Protests from Chinese lead the British Library to show damage caused by trade in opium

The British Library has agreed to revamp an exhibition charting the history of the East India Company in response to protests from the Chinese community that it has suppressed the firm's role in introducing opium to the country.

Campaigners from 17 Chinese community groups based in Britain had threatened to picket the venue because "Trading Places – the East India Company and Asia" did not reflect the darker side of the company's activities.

The exhibition traces the rise and fall of the historic merchant group that kickstarted European trade with Asia between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Formed by several merchants in 1600 after a charter was issued by Elizabeth I, the company went on to become one of the most successful trading companies in the world, dealing with India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Persia.

It was responsible for introducing everyday items such as tea, porcelain, chintz and curry powder to Europe and was granted monopoly privileges on its Asian trading.

However, the company used opium to buy tea from China, leading to a massive influx of the drug into the country.

In 1834, the East India Company lost its monopoly, but opium retained its grip in China and when, six years later, the Chinese authorities began seizing the drug from British merchants, the two nations went to war.

British gunboats meant the war was a one-sided affair, as was the second conflict from 1856 to 1860. The battles left millions of Chinese dead.

Steven Lau, editor of the website British Born Chinese, said: "The opium wars mean similar emotions to the Chinese as the Holocaust does to the Jewish people and this exhibition was not telling the whole truth of that period of history." Organisers from the British Library invited Mr Lau and other Chinese representatives to see the exhibition last week before discussing their concerns about the exhibition.

Extra information on the impact of opium was added and the exhibition, which runs until September, will show the Chinese film The Opium War in the summer.

Greg Hayman, a library spokesman, said: "We are pleased to be able to strengthen the exhibition to reflect the opium trade which resulted in the opium wars.

"The exhibition will make quite clear the results of that trade and the conflict that led to many millions of Chinese people losing their lives. We are glad to have been able to speak with those concerned and to resolve the situation."