Brilliant write-up, thank you.

Definitely the second best discipline

Nicholas Cage would like a word

Why did you have to choose violence

That’s the article in brief: due to maritime epidemic risk, governments and labor contractors conjoined the circulation of coolie labor and smoking opium beyond China’s borders. If you’d like more, please give it a read! (5/5)

Thus began my four-year investigation through multiple archives that included Spanish and Chinese sources. In short, I learned that smoking opium wasn’t causing sickness; it was sickness that caused many Chinese to smoke opium, which forced contractors to make the drug freely available. (4/5)

I was puzzled: smoking opium is not something you overdose from. So why were they being tagged like that? And where did the opium come from? (3/5)

I was researching Chinese coolie voyages (la trata amarilla or “the yellow trade”) when I stumbled into a weird finding. In Hong Kong and Havana, authorities were noting cases of passengers that died from smoking opium (Spanish: “resultas de anfion”) while at sea. (2/5)

when this is over I’m getting a J Pow tattoo

Thanks Jonathan! Can’t wait to read more of your work too.