Before the Opium Wars, China had a completely different relationship with the Western world. At that time China believed it was better than other civilizations. China also had little or no contact with Western countries due to natural and political barriers hindering it. It was only when Western countries sought spices from China that China confronted the Western world. Although trade had just opened up to China and the Western world in the early 16th century, China still held some foreigners in contempt. With the increase in trade between China and Western countries, the trade disparity between the two countries has become very obvious. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In addition to China's high supply of tea, Chinese silk, medicines, and porcelain, as well as high demand from Western countries, Chinese trade was extremely positive. These goods were expensive and the West paid China with silver. It appeared that increased trade had boosted the Chinese economy, but in reality China was in a silver and copper crisis. Silver had a higher value than copper. But even though silver was worth more than copper, more copper was still produced, and this led to copper inflation. The bad thing was that copper was the only thing used to pay taxes, so people ended up losing money. To meet the silver tax quota, more copper was needed. Also during this period there was an annual outflow of silver, so people began to hoard and value their silver more, thus leaving more silver out of circulation. While silver was being hoarded for its value, copper was still being produced at the same time. The British trading company, the East India Company, traded silver for Chinese tea as demand for it increased in the West. As these trades continued, this led the East India Company into huge debt. Unfair tariffs and taxes, along with trade monopolies with Chinese traders, also made the situation more difficult. To try to resolve this conflict, a triangular trade was created, selling cotton from India and then using the money to buy tea. However, even after this period the East India Company was still in debt and the demand for silver was increasing. Hence, the East India Company resorted to opium for its trade. It was more important for the East India Company to pay for Chinese imports with other currencies rather than with this increasingly scarce silver. The British solution to this imbalance was for the East India Company to export greater volumes of opium grown in Bombay and Patna in Bengal to China. Opium was used as both a poison and a medicine, so it was seen as paradoxical. On the one hand, opium was a popular, legal, and highly effective analgesic that worked to relieve pain and cure dysentery..