Triangular trade
Topic: Paths to Modernisation: Japan, China, Korea · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Displacing Indigenous Peoples"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Paths to Modernisation"
Meaning
The triangular trade was a British trade that linked Britain, India and China in the 19th century. Britain bought a lot of Chinese tea, silk and porcelain, but China wanted few British goods. So Britain's silver kept flowing out to China. To fix this trade gap, the East India Company grew opium in India. Traders then sold it in China for silver, and that silver paid for Chinese goods bound for Britain. The trade spread opium addiction in China and led to the Opium Wars.
Example
Indian opium reached China through the port of Canton. When Chinese officials tried to stop it, Britain fought the First Opium War (1839–42), which weakened the Qing dynasty.
Don't confuse with
- Atlantic triangular trade: it linked Europe, Africa and the Americas and carried enslaved Africans. The Asian triangle carried opium, silver and tea.
Related concepts
- Qing dynasty
- Opium Wars
- Treaty of Nanking 1842
- Semi-colony
- Taiping Rebellion
- Self-Strengthening Movement
- Hundred Days' Reform 1898
- Kang Youwei
- Liang Qichao
- Boxer Rebellion