China: Commissioner Lin Zexu (Wade–Giles: Lin Tse-hsu; 1785 – 1850) overseeing the destruction of opium at Canton (Guangzhou) in 1839

A formidable bureaucrat known for his competence and high moral standards, Lin was sent to Guangdong as imperial commissioner by the emperor in late 1838 to halt the illegal importation of opium by the British. He arrived in March 1839 and made a huge impact on the opium trade within a matter of months.

He arrested more than 1,700 Chinese opium dealers and confiscated over 70,000 opium pipes. He initially attempted to get foreign companies to forfeit their opium stores in exchange for tea, but this ultimately failed and Lin resorted to using force in the western merchants' enclave. It took Lin a month and a half before the merchants gave up nearly 1.2 million kilograms (2.6 million pounds) of opium.

Beginning 3 June 1839, 500 workers laboured for 23 days in order to destroy all of it, mixing the opium with lime and salt and throwing it into the sea outside of Humen Town. 26 June is now the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in honour of Lin Zexu's work.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History

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OPIUM WARS