Who is Mr. Baylis?

Mr. Baylis is an important British merchant stationed in Canton. Driven by greed and as equally racist as the other white, male characters present in the novel, Mr. Baylis cares little for the Chinese he works with or around. Therefore, he sees the opium trade as a chance for endless wealth and even tells Robin that Mr. Baylis would be happy if everyone in China were addicted to the dangerous drug. Mr. Baylsis’ arrogance is what convinces Robin to tell Commissioner Lin the truth about England’s disrespect for China, leading to the destruction of millions of pounds of opium. However, like Lovell, it is later revealed that Mr. Baylis had colluded for this to happen, though he did not expect to lose so much of his product in doing so.