Daoguang Emperor Legalizes Opium, No Opium Wars?

POD courtesy of the Chinese History course I'm taking this semester...

Alright, for those of you who don't know, shortly before outbreak of the First Opium War (1839-1842) a serious debate emerged in the Qing Court regarding the legalization of Opium. It was hoped that by legalizing Opium it could then be taxed, hopefully providing a large ammount of income to the flagging economy of the Qing Empire. It was also hoped that by legitimizing the Opium Trade it would lead to a barter system developing between Opium and Tea thereby halting the silver drain that was devastating the Qing economy. Finally a legal Opium trade would also lead to the growth of the Chinese domestic Opium industry lessening it's reliance on foreign trade (a very bad thing in the eyes of the Qing and most 19th century Chinese).

Now In OTL The Qing Emperor at the time the Daoguang Emperor seriously considered legalizing the Opium Trade, however he was dissuaded at the last minute by a group of powerful conservative Han Chinese officials. He then, instead of legalizing the Opium Trade, opted for a complete ban. He appointed Lin Zexu to head up the crackdown on the trade setting in motion the events that led to OTL's Opium War...

But what if he hadn't? Though there would certainly be societal effects from legalizing opium that's not what I want to go into.

Let's say the Emperor decides to legalize the Opium Trade. Would this be enough to dissuade the Europeans from embarking on an Opium War? Or would the British find an excuse to declare war anyway? Personally I think that the British would end up going to war anyways perhaps over a minor detail regarding the Opium trade.

One thought I had on the matter was that the Qing legalization of the Opium trade would strike a major blow to their legitimacy. No longer would they be "More Chinese than the Chinese". This coupled with the opening of China could very well lead to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.

Thoughts?
 
In all seriousness, the people will probably be too high to support any significant rebellion.

In all seriousness, the modern view of the Opium Trade in China sees the primary problem not being addiction but resistance. What I mean by that is that the Opium prevalent in 19th century China bore little resemblance to the opiates we used today like heroin and morphine. When smoked (which was how the Chinese used it) it did little more than provide numbness to pain and a slight euphoria, nothing serious. The problem lay in the fact that over time you need to smoke more and more opium to get the same effect leading to an ever increasing demand for Opium.

Anyways though many would support the legalization of Opium, I still think it would lead to a severe compromise of the Qing Dynasty's legitimacy.

Anyways...

Wow, 99 views and only one response... Where's Hendryk and all the other sinophiles?

Let's see if this garners any more attention
 

67th Tigers

Banned
There's a series of suppositions here that need examining.

Firstly, was Opium actually illegal? Especially since the major producer of Chinese Opium was actually the Imperial Court.

Secondly, did the British/ Indians have a major Opium trade with China? Obviously they did sell Opium, but every "Opium War" actually decreased their market share (which was always much smaller than native production in China).

Thirdly, was the selling of Opium a motive for the Anglo-Chinese Wars? The answer there is a simple no. The Opium trade was not a consideration for war with China.

Also, as I once had a huge argument about, Opium ("God's Own Medicine") isn't Heroin, it has very different physiological properties, and is neither addictive (it hits a different receptor to Heroin) nor does it provide the same euphoric effects. It is simply a very powerful painkiller, and was used as much by the bulk of the Chinese who could afford it. The bulk of real "addicts" were actually Europeans in Chinese ports (sailors mainly).

So, legalising Opium does not stop the Anglo-Chinese Wars IMHO.
 
From my understanding the Chinese Court didn't start to produce Opium in sufficient quantity or quality until later on in the 19th century.

Prior to the First Opium War the domestic production of Opium was in fact illegal though not stringently enforced. This domestically produced Opium was basically crap resulting in a massive influx of superior British Opium in the early 19th century.

Other than that I agree with the rest of your points
 
All of the classes I have had and textbooks read on the subject have indiciated to me that the Opium market share was a primarily British one around the time of the Opium Wars. Approaching this from an economic standpoint, it would really depend what affect this legalization would have on the British side of the equation. If thefallout from legalization ultimately proves a boon to the British merchant-machine, then the wars might be delayed (I don't say totally stopped because I think that something else would have sparked a conflict somewhere down the line). On the other hand, if things like taxation end up being a detriment to British "free-trade", then I imagine that things will move forward more or less on schedule.
 
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