# #322 - Opium War 7: The Throat of the Empire

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671/322-opium-war-7-the-throat-of-the-empire
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671/322-opium-war-7-the-throat-of-the-empire.md
Podcast: [The History of China](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671)
Published: 2026-03-19T05:37:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML2961637788.mp3?updated=1773899155
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML2961637788.mp3?updated=1773899155
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-china-487671/episodes/322-opium-war-7-the-throat-of-the-empire
Duration seconds: 2834

## Resource

The new envoy from London arrives at Qing's doorstep in August 1842 with a simple mandate: stop allowing Britain to be "humbugged" & finish the war Elliot started. What follows is the British Empire at its most efficient & brutal... and a treaty that, somehow, doesn't mention opium once...Time Period Covered:Aug. 1841–Aug. 1842 Major Historical Figures:The Qing Empire:The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]Yijing, Imperial Commander [1793–1853]Qiying, Imperial Commissioner [1787–1858]Yilibu, Imperial Commissioner [1772–1843]Niu Jian, Governor-General of Liangjiang [1785–1858]Zhang Xi, intermediary [1840s]Yuqian, Zhejiang Imperial Commissioner [1841] The British Empire:Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901]Sir Henry Pottinger, Plenipotentiary to China [1789–1856]Sir Hugh Gough, Commander of British Land Forces [1779–1869]Admiral Sir William Parker, Commander-in-Chief, East India Station [1781–1866]Captain William Hutcheon "Nemesis" Hall, HMS Nemesis [c. 1797–1878]Captain Henry Keppel, HMS Dido [1809–1904]Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff, Prussian missionary & Civil Magistrate of Ningbo [1803–1851] Colonel George Mountain [1789–1863]Harry Smith Parkes, attaché to Pottinger's staff [1828–1885] Major Sources Cited:Fay, Peter Ward. The Opium War, 1840–1842. Wakeman, Frederic Jr. "The Canton Trade and the Opium War" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.Lovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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