The Royal Commission on Opium 1893-1895

In 1893, the British government responded to growing criticism of its complicity in the Sino-Indian opium trade by constituting the Royal Commission on Opium. Much to the dismay of anti-opium activists, the Commission not only determined that the opium trade should continue, but also declared that "the temperate use of opium in India should be viewed in the same light as the temperate use of alcohol in England." The report provides a rare glimpse at the cultural constructions of social deviance and morality, as well as the way race, class, culture, and power affected the application of medical concepts such as addiction and the idea of a "national character." This six-volume reprint makes the rare Royal Commission report and its supplements available in their entirety, and includes an introduction that situates the report in its historical context and highlights some of the many avenues of research that can be pursued through its detailed testimonies and highly contentious conclusions. The report also includes a number of useful statistical tables and historical appendices on various aspects of the opium trade, as well as a detailed subject index and glossary of Indian terms, which make this important document immediately accessible to scholars.