The Opium War

Specialized Committee Overview

As foreign trade enters China's booming port cities, a new threat emerges under the guise of narcotics. Taking place in the mid-1900s, Opium addiction causes mass unrest and overcomes the growing Chinese population. Among all the chaos, tensions between China and Britain over the illegal opium trade reach a new high, adding to war to the mix. At the moment, representatives from numerous countries, including the Qing Empire, Britain, France, the United States, the Russian Empire, Portugal, and the Netherlands have all came together to seek peace, or prepare for major international conflict.

In this Specialized Agency, delegates will represent involved nations and rising powers in this time period. They will debate pressing issues such as opium addiction and treatment, the economic effects of destroyed trade goods, China's silver shortage, foreign legal immunity, naval and military modernization, smuggling protection, and corruption within the Qing Empire's own government.

This committee tests potential delegates on complex topics such as trade, diplomacy, military strategy, and sovereigny amid one of the most influential topics of human history. So, the question is: will peace prevail, or will China and the foreign powers collapse into war?