Opium, silver, and Britain's informal empire

The panel stresses that Britain's nineteenth-century opium profits were enormous and should not be overshadowed by a single-source story of imperial wealth. Opium sales helped avoid paying China with scarce silver obtained through South American trade. At the same time, South American independence movements received money and a striking supply of experienced British officers. Those officers were formally independent, but their presence illustrates how informal networks could advance British interests without direct centralized command.