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San Francisco's Chinatown was the port of entry for early Hoisanese and Zhongshanese Chinese immigrants from the Guangdong province of southern China from the 1850s to the 1900s. The area was the one geographical region deeded by the city government and private property owners which allowed Chinese persons to inherit and inhabit dwellings within the city.<br/><br/> The majority of these Chinese shopkeepers, restaurant owners, and hired workers in San Francisco Chinatown were predominantly Hoisanese and male. Many Chinese found jobs working for large companies seeking a source of labor, most famously as part of the Central Pacific on the Transcontinental Railroad. Other early immigrants worked as mine workers or independent prospectors hoping to strike it rich during the 1849 Gold Rush.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Limehouse, in Stepney, was London's first Chinatown. The Chinese began settling in Limehouse before 1850, arriving as seamen or ship's launderers. By 1890 sailors from Shanghai were colonizing Pennyfields, Amoy Place and Ming Street, while those from Guangzhou (Canton) and southern China chose Gill Street and Limehouse Causeway, slightly further west.<br/><br/> From the 1890s the Chinese community in the East End grew in size and spread eastwards, from the original settlement in Limehouse Causeway, into Pennyfields. The area provided for the Lascar, Chinese and Japanese sailors working the Oriental routes into the Port of London.<br/><br/> The main attractions for these men were the opium dens, hidden behind shops in Limehouse and Poplar, and also the availability of prostitutes, Chinese grocers, restaurants and seamen's lodging-houses. Hostility from British sailors and the inability of many Chinese to speak English fostered a distinct racial segregation and concentrated more and more Chinese into Limehouse.<br/><br/> From the 1970s, London's Chinatown was increasingly established further to the west, in Soho, centred on Gerrard Street.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
The earliest description of the use of opium as a recreational drug in China comes from Xu Boling, who wrote in 1483 that opium was ‘mainly used to aid masculinity, strengthen sperm and regain vigor’, and that it ‘enhances the art of alchemists, sex and court ladies’.<br/><br/> He described an expedition sent by the Chenghua Emperor in 1483 to procure opium for a price ‘equal to that of gold’ in Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi where it is close to Xiyu. A century later, Li Shizhen listed standard medical uses of opium in his renowned Compendium of Materia Medica (1578), but also wrote that ‘lay people use it for the art of sex’, in particular the ability to ‘arrest seminal emission’. This association of opium with sex continued in China until the twentieth century.<br/><br/> Opium smoking began as a privilege of the elite and remained a great luxury into the early 19th century, but by 1861, Wang Tao wrote that opium was used by rich peasants, and that even a small village without a rice store would have a shop where opium was sold.
George Barbier (1882–1932) was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Born in Nantes, France on October 10, 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and ballet costumes, to illustrate books, and to produce haute couture fashion illustrations.<br/><br/> For the next 20 years Barbier led a group from the Ecole des Beaux Arts who were nicknamed by Vogue 'The Knights of the Bracelet'—a tribute to their fashionable and flamboyant mannerisms and style of dress. Included in this élite circle were Bernard Boutet de Monvel and Pierre Brissaud (both of whom were Barbier's first cousins), Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape, and Charles Martin.<br/><br/> During his career Barbier also turned his hand to jewellery, glass and wallpaper design, wrote essays and many articles for the prestigious Gazette du bon ton. In the mid-1920s he worked with Erté to design sets and costumes for the Folies Bergère and in 1929 he wrote the introduction for Erté's acclaimed exhibition and achieved mainstream popularity through his regular appearances in L'Illustration magazine. Barbier died in 1932 at the very pinnacle of his success
The earliest description of the use of opium as a recreational drug in China comes from Xu Boling, who wrote in 1483 that opium was ‘mainly used to aid masculinity, strengthen sperm and regain vigor’, and that it ‘enhances the art of alchemists, sex and court ladies’.<br/><br/> He described an expedition sent by the Chenghua Emperor in 1483 to procure opium for a price ‘equal to that of gold’ in Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi where it is close to Xiyu. A century later, Li Shizhen listed standard medical uses of opium in his renowned Compendium of Materia Medica (1578), but also wrote that ‘lay people use it for the art of sex’, in particular the ability to ‘arrest seminal emission’. This association of opium with sex continued in China until the twentieth century.<br/><br/> Opium smoking began as a privilege of the elite and remained a great luxury into the early 19th century, but by 1861, Wang Tao wrote that opium was used by rich peasants, and that even a small village without a rice store would have a shop where opium was sold.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Thomas Allom (13 March 1804 – 21 October 1872) was an English architect, artist, and topographical illustrator. He was a founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).<br/><br/> He designed many buildings in London, including the Church of St Peter's and parts of the elegant Ladbroke Estate in Notting Hill. He also worked with Sir Charles Barry on numerous projects, most notably the Houses of Parliament, and is also known for his numerous topographical works, such as 'Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor', published in 1838, and 'China Illustrated', published in 1845.
