English-Chinese Relations in the 19th century

In 1839, Lin Zexu, a Chinese imperial commissioner, wrote a letter to Queen Victoria of Britain to express his disapproval of Britain's involvement in the opium trade with China.

Source 1

We find that your country is sixty or seventy thousand li [three li equal one mile] from China. Yet there are barbarian ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians. That is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous drug to injure the Chinese people? Even though the barbarians may not necessarily intend to do us harm, yet in coveting profit to an extreme, they have no regard for injuring others. Let us ask, where is your conscience?

Lin Zexu (Lin Tse-Hsu) Writing To Britain's Queen Victoria, 1839

Question 1

Short answer

Describe one economic trend in 1800s Britain that influenced the writing of this letter.

Question 2

Short answer

Explain one way this letter reflects Chinese-British relations in the mid-19th century.

Question 3

Short answer

Explain one way the outcome of the Opium Wars influenced the Taiping Rebellion.

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