Valerian Wine

[Natty]

(08-07-2012 04:21 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Laudanum was widely available and widely recommended during our earlier centuries. It was also highly addictive. A member of my family was addicted to it during the Civil War era because she was advised to take it as a teenager to calm monthly problems. Her addiction became so violent that she had to be kept under lock and key.

Months ago, I was chasing down some information on the barons of industry in the 19th century and happened across data regarding many of their profits being gained through the opium trade with eastern cultures. Some of these are big names in American history books.

Yes, opium trade was a source of enormous wealth back in the 19th century. My knowledge on the subject is not very broad, but I am aware of the involvement of people like:
Franklin Roosevelt's grandfather Warren Delano who served as Russell and Company's Chief of Operations in Canton Province, China.
The Forbes family who went on to later invest in Alexander Graham Bell's telephone company.
John Cleve Green, who used some of his opium fortune to finance Princeton University.
Abiel Abbott Low, who used his opium money to finance the construction of Columbia University.
And....John Jacob Astor

But that is probably just tipping the iceberg!