The Opium Wars [audio 25 minutes 37 seconds]

This segment comes to us from the monthly series History Counts, produced by Ken MacDermotRoe and Bonnie MacDermotRoe. The show originates at Pacifica affiliate WPKN in Bridgeport, CT. In this episode, Ken MacDermotRoe interviews Frank Sanello, author of The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. They discuss the two 19th century wars that Britain (and other European nations) fought to "compel China to import opium. While opium addiction devastated China, British and American merchants reaped enormous profits." For more information on the Opium Wars, see Sanello's book; for a brief on-line overview of the two wars, see: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opiumwars1.html. For information about History Counts, go to: www.historycounts.org.