Episode 38: The Great Tea Heist - Botanical Imperialism with Colonial Characteristics

While naturalistic expeditions in the colonial era were cloaked in the mantle of progress and discovery, they often had a more opportunistic motive. Native plants, animals, and techniques which had already long been known to others were 'rediscovered' by Europeans and mass produced across their colonies on an industrial scale.

After the events of the first Opium war, Chinese methods of Tea cultivation eventually became a casualty of this process.

In this episode we talk about the industrial espionage that lead to the British Empire breaking China's monopoly on tea production, as well as the system of Royal Botanical gardens that facilitated the spread of economically useful plants across the empire.