The First Opium War (Anglo-Sino War) continues: Lin Zexu, Special Imperial Commissioner on the task of eradicating the opium trade, writes an open letter to Queen Victoria, of the United Kingdom:
I have heard that you strictly prohibit opium in your own country, indicating unmistakably that you know how harmful opium is. You do not wish opium to harm your own country, but you choose to bring that harm to other countries such as China. Why?
Postscript: The letter never reached the Queen.
[added 9/5/2026]
Subsequent Events:
References:
First Opium War – Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War
Letter of Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria (1840)
web.archive.org/web/19990504033838/http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob29.html
Lin Zexu – Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Zexu
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