Description
Explore the intricate tapestry of colonial history with Empires of Vice, a fascinating trade paperback that delves into the complex relationship between European colonial powers and the opium trade in Southeast Asia. This compelling 2021 publication by Princeton University Press presents an in-depth examination of how opium, once a lucrative source of revenue for British and French colonizers, became enmeshed in moral and political contradictions. As you immerse yourself in this thought-provoking narrative, author Diana Kim challenges common perceptions of opium prohibition, revealing the multifaceted bureaucratic processes that facilitated this dramatic shift between the 1890s and 1940s. Through detailed archival research encompassing countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, Kim illuminates the pivotal roles played by local administrators and the administrative decisions that reshaped the regulatory landscape. Discover how these historical transformations have influenced the contemporary drug problems in the region. This brand-new trade paperback is perfect for historians, sociologists, and anyone interested in the historical origins of drug policies. Enjoy free shipping on your order, with delivery expected to take up to 6 weeks. Please note that once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691199702
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
During the late nineteenth century, opium was integral to European colonial rule in Southeast Asia. The taxation of opium was a major source of revenue for British and French colonizers, who also derived moral authority from imposing a tax on a peculiar vice of their non-European subjects. Yet between the 1890s and the 1940s, colonial states began to ban opium, upsetting the very foundations of overseas rule — how did this happen? Empires of Vice traces the history of this dramatic reversal, revealing the colonial legacies that set the stage for the region's drug problems today.
Diana Kim challenges the conventional wisdom about opium prohibition — that it came about because doctors awoke to the dangers of drug addiction or that it was a response to moral crusaders — uncovering a more complex story deep within the colonial bureaucracy. Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence across Southeast Asia and Europe, she shows how prohibition was made possible by the pivotal contributions of seemingly weak bureaucratic officials. Comparing British and French experiences across today's Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, Kim examines how the everyday work of local administrators delegitimised the taxing of opium, which in turn made major anti-opium reforms possible.
Empires of Vice reveals the inner life of colonial bureaucracy, illuminating how European rulers reconfigured their opium-entangled foundations of governance and shaped Southeast Asia's political economy of illicit drugs and the punitive state.
'Kim’s argument adds a valuable dimension and a perspec
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691199702
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
During the late nineteenth century, opium was integral to European colonial rule in Southeast Asia. The taxation of opium was a major source of revenue for British and French colonizers, who also derived moral authority from imposing a tax on a peculiar vice of their non-European subjects. Yet between the 1890s and the 1940s, colonial states began to ban opium, upsetting the very foundations of overseas rule — how did this happen? Empires of Vice traces the history of this dramatic reversal, revealing the colonial legacies that set the stage for the region's drug problems today.
Diana Kim challenges the conventional wisdom about opium prohibition — that it came about because doctors awoke to the dangers of drug addiction or that it was a response to moral crusaders — uncovering a more complex story deep within the colonial bureaucracy. Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence across Southeast Asia and Europe, she shows how prohibition was made possible by the pivotal contributions of seemingly weak bureaucratic officials. Comparing British and French experiences across today's Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, Kim examines how the everyday work of local administrators delegitimised the taxing of opium, which in turn made major anti-opium reforms possible.
Empires of Vice reveals the inner life of colonial bureaucracy, illuminating how European rulers reconfigured their opium-entangled foundations of governance and shaped Southeast Asia's political economy of illicit drugs and the punitive state.
'Kim’s argument adds a valuable dimension and a perspec