Research Book Post #1

     Prologue summary: Britain would trade China the opium which they grew in India for Chinese tea. When China banned opium, the delicate balance between these two empires was upset. Britain went to war with China and forced China to open port cities for more extensive trade. Both tea and Opium were central to Britain's economy. In the mid 19th century, Britain decided that it was too risky to continue to rely on China for tea production and decided to try and grow their own. This cultural focus on plants led to the elevation in social status of botanist, who had previously been viewed as nothing more than gardeners. One such botanist was Robbert Fortune, who was sent to China to collect any exotic specimens he could find.