After defeating the Qing dynasty in the first Opium War (1839-42), the British extracted the rights to administer Shanghai and to import opium into China. It was a lucrative franchise: about one ...

Their early ventures were mainly in opium trade, capitalizing on the aftermath of the First Opium War (1839-1842 ... to attempt similar expansions into Shanghai, but few matched the Sassoons ...

and thus Matthew learns about the opium wars and the part the firm had to play. On a visit to Shanghai, Matthew discovers surviving documents of the municipal council, revealing the awkward spot ...

PRESENTER:'Here in this room in Nanking, 'they negotiated the first ... Opium was grown in British India, and smuggled into China. The Chinese resisted the opium trade. This led to war, after ...