Rambuchan
The Funky President
Yes, this is another shameless promotion of my mod/scenario, "The Rise & Fall of The Mughals", to be released at the end of the week but...
This is also a thread I've been meaning to start for a long time.
Commodities and people's reactions to them around the world (the factor that often decides whether the commodity will be profitable or not) are fascinating. Many commodities, like Opium, have sent large empires into war, at the risk of losing a great deal. They have blighted large regions of the world, like China, with widespread addiction. Cause nation states to spend billions on fighting a 'war on drugs', despite the fact it is quite plain people will continue to use this drug like they have done for thousands of years. Inspire religious sects. And much else besides.
So here is my 'Luxury Pedia entry' for Opium, posted as a springboard to discuss this all things related. I hope that, despite the fact the Pedia limits the amount you can write, there are plenty of juicey items for discussion below.
----------------------------------
Opium as Folk Pharmacopoeia:
Most societies have used drugs for religion, recreation, and medicine. Discovered and domesticated during prehistoric times in the [Mediterranean basin], opium became a trade item between [Cyprus and Egypt] sometime in the second millennium B.C. The drug first appeared in [Greek pharmacopoeia] during the 5th Century B.C. and in [Chinese medical texts] during the 8th century A.D. Inferring from such slender evidence, it appears that opium farming first developed in the [eastern Mediterranean] and spread gradually along Asia's trade routes to [India], reaching [China] by the eighth century A.D. Once introduced into China, opium gained a significant role in formal pharmacopoeia.
It was not until the 15th Century that residents of [Persia and India] began consuming opium mixtures as a purely recreational euphoric, a practice that made opium a major item in an expanding intra-Asian trade. Indeed, under the reign of [Akbar (1556-1605)], the Mughal state of north India relied upon opium land as a significant source of revenue. Although cultivation covered the whole Mughal empire, it was concentrated in two main areas--upriver from Calcutta along the Ganges Valley for Bengal opium and upcountry from Bombay in the west for Malwa opium.
Early European Opium Trade (1640-1773):
The earliest European expeditions to Asia also mark the start of their involvement in the region's opium trade. As [Portuguese] captains first ventured across the Indian Ocean during the early 16th century, they realized the potential of opium.
Some Random Opium Facts:
1) The VOC's imports from India rose from 0.6 metric tons in 1660 to 72.3 tons only 25 years later.
2) British exports of Indian opium to China increased from 15 tons in 1720 to 75 tons in 1773.
3) Indian production increased by unknown amounts in response to stimulus of European and Indian opium traders.
4) For the first time in its history, China experienced a significant, but unquantified, level of mass opium addiction.
This is also a thread I've been meaning to start for a long time.
Commodities and people's reactions to them around the world (the factor that often decides whether the commodity will be profitable or not) are fascinating. Many commodities, like Opium, have sent large empires into war, at the risk of losing a great deal. They have blighted large regions of the world, like China, with widespread addiction. Cause nation states to spend billions on fighting a 'war on drugs', despite the fact it is quite plain people will continue to use this drug like they have done for thousands of years. Inspire religious sects. And much else besides.
So here is my 'Luxury Pedia entry' for Opium, posted as a springboard to discuss this all things related. I hope that, despite the fact the Pedia limits the amount you can write, there are plenty of juicey items for discussion below.
----------------------------------
Opium as Folk Pharmacopoeia:
Most societies have used drugs for religion, recreation, and medicine. Discovered and domesticated during prehistoric times in the [Mediterranean basin], opium became a trade item between [Cyprus and Egypt] sometime in the second millennium B.C. The drug first appeared in [Greek pharmacopoeia] during the 5th Century B.C. and in [Chinese medical texts] during the 8th century A.D. Inferring from such slender evidence, it appears that opium farming first developed in the [eastern Mediterranean] and spread gradually along Asia's trade routes to [India], reaching [China] by the eighth century A.D. Once introduced into China, opium gained a significant role in formal pharmacopoeia.
It was not until the 15th Century that residents of [Persia and India] began consuming opium mixtures as a purely recreational euphoric, a practice that made opium a major item in an expanding intra-Asian trade. Indeed, under the reign of [Akbar (1556-1605)], the Mughal state of north India relied upon opium land as a significant source of revenue. Although cultivation covered the whole Mughal empire, it was concentrated in two main areas--upriver from Calcutta along the Ganges Valley for Bengal opium and upcountry from Bombay in the west for Malwa opium.
Early European Opium Trade (1640-1773):
The earliest European expeditions to Asia also mark the start of their involvement in the region's opium trade. As [Portuguese] captains first ventured across the Indian Ocean during the early 16th century, they realized the potential of opium.
From their ports in western India, the Portuguese began exporting Malwa opium to China, competing aggressively with Indian and Arab merchants who controlled this trade. [The Dutch V.O.C.] & [British East India Company] begame significant traders in the 17th and 18th centuries. See 'Colonialism' for more on European Trade of Opium.
Some Random Opium Facts:
1) The VOC's imports from India rose from 0.6 metric tons in 1660 to 72.3 tons only 25 years later.
2) British exports of Indian opium to China increased from 15 tons in 1720 to 75 tons in 1773.
3) Indian production increased by unknown amounts in response to stimulus of European and Indian opium traders.
4) For the first time in its history, China experienced a significant, but unquantified, level of mass opium addiction.
