Opium

Calcutta, India

Untitled The major threat to the British East India Company's opium monopoly comes from Malwa opium grown in the princely states of west India. In 1805, the East India Company prohibits transit of Malwa Opium or any other non-East India company opium through its territories, including the port of Bombay. The same year, Yankee traders load their first cargoes of Turkish opium at Smyrna and sail them around the tip of Africa to China. Turkish exports to China in 1805 total 7 tons. Charles Cabot, a smuggler from Boston, Massachusetts, attempts to purchase opium from the British, then smuggle it into China under the auspices of British smugglers. The Bengal Regulation IV is amended in 1807 by Regulation V and in 1809 by Regulation VI. These regulations lay the foundation of the Opium Department on a permanent basis. The Benares Opium Agency and Bihar Opium Agency are formed. Malwa opium captures 40 percent of the China market by 1811. Determined to defend their trade, the Company's directors decide to promote unlimited production in Bengal.

by Jeff Moran