One of the largest problems faced by foreign traders in Canton was finding a reliable medium of exchange that would enable sustainable trade with the Chinese. The Chinese were always willing to accept bullion, in exchange for tea and other products. This was because the Chinese were fairly self-sufficient and did not have a large desire for foreign goods. Specie was very expensive and difficult to acquire considering that the supply coming from South America fluctuated and it required a great deal of goods to attain through a trade. The British could not afford to sustain high-level trading in specie, and they were eventually forced to turn to opium from India. Beginning in 1767 and rapidly expanding through the early 1800s, opium was illegally
