Poverty in India Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, were dedicated to producing poppy and opium, which were then exported to southeast and east Asia particularly China, with the trade an exclusive monopoly first of East India Company, and later the colonial British institutions. The economic importance of this shift from industry to agriculture in India was large; by 1850, it created nearly 1,000 square kilometres of poppy farms in India in its fertile Ganges plains, led to two opium wars in Asia, with the second opium war fought between 1856 and 1860. After China accepted opium trade, the colonial government dedicated more land
Russia in the Opium Wars city), and the official right to trade opium. The Qing government rejected these demands, however this did not lead to an open conflict yet, since the main British military forces were focused on the battlefronts in Russia and Persia. After a victorious campaign in the Crimean War of 1856, Britain transferred its focus on Qing China to further expand its political influence on the empire. On October 8, 1856 they found one: Chinese authorities arrested "Arrow", a British commercial ship that was smuggling goods and selling opium. Britain demanded to free the sailors, as they believed the accusation was falsified,