[theold]

The Opium War and these treaties were emblematic of an era in which Western powers tried to gain unfettered access to Chinese products and markets for European and U.S. trade.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/china-1

[theold]

Opium profits funded many leading Boston institutions. The Perkins brothers helped found Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital and the Boston Athenæum. The names of other opium barons are engraved on university buildings, high schools and public libraries.

But today, that history is largely buried. Most institutions contacted for this story did not know their benefactors got rich selling an illegal drug in China.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2017/07/31/opi...on-history