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Accounts of the British Empire

Poppy production in China and its effect

Opium was grown in India, a colony of Britain and exported to China. As consumption of Opium was inevitable due to the pressure put on by England, China thought it was better to have Opium raised in China rather than India. Fry believed the Chinese government should be the ones to make profit if the harm towards their people could not be avoided. (Fry, 16)

While Opium had devastating effects on the Chinese people, it brought harsher damages on China's economy. Fry believes his country is "morally responsible for every acre of land in China which is withdrawn from the cultivation of grain, and devoted to that of the poppy" (Fry, 16) and the more production of Opium in China, the more responsibility England has towards China. Land usage was also a big issue concerning opium poppy production. As china was a heavily agricultural nation up until the nineteenth century, dedicating fertile rice-growing land of southern China (The Opium Trade, Victorian) to grow opium caused China's economy to go down in the second half of the nineteenth century. (The Globalist)
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Fry wonders if China and its people are still show signs of hatred towards England sixteen years after the Opium War. He does not know the answer to this question but believes England should strive to put its relations on a better footing for the future. "England must show a willingness to suppress the opium trade" (Fry, 21). Unless England is ready and willing to do its part in this matter, Fry believes England never can have true friendship with China

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1. Poppy production in China and its effect Opium was grown in India, a colony of Britain and exported to China. As consumption of Opium was inevitable due to the pressure put on by England, China thought it was better to have Opium raised in China rather than India. Fry believed the Chinese government should be the ones to make profit if the harm towards their people could not be avoided. (Fry, 16)
  
  While Opium had devastating effects on the Chinese people, it brought harsher damages on China's economy. Fry believes his country is "morally responsible for every acre of land in China which is withdrawn from the cultivation of grain, and devoted to that of the poppy" (Fry, 16) and the more production of Opium in China, the more responsibility England has towards China. Land usage was also a big issue concerning opium poppy production. As china was a heavily agricultural nation up until the nineteenth century, dedicating fertile rice-growing land of southern China (The Opium Trade, Victorian) to grow opium caused China's economy to go down in the second half of the nineteenth century. (The Globalist)
  
  Fry wonders if China and its people are still show signs of hatred towards England sixteen years after the Opium War. He does not know the answer to this question but believes England should strive to put its relations on a better footing for the future. "England must show a willingness to suppress the opium trade" (Fry, 21). Unless England is ready and willing to do its part in this matter, Fry believes England never can have true friendship with China