Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries which China desired, so they traded silver to make up for their trade deficit. The two most important mining colonies of the Spanish Empire were Peru and Mexico, who were estimated to have provided one-hundred thousand tons of silver from the mid 16th Century to the end of the colonial period. The richest, and most productive mine in the Americas was that of Potosí in what is modern day Bolivia. The richest camp in Mexico was in the city of Zacatecas, however the production of this mine was far less than that of Potosi. More simplistic native mining techniques dominated
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries An upright official, Commissioner Lin Zexu led the campaign against opium as a kind of "drug czar." The British, offended by the seizure of their property in opium, sent a large naval expedition to China to end the restrictive conditions under which they had long traded with that country. Thus began the first Opium War, in which Britain's industrialized military might was proven in China's rout. The Treaty of Nanking, which ended the war in 1842 largely on British terms, imposed numerous restrictions on Chinese sovereignty and opened five ports to European traders. Global silver trade from the 16th to