Jonathan Sims (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
intheeyeofthebeholding) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2023-03-22 11:31 am
intheeyeofthebeholding) wrote in fandomhigh2023-03-22 11:31 am
Entry tags:
All About Tea, Wednesday
Jon was a bit fidgety today, but he was doing his best, and hopefully today would at least be a little more interesting than watching tea grow?
"I believe I've mentioned before that tea was largely spread to western Europe, the UK especially, through...well, some pretty awful Imperialism. Not that any Imperialism is good, but I suppose there are degrees of awful. Which is to say, actual wars have been started for the sake of ensuring the Empire would have access to its tea."
He frowned disapprovingly. "In the mid nineteenth century, the British felt the Chinese were being unfair in only taking silver instead of British goods in trade. Apparently they decided the solution to this was to smuggle enough opium into China to pay for their tea, rather than dealing in good faith. When the Chinese tried to push back, the British went to war. 20,000 lives were lost in the conflict, but at the end, they had their tea."
Look, Jon enjoyed tea well enough, but some things were a bit excessive.
"The British and French did it again a little later, too. So, let's drink tea and discuss the evils of Imperialism and capitalism."
"I believe I've mentioned before that tea was largely spread to western Europe, the UK especially, through...well, some pretty awful Imperialism. Not that any Imperialism is good, but I suppose there are degrees of awful. Which is to say, actual wars have been started for the sake of ensuring the Empire would have access to its tea."
He frowned disapprovingly. "In the mid nineteenth century, the British felt the Chinese were being unfair in only taking silver instead of British goods in trade. Apparently they decided the solution to this was to smuggle enough opium into China to pay for their tea, rather than dealing in good faith. When the Chinese tried to push back, the British went to war. 20,000 lives were lost in the conflict, but at the end, they had their tea."
Look, Jon enjoyed tea well enough, but some things were a bit excessive.
"The British and French did it again a little later, too. So, let's drink tea and discuss the evils of Imperialism and capitalism."
Re: Class discussion
Yes, tea was important but that was just absurd.
There were almost certainly wars for reasons just as ridiculous in Belle's world but she hadn't yet learned anything of the real causes of the Ogre Wars.
Re: Class discussion
So instead they'd encouraged drug smuggling, drug addiction, and wars. As you did.
"It's not even the worst thing the British Empire did that century, probably."