Before the Opium War: The Beginning of Trouble

If you’re asking, “Why are things like this?” it’s too late to understand. Let’s do better than that.

Starting with some stories of incidents to illustrate what’s in play as the Qing Dynasty loses its “homeostasis.”

We’re going to start with looking at the Flint Affair of 1759 and the Macartney Mission of 1793—at or near the peak of Qing power and the British still trying to go through proper channels to open up trade with China.

Flint Affair – 1759

In 1759, The East India Company tried to send a representative directly to Beijing to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty to get around corrupt local traders and officials in Guangzhou.

Officials get replaced. Flint gets jail time.

Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age by Stephen Platt

The book providing the essential materials for this part of the podcast.

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