This paper critically appraises the role of the opium trade in the politics of 18th-century Macao. By examining previously unexplored Portuguese accounts on opium smuggling, this study contributes new insights into the shift in attitudes of the Macanese authorities towards the opium trade in this period, which subsequently aided further European opium smuggling in the Pearl River Delta. Thus, this paper fills an important gap in our understanding of the transformation that took place in the period before opium became a bone of contention between the Qing dynasty and European powers, on the eve of the Opium Wars.

中文翻译：

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从不情愿到依赖：18世纪澳门的鸦片走私

本文批判性地评价了鸦片贸易在 18 世纪澳门政治中的作用。通过研究以前未曾探索过的葡萄牙关于鸦片走私的记载，这项研究为了解这一时期澳门当局对鸦片贸易的态度转变提供了新的见解，这随后进一步促进了欧洲在珠江三角洲的鸦片走私。因此，本文填补了我们对鸦片战争前夕鸦片成为清朝与欧洲列强之间争论焦点之前发生的转变的一个重要空白。