Hygiene and sanitation in Britain was not all that great, and many places got their drinking water from rivers where people upstream dumped their waste. If you were thirsty, water could kill you, so you drank beer or wine. This meant that many people were tipsy, all day long.

Then came tea, and to make it, you had to boil the water. This provided the only non-alcoholic beverage that was safe to drink. There was only one problem….the Chinese would only accept silver or gold in payment. This was depleting the British treasury, and they needed a solution, and FAST.

Enter opium. British ships would travel to India with luxury and manufactured goods, then load up with opium for China, sell it there, and use the gold and silver to buy tea, silks, and spices.

The Chinese objected to the opium, and war resulted. The British sailed a warship up a river, and THAT was the origin of the phrase “gunboat diplomacy”. As part of the settlement of the war, Britain ended up with a lease on a chunk of rock known as Hong Kong, which expired in 1997.

Like I said, this is simplistic, and from memory, so feel free to provide clarification.

Yes, Alex, the Brits were undoubtedly some of the meanest and most evil bastards of all time. The glories of the Victorian era were built on blood and conquest.