‘We are about to enter Satan’s Stronghold’: Chinese Opium Houses and Shared Multi-Ethnic Spaces in London’s Maritime District, c.1860-1900.

This article examines the myth of the Chinese opium den in nineteenth-century London, focusing on how two opium houses in the maritime quarter became central to national fears about the Chinese community during the 1860s. It explores how sensational reports of opium dens in the East End stoked Sinophobia, driven by seafarers’ unions, social reformers, and the press. The article challenges the stereotype of Chinese isolation, arguing that early Chinese communities were integrated into diverse working-class neighbourhoods. It also highlights the role of English women, especially those working in opium and boarding houses, in fostering community cohesion and mediating local relations. By reinterpreting the district as a ‘contact zone’—a space of cultural exchange—the study shifts away from viewing it as an ethnically exclusive enclave. This perspective offers new insights into cultural appropriation, social class dynamics, and interracial community building in mid-to-late nineteenth-century London.