"Opium was a minor cause of the first Opium War"

"Opium was a minor cause of the first Opium War" The statement that Opium was a minor cause of the first Opium War is one with a great deal of substantiality. The war arose from a great number of factors primarily arising from an imbalance of trade and cultural clashes, both of which were exacerbated by the opium trade, but both of which existed before and during the opium trade as independent agents that could …

…wide variety of factors. Although opium was a major player in deciding when and how the conflict would take place it was by no means a sole or even major agent in determining peace from war in the east. If mass opium trade was never introduced by the British merchants, war would have most probably still occurred between the two parties and therefore opium itself cannot be taken as a major contributor to the hostilities.