China's Super Consumers: What 1 Billion Customers Want and How to Sell it to Them

Chapter 7Opium, Imperialism, and Decay

All empires fall, eventually. But why? It's not for lack of power. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. Their power lulls them into comfort.

—Max Barry

King George III of England sent a delegation to Beijing in 1792, led by Lord George McCartney, in the hope of increasing trade with Britain, establishing a trade port, and opening a permanent embassy in Beijing. The mission was an abject failure ending with the Qianlong Emperor sending a condescending and mocking letter back to the king, who was not pleased with the Chinese emperor's refusal to even consider allowing his subjects to purchase any British-made goods.

The British Empire was importing massive volumes of tea from China and was paying for all of it in silver. Lord McCartney was famously banished to the barren rock known as Hong Kong. Decade by decade, British imports grew and silver reserves dwindled. Exporting the fruits of the Industrial Revolution to the colonies replenished British coffers, but payment was not always in silver and the amount was never enough. At times there were concessions by Qianlong's successors. For example, very small foreign legations were allowed to build small warehouses on the docks in controlled districts. Clergy were allowed to enter and minister to the small communities of traders—be they Dutch, British, or Portuguese—in Formosa (now Taiwan), Canton (now Guangzhou), or Macao. But these were token measures, useless in a crisis of mounting proportions. ...