Economic Histories of the Opium Trade

Siddharth Chandra

Economic History
Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics

Article

Because a lot has already been written on the opium trade in various parts of the world, this piece will focus on the history of the opium trade through the lens of the economic historian. In other words, it will address the question, "Why is opium of special interest to economic historians?" Following a brief background of the opium trade, a discussion of this question is provided with a focus on Asia and with references to more detailed and case-specific sources.