[gunshai]

>Weren’t the Opium Wars started because China wanted Britain to stop selling them addictive opium?

Yes and out of the opium wars I believe is why the state of Hong Kong came into existence. China had contractual obligations to buy opium, I believe they ended up dumping it into the bay in sort of a Tea Party type scenario but it was the Chinese government who did the dumping.

The opium wars are pretty damn fascinating. OH and if I'm not mistaken it was a contractual obligations with the East India Trading company and the British government backed the EITC by making a trade blockade.