Episodes

  • The Opium Wars and the Secret Opium Fleet of the Qing

    The Opium Wars and the Secret Opium Fleet of the Qing
    Jun 30 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna uncover the little-known story of how the Qing Dynasty secretly operated its own fleet of opium-transporting ships during the Opium Wars. As British and American merchants flooded China with opium, the Daoguang Emperor's own officials—including the governor-general of Liangjiang—were complicit in smuggling the very substance they publicly banned. We explore the clandestine network of Qing officials, Cantonese compradors, and Tanka boat people who ran opium from Lintin Island to the mainland, the failed efforts of Lin Zexu to stamp out the trade, and how this hypocrisy weakened the Qing from within. Along the way, we meet figures like Deng Tingzhen, who tried to regulate the trade rather than ban it, and the shadowy 'Red Boat' fleet that moved opium under imperial auspices. This episode sheds light on the moral contradictions that made the Opium Wars as much an internal crisis as an external conflict. #OpiumWars #QingDynasty #LinZexu #DaoguangEmperor #DengTingzhen #LintinIsland #Canton #Tanka #Compradors #Smuggling #OpiumTrade #EastIndiaCompany #PearlRiverDelta #SecretFleet #RedBoats #ChineseHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • The Opium Wars and the Qing Cannoneers Who Held the Line

    The Opium Wars and the Qing Cannoneers Who Held the Line
    Jun 29 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten story of the Qing artillerymen at the Bogue Forts, the Chinese cannoneers who faced British naval power in the First Opium War. Lucas explains how the Manchu gunners at Humen trained for years with old Portuguese-style guns, yet were outmatched by British cannonades aboard HMS Nemesis and other steam-powered vessels. The focus is on the battle of Anunghoy in February 1841, where Qing forces under Guan Tianpei tried to hold the Pearl River delta against Charles Elliot's fleet. Lucas describes the tactical setting: the islands of Chuenpi and Taikok with their stone forts, the chains stretched across the river, and the devastating British use of exploding shells. He also discusses how Qing gunpowder quality and firing techniques lagged behind British innovations like the Congreve rocket. Luna asks about the fate of the defenders, and Lucas relates how Guan Tianpei died in action, becoming a symbol of resistance. The episode ends with a reflection on the asymmetry of technology and training that defined the Opium Wars. #OpiumWars #QingDynasty #BogueForts #Humen #GuanTianpei #CharlesElliot #HMSNemesis #Chuenpi #CantoneseHistory #FirstOpiumWar #ChineseMilitary #Artillery #Cannon #PearlRiverDelta #Britain #History #FexingoHistory #EastAsia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The Opium Wars and the Macau Portuguese Neutrality

    The Opium Wars and the Macau Portuguese Neutrality
    Jun 29 2026
    During the First Opium War, the Portuguese colony of Macau navigated a precarious neutrality between Qing China and Britain. This episode explores how Macau's governor, João Ferreira do Amaral, enforced strict neutrality while the city became a haven for British traders, spies, and refugees. We discuss the Macau Patrol Service, the British seizure of Portuguese vessels, the 1845 Macau Boundary Question, and the role of the Senado da Câmara (municipal council). We also look at the Compradors — Chinese middlemen who worked with both sides — and the impact on Macau's economy as Hong Kong rose. Finally, we touch on the 1849 assassination of Governor Amaral, which nearly drew Portugal into the conflict. Specific locales include the Praia Grande, the Barrier Gate (Portas do Cerco), and the Church of St. Paul. #Macau #OpiumWars #JoãoFerreiraDoAmaral #PortugueseNeutrality #PortasDoCerco #PraiaGrande #SenadoDaCâmara #Compradors #Canton #HongKong #QingDynasty #BritishNavy #PearlRiverDelta #1845BoundaryQuestion #MacauPatrolService #History #FexingoHistory #EastAsia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The Opium Wars and the Fall of the Canton System

    The Opium Wars and the Fall of the Canton System
    Jun 28 2026
    Before the first Opium War, China's foreign trade was strictly controlled through the Canton System, a set of regulations that confined Western merchants to a small district in Guangzhou and restricted their interactions to licensed Chinese middlemen known as the Cohong. This episode explores how the system worked in practice: the daily life of traders in the Thirteen Factories, the role of the Cohong merchants like Howqua, and the tensions that arose from Qing attempts to maintain order. We also look at the collapse of the system after the Treaty of Nanking, which opened five ports and ended the Cohong monopoly. Specific details include the rules against foreign women entering Canton, the 'linguists' and 'compradors' who facilitated trade, and the pivotal role of silver sycee in transactions. Drawing on accounts from American and British traders, we piece together a portrait of a system that was both lucrative and suffocating, and whose downfall reshaped East Asian commerce. #CantonSystem #Cohong #Howqua #ThirteenFactories #Guangzhou #OpiumWars #QingDynasty #TreatyOfNanking #Sycee #Linguists #Compradors #ForeignFactories #EastIndiaCompany #Macau #ChinaTrade #History #FexingoHistory #BritishEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • The Opium Wars and the Cantonese Silver Crisis

