Opium! The British Empire’s Dirty Drugs Scandal | Ep.103 | The Scandal Mongers Podcast

This week Prof Alan Lester joins Phil to lift the lid on a little known - but certainly scandalous - slice of British imperial history - the Opium Wars. There’s much debate today about slavery and how much - or little - it contributed to the wealth of the great European empires. But much less is known about the role that Britain and other empires played in the hugely profitable opium trade, and the one-sided wars that were waged to stop Chinese emperors from banning it. It’s a fascinating tale of greed, opportunism and skulduggery in high places.You can buy Alan’s books, and all the books we feature on the podcast here, along with thousands of others...https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-truth-about-empire-real-histories-of-british-colonialism-alan-lester/7595887?aid=12054&ean=9781911723097&***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.The Scandal Mongers...https://x.com/mongerspodcastPhil Craig...https://x.com/philmcraigTHE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on YouTube...https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcastYou can get in touch with the show [email protected](place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)Produced byPodcastWorld.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.