Opium
Reiji Yoshida of the Japan Times:
According to Harumi Goto, an associate professor at Chiba University, opium revenues accounted for 10 percent to 50 percent of the fiscal budgets of many colonial governments in Asia, including the British rulers of India, Hong Kong and Singapore, the Portuguese ruling Macau, the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina.
Yoshida wrote four articles about Japan’s involvement in the opium trade before the end of World War II:
Japan profited as opium dealer in wartime China
Opium King’s ties believed went to the top
Japan followed West by drug peddling in China
Narcotics trade boosted army scrip
(Cross posted at Jungle Trader)
Topics: Uncategorized
Posted by Jungletrader at 12:38 pm Comments (5) on Thursday, August 30, 2007
5 Responses to “Opium”
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August 30th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Opium is also the source of the Forbes family fortune. That is, John Forbes Kerry’s family.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
So, opium is good? That’s great! Where can I get a handful of it?
August 30th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
“Where can I get a handful of it?
Afghanistan. Enlist in the U.S. Army today.
August 30th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Opium is also the source of the Forbes family fortune. That is, John Forbes Kerry’s family.
True story ‘dog? I have never heard that before.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:02 am
Yes, totally true story, VC. Look up Capt. Robert Bennet Forbes (I think he was Kerry’s great-grandfather) sometime and you’ll find out how he married into a wealthy shipping family and started smuggling opium.