Lasem : Napak Tilas Perdagangan Opium Nusantara

Abstract

Opium is a plant that is included in class 1 narcotics, this plant is a type of annual plant and cannot be cultivated in other areas except in the mountains of the subtropics. During the colonial era, the opium plants in the Dutch East Indies came from several regions, including India, Persia, Turkey and Singapore. In fact, during the Dutch
 colonial era, opium was not the only imported commodity. Judging from the previous records it is stated that imported goods were transported during the Dutch East Indies colonial administration by using ships with the final route to ports in various regions, including cloth, oil, iron or other goods made from iron. , weapons, candles, liquor and various other items including opium. The opium trade in the Java region began to
 spread since a binding agreement was obtained between King Amangkurat II and the Dutch, who at tha
 t time was led by the VOC, to monopolize the opium trade to the Mataram territory which covered almost the entire island of Java at that time. From what was originally only the aristocratic class, over time it has turned into people of all groups becoming consumers of these goods. The Lasem people were no exception, they
 were famous for distributing opium, even at that time in the black market trading model. They even earned the nickname as the "dark funnel" of Java as a form of their expertise in distributing these goods.