A studio image typfying a contemporaneous Occidental view of China, including opium smoking and and Qing Dynasty queues. Dated to the end of the Qing era, probably c. 1900.
Opium (poppy tears, lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Opium contains up to 12 percent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine. The traditional method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off the fruit.
San Francisco's Chinatown was the port of entry for early Hoisanese and Zhongshanese. Chinese immigrants from the southern Guangdong province of China from the 1850s to the 1900s. The area was the one geographical region deeded by the city government and private property owners which allowed Chinese persons to inherit and inhabit dwellings within the city.
The earliest description of the use of opium as a recreational drug in China comes from Xu Boling, who wrote in 1483 that opium was ‘mainly used to aid masculinity, strengthen sperm and regain vigor’, and that it ‘enhances the art of alchemists, sex and court ladies’. He described an expedition sent by the Chenghua Emperor in 1483 to procure opium for a price ‘equal to that of gold’ in Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi where it is close to Xiyu. A century later, Li Shizhen listed standard medical uses of opium in his renowned Compendium of Materia Medica (1578), but also wrote that ‘lay people use it for the art of sex’, in particular the ability to ‘arrest seminal emission’. This association of opium with sex continued in China until the twentieth century. Opium smoking began as a privilege of the elite and remained a great luxury into the early 19th century, but by 1861, Wang Tao wrote that opium was used by rich peasants, and that even a small village without a rice store would have a shop where opium was sold.
San Francisco's Chinatown was the port of entry for early Hoisanese and Zhongshanese Chinese immigrants from the Guangdong province of southern China from the 1850s to the 1900s. The area was the one geographical region deeded by the city government and private property owners which allowed Chinese persons to inherit and inhabit dwellings within the city.<br/><br/> The majority of these Chinese shopkeepers, restaurant owners, and hired workers in San Francisco Chinatown were predominantly Hoisanese and male. Many Chinese found jobs working for large companies seeking a source of labor, most famously as part of the Central Pacific on the Transcontinental Railroad. Other early immigrants worked as mine workers or independent prospectors hoping to strike it rich during the 1849 Gold Rush.
The earliest description of the use of opium as a recreational drug in China comes from Xu Boling, who wrote in 1483 that opium was ‘mainly used to aid masculinity, strengthen sperm and regain vigor’, and that it ‘enhances the art of alchemists, sex and court ladies’.<br/><br/> He described an expedition sent by the Chenghua Emperor in 1483 to procure opium for a price ‘equal to that of gold’ in Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi where it is close to Xiyu. A century later, Li Shizhen listed standard medical uses of opium in his renowned Compendium of Materia Medica (1578), but also wrote that ‘lay people use it for the art of sex’, in particular the ability to ‘arrest seminal emission’. This association of opium with sex continued in China until the twentieth century.<br/><br/> Opium smoking began as a privilege of the elite and remained a great luxury into the early 19th century, but by 1861, Wang Tao wrote that opium was used by rich peasants, and that even a small village without a rice store would have a shop where opium was sold.
As a result of the British administration's hands-off attitude and the predominantly male, transient, and uneducated nature of the population, 19th century society in Singapore was rather lawless and chaotic. Prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse (particularly of opium) were widespread. Chinese criminal secret societies (analogous to modern-day triads) were extremely powerful; some had tens of thousands of members, and turf wars between rival societies occasionally led to death tolls numbering in the hundreds. Attempts to suppress these secret societies had limited success, and they continued to be a problem well into the 20th century. After independence, Singapore society underwent a sea-change.