    The Opium Wars and the Cantonese Silver Crisis
    Jun 28 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore an often-overlooked trigger of the Opium Wars: the massive silver drain that crippled China's economy in the early 19th century. They trace how British opium exports from Bengal, paid in Mexican silver dollars, reversed centuries of Chinese trade surplus and created a monetary crisis in the Qing Empire. Lucas explains the role of the sycee silver ingot system, the copper coin debasement under the Daoguang Emperor, and how the silver shortage led to tax revolts in the Yangzi Delta. The conversation also covers the 'cash vs. silver' divide between rural and urban economies, the failed state monopoly on silver, and how the threat to imperial revenue finally pushed the Qing court to crack down on opium in 1839. Specific figures include Commissioner Lin Zexu, Governor-General Deng Tingzhen, and the anonymous merchants who arbitraged silver between Canton and Calcutta. #OpiumWars #SilverCrisis #DaoguangEmperor #LinZexu #Canton #Sycee #MexicanDollar #EastIndiaCompany #Bengal #QingEmpire #TaxRevolt #YangziDelta #History #FexingoHistory #ImperialChina #EconomicHistory #OpiumTrade #MonetaryCrisis Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    5 mins
  • The Cantonese Interpreter Who Shaped the Opium Wars

    The Cantonese Interpreter Who Shaped the Opium Wars
    Jun 27 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked role of interpreters and translators during the Opium Wars. They focus on the Cantonese Christian Liang Afa, who worked with Protestant missionaries and later influenced the Taiping Rebellion, but also delve into the wider world of go-betweens: the Tanka boatwomen who acted as informal translators, the British 'Chinese linguists' like Thomas Wade, and the Qing court's reliance on a small pool of Manchu and Mongol bannermen who knew some English. Lucas explains how the mismatch in linguistic understanding — from the mistranslation of 'barbarian' to the botched negotiations of the Treaty of Nanking — shaped the conflict's outcome. Luna asks whether better translation could have averted war, and Lucas reflects on the tragic irony of cultures colliding without a common tongue. #OpiumWars #History #FexingoHistory #China #BritishEmpire #LiangAfa #ThomasWade #Tanka #Translation #Interpreters #Canton #QingDynasty #Missionaries #RobertMorrison #TreatyOfNanking #CulturalMisunderstanding #languagematters #19thCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • The Opium Wars and the American China Trade

    The Opium Wars and the American China Trade
    Jun 27 2026
    When the British went to war with China over opium, the Americans were right there — trading, smuggling, and negotiating their own treaty. This episode follows the rise of the American China trade from the 1780s to the Treaty of Wangxia in 1844. We meet the Empress of China, the first US vessel to reach Canton in 1784, and its supercargo Samuel Shaw. We explore how American merchants like John Perkins Cushing and Augustine Heard built fortunes on opium, and how the US government under John Tyler sent Caleb Cushing to secure a treaty that gave Americans the same rights as the British — without firing a shot. The episode also covers the role of Salem and Boston merchants, the emergence of the clipper ships, and the career of Robert Bennet Forbes, who helped open Japan. It's a story of opportunism, legal finesse, and the quiet expansion of American power in East Asia. #OpiumWars #AmericanChinaTrade #TreatyOfWangxia #CalebCushing #SamuelShaw #EmpressOfChina #Canton #JohnPerkinsCushing #AugustineHeard #RobertBennetForbes #ClipperShips #OpiumSmuggling #Cohong #DaoguangEmperor #19thCentury #USHistory #ChinaHistory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • The Opium Wars and the Destruction of the Yuanmingyuan

    The Opium Wars and the Destruction of the Yuanmingyuan
    Jun 26 2026
    In October 1860, British and French troops marched into the Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace outside Beijing, and systematically looted and burned one of the most magnificent architectural complexes in the world. This episode traces the final stage of the Second Opium War, from the Battle of Baliqiao to the flight of the Xianfeng Emperor to Jehol. We explore the palace itself — the European-style fountains and pagodas, the vast library, the priceless art collections — and ask why the destruction happened. Was it calculated retribution for the deaths of the British delegation under Harry Parkes? Or was it, as Lord Elgin claimed, a necessary punishment to force the Qing to negotiate? We consider the Convention of Peking that followed, and the legacy of the burning: a symbol of imperial humiliation that still resonates in China's national memory today. Along the way, we meet the key players: James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin; Prince Gong, who signed the treaty; and the eunuchs who tried to save what they could. #OpiumWars #Yuanmingyuan #OldSummerPalace #LordElgin #SecondOpiumWar #BattleOfBaliqiao #ConventionOfPeking #XianfengEmperor #PrinceGong #HarryParkes #QingDynasty #BritishEmpire #Imperialism #ChinaHistory #19thCentury #Looting #CulturalHeritage #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins