Review: "Silk Silver Opium: The Trade with China that Changed History" by Michael Pembroke

Michael Pembroke's Silk Silver Opium is a comprehensive historical narrative that examines the centuries-long trade relationship between Imperial China and the West, arguing that this history of commercial interaction, conflict, and eventual humiliation is the essential foundation for understanding China's modern geopolitical stance and its relationship with the world today.

The book traces the transformation of this relationship through three distinct phases.

The early phase dating back to the Roman period details China’s advantage, a massive trade surplus in China's favour. The West had an insatiable demand for high-quality Chinese goods, silk, tea, and porcelain, but China had little interest in Western products.

The trade imbalance meant foreign powers, particularly Britain and other European nations were forced to pay for Chinese goods almost exclusively in silver, leading to a continuous drain of bullion from Western economies into China.

This period saw China generally wealthier, technologically superior, and largely content with its self-sufficient, isolationist position, viewing foreigners at a distance.

The 19th century marked a destructive shift, a defining turning point as Western powers, desperate to reverse the silver drain, found a commodity that could balance the trade.

The systematic smuggling of Indian-grown opium into China by British merchants created widespread addiction and devastating social problems, effectively reversing the trade imbalance. Instead of silver flowing into China, it now poured back to Europe.Alongside the opium traders, the author details the arrival of Western missionaries, diplomats, and mercenaries, who further eroded China's sovereignty and traditional way of life.

The Chinese government's attempts to stop the illegal opium trade led directly to the Opium Wars (1839–1842 and 1856–1860). These conflicts and their aftermath form the core of the book's argument about the enduring damage to Sino-Western relations. China's defeat in the Opium Wars, due to the West's temporary military advantage and industrial development, forced the Qing Dynasty to sign a series of "unequal treaties”. These treaties ceded territory like Hong Kong, opened up "treaty ports" to foreign exploitation, granted extraterritoriality where foreigners were exempt from Chinese law, and forced China to pay massive war indemnities. This era is known in China as the "Century of Humiliation."

The foreign intrusion and weakening of the central government contributed to massive internal rebellions, such as the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions, which further crippled the nation.

Pembroke’s central thesis is that the memory of these conflicts, betrayals, and humiliations—the transition from a respected trade partner to an exploited, semi-colonised state—is not just historical context, but the primary driver of China's modern-day suspicion and assertive stance.

I value this work for its detailed historical facts, well researched and documented notes which form considerable space at the end of the book. I recommend it for anyone seeking to understand the present-day breakdown of the so-called "Rules-Based Order" (RBO) (viewed critically by China as Western-designed and serving the interests of established powers), and the tensions present in the current relationship between China and the West.