Silk Silver Opium: The Trade with China that Changed History

This event is held in the theatrette on the ground floor of the Brisbane square library followed by optional drinks at Jimmy's on the Mall. Please bring a gold coin donation to help with the Meetup fee.
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This is a book introduction event where the author will share insights from his book.

Silk Silver Opium tells the dramatic story of trade between China and the West and how it changed the world. This is a fascinating take on history with an eye on current events to do with our trade with China and the potential for conflict.

Silk Silver Opium tells not only the stories of silk and tea, porcelain, silver and opium, missionaries, mercenaries and trade, but also what became inevitable – war and humiliation. Much about China’s modern relationship with the West is the product of its past inter-reactions, conflicts, victories and humiliations.

Silk Silver Opium is the story of imperial China’s trading relationship with the West and is a powerful tale, with clear implications for the future. Pembroke illuminates the reasons China distrusts the west and is unlikely to change that view, explaining how the West’s trading relationship with China started well but ended in tears and bloodshed.

Speaker Bio:
Michael Pembroke grew up in England, Australia and Singapore and was educated at the Universities of Sydney and Cambridge. His books include Arthur Phillip - Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy (2013), an historical biography that was short-listed for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards; Korea - Where the American Century Began (2018), a military and political critique that was short-listed for the Queensland Literary Awards and the NSW Premier’s History Awards; Play By the Rules (2020), a polemic about American leadership that was published in the United States as America in Retreat (2021). He has written for Time Magazine, Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post and Australian news publications.