Abstract:

Part of THE COMMODITIES SERIES, a seven-part series by Sue Clayton and Jonathan Curling. Produced for Channel 4 Television/UK. "From 1650 onwards the British seized control of the seas and international trade. Opium exports from India to China financed the British East India Company's administration of India and paid for imports of porcelain, silk, and most importantly, tea, to which the British were heavily addicted. BLACK MARKET illuminates the monopoly trading companies' determination to impose their will on China and to control its markets for their advantage."