Moreover, China would accept nothing but silver bullion in exchange for its goods, so Britian had to look for a more abundant commodity to square its accounts.
The British lacked significant amounts of silver bullion to pay with.
mnli hypothesis: The British lacked significant amounts of silver bullion to pay with. premise: Moreover, China would accept nothing but silver bullion in exchange for its goods, so Britian had to look for a more abundant commodity to square its accounts.