Opium (poppy tears, lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Opium contains up to 12 percent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine.<br/><br/> The traditional method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ('score') the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off the fruit. The production of opium itself has basically not changed since ancient times. However, through selective breeding of the Papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine, has been greatly increased.<br/><br/> Opium for illegal use is often converted into heroin, which is less bulky, making it easier to smuggle, and which multiplies its potency to approximately twice that of morphine. Heroin can be taken by intravenous injection, intranasally, or smoked (vaporized) and inhaled.
The earliest description of the use of opium as a recreational drug in China comes from Xu Boling, who wrote in 1483 that opium was ‘mainly used to aid masculinity, strengthen sperm and regain vigor’, and that it ‘enhances the art of alchemists, sex and court ladies’.<br/><br/> He described an expedition sent by the Chenghua Emperor in 1483 to procure opium for a price ‘equal to that of gold’ in Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi where it is close to Xiyu. A century later, Li Shizhen listed standard medical uses of opium in his renowned Compendium of Materia Medica (1578), but also wrote that ‘lay people use it for the art of sex’, in particular the ability to ‘arrest seminal emission’. This association of opium with sex continued in China until the twentieth century.<br/><br/> Opium smoking began as a privilege of the elite and remained a great luxury into the early 19th century, but by 1861, Wang Tao wrote that opium was used by rich peasants, and that even a small village without a rice store would have a shop where opium was sold.
Opium (poppy tears, lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Opium contains up to 12 percent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade.<br/><br/> The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine. The traditional method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ('score') the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off the fruit. The production of opium itself has basically not changed since ancient times. However, through selective breeding of the Papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine, has been greatly increased.<br/><br/> Opium for illegal use is often converted into heroin, which is less bulky, making it easier to smuggle, and which multiplies its potency to approximately twice that of morphine. Heroin can be taken by intravenous injection, intranasally, or smoked (vaporized) and inhaled.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Australian-born foreign correspondent George Ernest Morrison (1862-1920) was renowned for his dispatches from Peking, published in the Times, and for his unique influence on the course of Chinese diplomacy. When Morrison first arrived in China in 1894, he set out on what he described as "a quiet journey across China to Burma". Dressed as a Chinese and engaging guides and servants as needed, he travelled by riverboat, sedan chair, mule, pony, and mostly on foot.
Image originally entitled: 'A New Vice: Opium Dens in France', from the cover of Le Petit Journal, 5 July 1903.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.<br/><br/> Élisée Reclus (15 March 1830 – 4 July 1905), also known as Jacques Élisée Reclus, was a renowned French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes ('Universal Geography'), over a period of nearly 20 years (1875–1894). In 1892 he was awarded the prestigious Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society for this work, despite his having been banished from France because of his political activism.
The Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money and establish colonies.<br/><br/> The VOC was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.<br/><br/> Between 1602 and 1796, the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
Chinatown in the eastern part of the city of Kolkata is the only Chinatown in India. The locality was once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, now the population has dropped to 2,000 or so. The traditional occupation of the Chinese community here had been working in the nearby tanning industry and the Chinese restaurants. The area is still noted for the Chinese restaurants where many people flock to taste traditional Chinese and Indian Chinese food. Once there were many opium dens in the area. That type of establishment is now illegal in India.
San Francisco's Chinatown was the port of entry for early Hoisanese and Zhongshanese Chinese immigrants from the Guangdong province of southern China from the 1850s to the 1900s. The area was the one geographical region deeded by the city government and private property owners which allowed Chinese persons to inherit and inhabit dwellings within the city.<br/><br/> The majority of these Chinese shopkeepers, restaurant owners, and hired workers in San Francisco Chinatown were predominantly Hoisanese and male. Many Chinese found jobs working for large companies seeking a source of labor, most famously as part of the Central Pacific on the Transcontinental Railroad. Other early immigrants worked as mine workers or independent prospectors hoping to strike it rich during the 1849 Gold Rush.
