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First Opium War

First Opium War
Part of the Opium Wars

The East India Company steamship Nemesis (right background) destroying war junks during the Second Battle of Chuenpi, 7 January 1841
Date4 September 1839 – 29 August 1842
(2 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location
Result

British Victory

Establishment of five treaty ports in:

Territorial
changes
Hong Kong Island ceded to Britain
Belligerents

United Kingdom

China
Commanders and leaders
Strength

19,000+ troops:[1]

37 ships:[1]

222,212 total troops ( only about 100,000 were actually mobilised )[b]

Casualties and losses
est. 3,100 killed[c]
4,000 wounded[7]
First Opium War
Traditional Chinese第一次鴉片戰爭
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDìyīcì Yāpiàn Zhànzhēng
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationDai6yat1ci3 A1pin3 Jin3jang1
JyutpingDai6jat1ci3 Aa1pin3 Zin3zang1

The First Opium War (Chinese: 第一次鴉片戰爭; pinyin: Dìyīcì Yāpiàn Zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from merchants at Canton and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite the opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China. Opium was Britain's single most profitable commodity trade of the 19th century. After months of tensions between the two states, the British navy launched an expedition in June 1840, which ultimately defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons by August 1842. The British then imposed the Treaty of Nanking, which forced China to increase foreign trade, give compensation, and cede Hong Kong Island to the British. Consequently the opium trade continued in China. Twentieth-century nationalists considered 1839 the start of a century of humiliation, and many historians consider it the beginning of modern Chinese history.

In the 18th century, the demand for Chinese luxury goods (particularly silk, porcelain, and tea) created a trade imbalance between China and Britain. European silver flowed into China through the Canton System, which confined incoming foreign trade to the southern port city of Canton. To counter this imbalance, the British East India Company began to grow opium in Bengal and allowed private British merchants to sell opium to Chinese smugglers for illegal sale in China. The influx of narcotics reversed the Chinese trade surplus, drained the economy of silver, and increased the numbers of opium addicts inside the country, outcomes that seriously worried Chinese officials.

In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, appointed Viceroy Lin Zexu to go to Canton to halt the opium trade completely.[8] Lin wrote an open letter to Queen Victoria appealing to her moral responsibility to stop the opium trade, although she never read it.[9][10][11] Lin then resorted to using force in the western merchants enclave. He arrived in Guangzhou at the end of January and organized a coastal defense. In March, British opium dealers were forced to hand over 2.37 million pounds of opium. On 3 June, Lin ordered the opium to be destroyed in public on Humen Beach to show the Government's determination to ban smoking.[12] All other supplies were confiscated and a blockade of foreign ships on the Pearl River was ordered.[13][page needed]

Tensions escalated in July after British sailors killed a Chinese villager and the British government refused to hand the accused men over to Chinese authorities. Fighting later broke out, with the British navy destroying the Chinese naval blockade, and launching an offensive.[12] In the ensuing conflict, the Royal Navy used its superior naval and gunnery power to inflict a series of decisive defeats on the Chinese Empire.[14] In 1842, the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking—the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties—which granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to British subjects in China, opened five treaty ports to British merchants, and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–60). The resulting social unrest was the background for the Taiping Rebellion, which further weakened the Qing regime.[15][full citation needed][16]

Background edit

Establishment of trade relations edit

 
View of Canton with merchant ship of the Dutch East India Company, c. 1665

Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese leased an outpost from the Ming dynasty in Macau. Other European nations soon followed the Portuguese lead, inserting themselves into the existing Asian maritime trade network to compete with Arab, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese merchants in intra-regional commerce.[17] After the Spanish conquest of the Philippines the exchange of goods between China and Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565, the Manila Galleons brought silver into the Asian trade network from mines in South America.[18][page range too broad] China was a primary destination for the precious metal, as the imperial government mandated that Chinese goods could only be exported in exchange for silver bullion.[19][page needed][20][page range too broad]

British ships began to appear sporadically around the coasts of China from 1635 on.[21] Without establishing formal relations through the Chinese tributary system, by which most Asian nations were able to negotiate with China, British merchants were only allowed to trade at the ports of Zhoushan, Xiamen, and Guangzhou.[22] Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company, which held a royal charter for trade with the Far East. The East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India and due to the strength of the Royal Navy.[23]

