Question

read the excerpt from \early victorian tea set.\ but a loving, tranquil cup of tea has a violent hinterland. when all tea came into europe from china, the british east india company traded opium for silver and used that silver to buy tea. the trade was so important that it brought the two countries to war. the first of the conflicts, which we still refer to as the opium wars – they were in fact just as much about tea – broke out more or less as our teapot was leaving the wedgwood factory. partly because of these difficulties with china, in the 1830s the british set up plantations in the area around calcutta and indian tea was exempted from import duty to encourage demand. what is the author’s viewpoint in this excerpt? england’s demand for tea encouraged international cooperation. england’s demand for tea caused conflict around the world. britain planted tea in china because britain was at war with india. britain traded silver to buy tea, which resulted in high taxes.

Explanation:

• Analyze Option 1: The excerpt mentions conflicts (Opium Wars) due to tea trade, not "international cooperation", so this is incorrect.
• Analyze Option 2: The text states the tea trade led to the Opium Wars (conflict) and difficulties with China, showing England’s tea demand caused global conflict. This matches.
• Analyze Option 3: The British set up tea plantations in India (not China) due to issues with China, and the war was with China (Opium Wars), not India. So this is wrong.
• Analyze Option 4: The excerpt says British traded opium for silver to buy tea, and Indian tea was exempt from tax, not that silver trade for tea caused high taxes. So this is incorrect.

Answer:

B. England’s demand for tea caused conflict around the world.