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Question

By selling which of the following items to China, did the British regularly collect money for purchasing tea from China?

A
Opium
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B
Jute
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C
Cotton
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D
Sugar cane
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Solution

The correct option is A Opium
In 1785, about 15 million pounds of tea was being imported into England. By 1830, the figure had jumped to over 30 million pounds. In fact, the profits of the East India Company came to depend on the tea trade. England at this time produced nothing that could be easily sold in China. They could buy tea only by paying in silver coins or bullion. It was believed that a loss of treasure would impoverish the nation and deplete its wealth. They searched for a commodity they could sell in China, something they could persuade the Chinese to buy. Opium was such a commodity. By the early 1820s, about 10,000 crates were being annually smuggled into China.

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