 
View of the European factories in Canton

Trade benefited after the newly risen Qing dynasty relaxed maritime trade restrictions in the 1680s. Formosa (Taiwan) came under Qing control in 1683 and rhetoric regarding the tributary status of Europeans was muted.[22] Guangzhou (known as Canton to Europeans) became the port of preference for incoming foreign trade. Ships did try to call at other ports, but these locations could not match the benefits of Canton's geographic position at the mouth of the Pearl River, nor did they have the city's long experience in balancing the demands of Beijing with those of Chinese and foreign merchants.[24] From 1700 onward Canton was the center of maritime trade with China, and this market process was gradually formulated by Qing authorities into the "Canton System".[24] From the system's inception in 1757, trading in China was extremely lucrative for European and Chinese merchants alike as goods such as tea, porcelain, and silk were valued highly enough in Europe to justify the expenses of traveling to Asia. The system was highly regulated by the Qing government. Foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were forbidden to learn Chinese. Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories and were not allowed to enter or trade in any other part of China. Only low-level government officials could be dealt with, and the imperial court could not be lobbied for any reason excepting official diplomatic missions.[25] The Imperial laws that upheld the system were collectively known as the Prevention Barbarian Ordinances (防範外夷規條).[26][page range too broad] The Cohong were particularly powerful in the Old China Trade, as they were tasked with appraising the value of foreign products, purchasing or rebuffing said imports and charged with selling Chinese exports at an appropriate price.[27][page range too broad] The Cohong was made up of between (depending on the politics of Canton) 6 to 20 merchant families. Most of the merchant houses these families ruled had been established by low-ranking mandarins, but several were Cantonese or Han in origin.[28] Another key function of the Cohong was the traditional bond signed between a Cohong member and a foreign merchant. This bond stated that the receiving Cohong member was responsible for the foreign merchant's behavior and cargo while in China.[29] In addition to dealing with the Cohong, European merchants were required to pay customs fees, measurement duties, provide gifts, and hire navigators.[29]

Despite restrictions, silk and porcelain continued to drive trade through their popularity in Europe, and an insatiable demand for Chinese tea existed in Britain. From the mid-17th century onward around 28 million kilograms of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese products.[30]

European trade deficits edit

A brisk trade between China and European powers continued for over a century. While this trading heavily favoured the Chinese and resulted in European nations sustaining large trade deficits, the demand for Chinese goods continued to drive commerce. In addition, the colonisation and conquest of the Americas resulted in European nations (namely Spain, Great Britain, and France) gaining access to a cheap supply of silver, resulting in European economies remaining relatively stable despite the trade deficit with China. This silver was also shipped across the Pacific Ocean to China directly, notably through the Spanish-controlled Philippines. In stark contrast to the European situation, Qing China sustained a trade surplus. Foreign silver flooded into China in exchange for Chinese goods, expanding the Chinese economy but also causing inflation and forming a Chinese reliance on European silver.[31][29]

The continued economic expansion of European economies in 17th and 18th centuries gradually increased the European demand for precious metals, which were used to mint new coins; this increasing need for hard currency to remain in circulation in Europe reduced the supply of bullion available for trade in China, driving up costs and leading to competition between merchants in Europe and European merchants who traded with the Chinese.[31] This market force resulted in a chronic trade deficit for European governments, who were forced to risk silver shortages in their domestic economies to supply the needs of their merchants in Asia (who as private enterprises still turned a profit by selling valuable Chinese goods to consumers in Europe).[26][page range too broad][32][page range too broad] This gradual effect was greatly exacerbated by a series of large-scale colonial wars between Great Britain and Spain in the mid 18th century; these conflicts disrupted the international silver market and eventually resulted in the independence of powerful new nations, namely the United States and Mexico.[33][27][page range too broad] Without cheap silver from the colonies to sustain their trade, European merchants who traded with China began to take silver directly out of circulation in the already-weakened economies of Europe to pay for goods in China.[31] This angered governments, who saw their economies shrink as a result, and fostered a great deal of animosity towards the Chinese for their restriction of European trade.[32][page range too broad][34] The Chinese economy was unaffected by fluctuations in silver prices, as China was able to import Japanese silver to stabilise its money supply.[19][page needed] European goods remained in low demand in China, ensuring the longstanding trade surplus with the European nations continued.[33] Despite these tensions, trade between China and Europe grew by an estimated 4% annually in the years leading up to the start of the opium trade.[31][35][failed verification]