The French established an opium franchise to put their new colony on a paying basis only six months after they annexed Saigon in 1862. Opium was imported from India, taxed at 10 percent of value, and sold by licensed Chinese merchants to all comers. Opium became an extremely lucrative source of income, and this successful experiment was repeated as the French acquired other areas in Indochina.<br/><br/> Shortly after the French established a protectorate over Cambodia (1863) and central Vietnam (1883), and annexed Tonkin (northern Vietnam, 1884) and Laos (1893), they founded autonomous opium monopolies to finance the heavy initial expenses of colonial rule. While the opium franchise had succeeded in putting southern Vietnam on a paying basis within several years, the rapid expansion of French holdings in the 1880s and 1890s created a huge fiscal deficit for Indochina as a whole. Governor-General Paul Doumer reorganized the opium business in 1899, expanding sales and sharply reducing expenses.<br/><br/> After consolidating the five autonomous opium agencies into the single Opium Monopoly, Doumer constructed a modern, efficient opium refinery in Saigon to process raw Indian resin into prepared smoker's opium. The new factory devised a special mixture of prepared opium that burned quickly, thus encouraging the smoker to consume more opium than they might ordinarily. Under his direction, the Opium Monopoly made its first purchases of cheap opium from China's Yunnan Province so that government dens and retail shops could expand their clientele to include the poorer workers who could not afford the high-priced Indian brands.<br/><br/> More dens and shops were opened to meet expanded consumer demand (in 1918 there were 1,512 dens and 3,098 retail shops).
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.
The French established an opium franchise to put their new colony on a paying basis only six months after they annexed Saigon in 1862. Opium was imported from India, taxed at 10 percent of value, and sold by licensed Chinese merchants to all comers. Opium became an extremely lucrative source of income, and this successful experiment was repeated as the French acquired other areas in Indochina.<br/><br/> Shortly after the French established a protectorate over Cambodia (1863) and central Vietnam (1883), and annexed Tonkin (northern Vietnam, 1884) and Laos (1893), they founded autonomous opium monopolies to finance the heavy initial expenses of colonial rule. While the opium franchise had succeeded in putting southern Vietnam on a paying basis within several years, the rapid expansion of French holdings in the 1880s and 1890s created a huge fiscal deficit for Indochina as a whole. Governor-General Paul Doumer reorganized the opium business in 1899, expanding sales and sharply reducing expenses.<br/><br/> After consolidating the five autonomous opium agencies into the single Opium Monopoly, Doumer constructed a modern, efficient opium refinery in Saigon to process raw Indian resin into prepared smoker's opium. The new factory devised a special mixture of prepared opium that burned quickly, thus encouraging the smoker to consume more opium than they might ordinarily. Under his direction, the Opium Monopoly made its first purchases of cheap opium from China's Yunnan Province so that government dens and retail shops could expand their clientele to include the poorer workers who could not afford the high-priced Indian brands.<br/><br/> More dens and shops were opened to meet expanded consumer demand (in 1918 there were 1,512 dens and 3,098 retail shops).
Engraved image titled: 'Opium Smoking-The Lascar's Room in Edwin Drood', from Harper's Weekly. A 'Lascar' was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent or other countries east of the Cape of Good Hope, employed on European ships from the 16th century until the beginning of the 20th century. The word comes from the Persian Lashkar, meaning military camp or army, and al-askar, the Arabic word for a guard or soldier. The Portuguese adapted this term to lascarim, meaning an Asian militiaman or seaman, especially those from South Asia.
Hand colored engraved image titled 'American Opium Smokers-Interior of a New York Opium Den', drawn by J. W. Alexander for Harper's Weekly.
1878 Image of people in an opium den in Chinatown, San Francisco. Hand coloured engraved image titled: 'California - An Evening in the Chinese Quarter of San Francisco - The Chinaman's Paradise, A Favorite Haunt of Opium-Smokers on Kearney Street'.
Opium (poppy tears, lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Opium contains up to 12 percent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade.<br/><br/> The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine. The traditional method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ('score') the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off the fruit. The production of opium itself has basically not changed since ancient times. However, through selective breeding of the Papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine, has been greatly increased.<br/><br/> Opium for illegal use is often converted into heroin, which is less bulky, making it easier to smuggle, and which multiplies its potency to approximately twice that of morphine. Heroin can be taken by intravenous injection, intranasally, or smoked (vaporized) and inhaled.