemporary newspapers and other sources suggest that by the mid nineteenth-century England was beginning to realize the depth of its opium problem. Opium had been introduced by the Arabs around the sixteenth-century, England began to seriously trade it around the late seventeenth- century. English citizens, by this time, through its exploits, were using the drug for medical reasons. However, most of these new cures all used opium in some form. No matter in which, form it was used, opium had only one effect. It gave a feeling of euphoria. From the opium pill to the plaster or its alkaloids it was a highly addictive drug, a new drug free from government constrains and open to public sale. In the early years opium was merely another piece of cargo to be traded.
Brecher, E. (n.d.). Opium Smoking Is Outlawed. Licit and Illicit Drugs. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/cu/cu6.htm
The first law against drugs was made in year 1908 in Canada called the Opium Act of 1908. In the year1850 onwards there were many Chinese immigrants coming to Canada through British Columbia .These Chinese immigrants were a cheap source of labour to Canadian government. The consumption of opium by the Chinese immigrants was another way to gain income for the Canadian government by taxes on the opium manufacturing factories in1871. In late 1800s an...
“Catastrophe, riots, factories blowing up, armies in flight, flood - the ear can detect a whole apocalypse in the starry night of the human body (Cocteau).” China is the human body of this metaphor, as Cocteau points out the destruction and chaos opium can cause in the body of man; it does the same to the well-being of China during the early to mid eighteen-hundreds. The aim of this paper is to discuss a key issue in which plagued China in their opposition to opium trade leading up to and during the Opium War. While there are many important issues related to China’s opium problem, the scope of this paper will be strategic errors. It is important to note that if improvements were made in this field, it does not guarantee that the
The thought of opium as a topic of conversation in China throughout the late eighteenth century and nineteenth century brought about discussions that varied from arguments for its legalization and praise of its distributors to the complete ban of the drug and punishment for all users and smugglers. For those who acted as proponents of the narcotic, they sincerely believed that this necessary evil was one of the only aspects of the economy that could effectively propel China into the same class as that of the world’s supreme powers (Janin 6). Those who condemned even the slightest interaction with opium or its derivatives opted for the more “honorable” route, in that, they pledged to rid their country of such horrible vices in order to follow a purer path throughout their daily lives (Mackay 124). It was from these arguments that made these debates rampantly widespread throughout the country, with neither side effectively telling the truth about the future of China and ultimately being left to the voice of those in charge of the economy, since they are the ones who control what is worth importing and exporting. If the use of opium were permitted, then the impact would have been generally positive, in that, there would be fewer smugglers to worry about breaking the law, and more profit actually being given to the Chinese government since they would actually be included. On the other hand, basing this drug trade on purely moral and some economic terms, then the people of China will constantly be in a state of intoxication because they will no longer be able to think and process clearly, while the economy of the Chinese government might also not be able to possess the buying power that they would have previously had when they unc...
Hanes, William Travis, and Frank Sanello. Opium Wars: the Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville, IL: Source, 2002. Print.
Throughout all of history, people have used mind-altering substances for diverse purposes such as magic, religious ceremonies, medicine, and war. After World War II, many people discovered that narcotics can be used to amass fortunes and maintain a steady stream of income. Groups of people, known as drug cartels, have created a business of trading and processing drugs, in which, the material of the drugs are grown, processed into drugs, smuggled across foreign borders, and sold to the common public. This process is known as international drug trafficking. Drug trafficking has led to drug addictions due to drug abuse, which can lead to violence, and inevitably the death of an individual who uses these drugs. The socioeconomic costs to a society are devastating. Law enforcement, imprisonment, and rehabilitation have high costs to governments and its society.
Anti-drug legislation has had an extensive and fascinating record in the United States. The initial drug that showed prevalent use in the nation was Opium, which came primarily from China. Opium was utilized as a recommendation drug by doctors, but the growing cases of addiction led to laws alongside this drug. The greater part of the opium addicts were girls due to the doctors tend to recommend the drug for many women’s particular problems. In 1875, a law was approved in California barring individuals from smoking opium. While the law pertained generally to Chinese immigrants it was the first place in anti-drug provision is the Unites States. At the Federal stage, the prohibition of importation of opium by Chinese nationals happened in 1887 and in 1905 opium smoking was constrained in the Philippines (Harrison). While these regulations were the initial steps, they did not have any absolute provisions to decrease drug supply and use in the country. The laws beleaguered the lessening of delivery of drugs in the country and do not deal with the problem of treatment of a true illness.
The sale and import of narcotics was first banned in 1914 in the United States; the full ban on narcotics emerged in in 1920. Failure followed closely since this prohibition made the drug trade go underground. 1 At the onset of the 1920s, the Narcotics Bureau, the predecessor of the Federnal Narcotics Bureau, was utilized by the federal government for “domestic suppression.” Protestant churches and the US mebers of Leagues of Nations united to lead America's limited international suppression in which the recent “long crusade” against the legal smoking in Asia had accelerated the formation. The US with...
In “Coffee, Tea, or Opium,” the authors main point is that even at this point in history some rulers felt that drug importation throughout other countries was immoral for their economic and social status. China’s commissioner for foreign trade, Lin Zexu wanted to stop the illegal importation of opium into his country. Lin saw that the opium trade was damaging the publics health and was bleeding China of its wealth. The emperor of Manchu had given Lin extensive power and ordered him to control the demand of China’s people for opium and force the barbarian merchants to cut off the supply.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 2002, Globalization, Drugs and Criminalisation: Final Research Report on Brazil, China, India and Mexico, viewed 3 April 2014, http://www.unesco.org/most/globalisation/drugs_vol2.pdf
The First Opium War between the British and China were fought over the countries conflicts in trade and dissimilar perspectives in diplomatic relations. One of the greatest factors of the war was opium, which had caused great instability of the socioeconomic status of China preceding the war and China’s actions in ending the opium import from the British was known to have sparked the war. China has been greatly criticized for provoking this Anglo Chinese War, against the British Empire, one of the greatest empires of that period of time in military and economic standings. However, it was identified that the vast imports of opium into China was slowly poisoning the country and is clear that China’s opium ban and isolation trade policies against the British was the correct decision of the government . The trade of opium into China would have gradually crippled the country’s socioeconomic standing without the need of a war.
To the normal Chinese man during the early 19th century, opium was nothing more than a luxury that only those of higher power or influence could indulge themselves in. Yet by the middle of the 19th century opium had become a commodity that everyone could have and that at the same time they seemed to need. Even though it was now such a big part of the normal chinese culture, it did not benefit the people nor Chinese culture, it did not benefit the people or the government. The only benefit it did seem to have was towards the British. The British were flourishing from the new Chinese market for opium, where the Chinese were beginning to turn into addicts of a drug that was slowly poisoning their way of life. The people no longer were concerned about their advancement and safety of their family but about how and when they would be able to get more opium. The Chinese government was not pleased about this and decided to take a stand that would, in the long run, only damage the very people they were trying to protect. This stand came to be known as the First Opium War (1839-1842). By the end of the First Opium War China had begun to lose its sense of identity through the use of treaties and encroachment of foreign countries, starting with the British and their Treaty of Nanking.