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The Opium Trade
British and Brahmin companies would support each other in the China trade. While the history books downplay just what business was done, the product of choice was opium. Neither Britain or Boston could produce anything else that paid for the tea. Instead they went to Turkey where opium was bought and then to China where it was sold. When China attempted to curb the amount of addicts in her country, Britain went to war to force addiction on that nation. The price in foreign relations is still felt one hundred years later.
The profits from the trade built railroads, textile manufacturers and funded banks. The captains of the opium industry then became political leaders. Roosevelt’s, (and in-laws the Delano’s), Astor’s, Perkins, Russells, Forbes, Cabots and Lodges would all benefit directly or indirectly. They in turn founded companies and endowed colleges. The Russell Trust at Yale also endowed a secret society.