Empires of Silver

The silver trade kick-started the global economy, connecting China to the European empires and the Americas. Silver toppled the Ming Dynasty, and opened up a new age of international exchange of treasures and ideas between the East and the West. But it also led to the Opium Wars, and started China's 'Century of Humiliation'. And now in the 21st century, China once again finds itself the world’s biggest importer of silver, which fuels its hi-tech industries. (tvfinternational.com- history)