Queen Victoria stands as the most notorious drug dealer in history. She operated a worldwide narcotics enterprise. To put it in perspective, her empire dwarfed the operations of modern cartels with British supremacy enforcing it. The profits funded the whole country for decades.
The Queen was a fan of many drugs personally. She drank laudanum every single morning; it is a mix of opium and alcohol. She also used cocaine for self-confidence. Her doctor prescribed cannabis for period pain. Additionally, she administered chloroform during childbirth.
Britain had its own economic crisis around tea, there was a large trade imbalance in Britain and Chinese tea was its most desired commodity. So much silver flowed out of Britain to China, the British financial reserves disappeared in no time. They needed something to sell back to China.
Britain grew opium in colonial India and had every ounce sold to China. Opium was naturally, highly addictive. Suddenly, there was a demand for opium and all of a sudden our trade flew back in reverse and silver started returning back to Britain with haste.
The opium trade became the top export product of Britain. With taxes collected annually, it provided monumental reveue. Drug sales funded 20% of the British Empire. The wealth acquired built the power of Victorian Britain. The economy craved drug trading to survive.
Chinese official Lin Zexu was very outspoken and proclaimed pleas to Queen Victoria to stop the poison. The Queen did not have a response to his requests. Consequently, he destroyed Britain’s opium supplies. All of this would lead to the first War on Opium.
Britain’s Armed Forces struck China decisively. They won the war with ease. China’s result led to a humiliating peace treaty. Britain secured Hong Kong as a prize of war. It also granted British citizens legal immunity within the borders of Hong Kong.
Victoria had only one personal restriction. Which was her refusal to export her cocaine. She saw her cocaine as her energy level healthy booster. China could have all of the opium available, but her cocaine was reserved for British people only.
Victoria’s drug empire changed the course of world history as we know it. It institutionalized the problem of addiction in China. A self-made accumulation of wealth and power for Britain. The Queen exercised imperial might without hesitation. Profit completely took priority over ethics and morality.
Contemporary drug lords pale in comparison to her, as far as history is concerned. On top of that, Victoria had the power of a state behind her. Her businesses were not just in one country but on multiple continents. She never had to deal with the law. To this day, her story is still not very well known.
Also Read: Be like a flower outside but a snake within: Shakespeare’s Powerful Life Lessons For You
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