 
Chinese opium smokers

Opium trade edit

Opium as a medicinal ingredient was documented in Chinese texts as early as the Tang dynasty, but the recreational usage of narcotic opium was limited. As with India, opium (then limited by distance to a dried powder, often drunk with tea or water) was introduced to China and Southeast Asia by Arab merchants.[36] The Ming dynasty banned tobacco as a decadent good in 1640, and opium was seen as a similarly minor issue. The first restrictions on opium were passed by the Qing in 1729 when Madak (a substance made from powdered opium blended with tobacco) was banned.[8] At the time, Madak production used up most of the opium being imported into China, as pure opium was difficult to preserve. Consumption of Javanese opium rose in the 18th century, and after the Napoleonic Wars resulted in the British occupying Java, British merchants became the primary traders in opium.[37] The British realised they could reduce their trade deficit with Chinese manufactories by counter-trading in narcotic opium, and therefore efforts were made to produce more opium in the Indian colonies. Limited British sales of Indian opium began in 1781, with exports to China increasing as the East India Company solidified its control over India.[20][page range too broad][34]

The British opium was produced in Bengal and the Ganges River Plain, where the British inherited an existing opium industry from the declining Mughal Empire and saw the product as a potentially valuable export.[38] The East India Company commissioned and managed hundreds of thousands of poppy plantations. It took care of the painstaking lancing of individual pods to obtain the raw gum, drying and forming it into cakes, before coating and packaging them for auction in Calcutta.[39] The company tightly controlled the opium industry, and all opium was considered company property until it was sold.[31] From Calcutta, the company's Board of Customs, Salt, and Opium concerned itself with quality control by managing the way opium was packaged and shipped. No poppies could be cultivated without the company's permission, and the company banned private businesses from refining opium. All opium in India was sold to the company at a fixed rate, and the company hosted a series of public opium auctions every year. The difference of the company-set price of raw opium and the sale price of refined opium at auction (minus expenses) was profit made by the East India Company.[38][27][page range too broad] In addition to securing poppies cultivated on lands under its direct control, the company's board issued licences to the independent princely states of Malwa, where significant quantities of poppies were grown.[38][31]

 
A depiction of opium ships at Lintin, China by the British artist William John Huggins in 1824

By the late 18th century, company and Malwan farmlands (which were traditionally dependent on cotton growing) had been hard hit by the introduction of factory-produced cotton cloth, which used cotton grown in Egypt or the American South. Opium was considered a lucrative replacement, and was soon being auctioned in ever larger amounts in Calcutta.[27] Private merchants who possessed a company charter (to comply with the British royal charter for Asiatic trade) bid on and acquired goods at the Calcutta auction before sailing to Southern China. British ships brought their cargoes to islands off the coast, especially Lintin Island, where Chinese traders with fast and well-armed small boats took the goods inland for distribution, paying for the opium with silver.[27] The Qing administration initially tolerated opium importation because it created an indirect tax on Chinese subjects, as increasing the silver supply available to foreign merchants through the sale of opium encouraged Europeans to spend more money on Chinese goods. This policy provided the funds British merchants needed to then greatly increase tea exports from China to England, delivering further profits to the Qing monopoly on tea exports held by the imperial treasury and its agents in Canton.[40][31]

 
A British lithograph depicting a storehouse filled with opium at the factory of the British East India Company in Patna, India in c. 1850

However, opium usage continued to grow in China, adversely affecting societal stability. From Canton, the habit spread outwards to the North and West, affecting members from every class of Chinese society.[41] By the early 19th century, more and more Chinese were smoking British opium as a recreational drug. But for many, what started as recreation soon became a punishing addiction: many people who stopped ingesting opium suffered chills, nausea, and cramps, and sometimes died from withdrawal. Once addicted, people would often do almost anything to continue to get access to the drug.[42] These serious social issues eventually led to the Qing government issuing an edict against the drug in 1780, followed by an outright ban in 1796, and an order from the governor of Canton to stop the trade in 1799.[41] To circumnavigate the increasingly stringent regulations in Canton, foreign merchants bought older ships and converted them into floating warehouses. These ships were anchored off of the Chinese coast at the mouth of the Pearl River in case the Chinese authorities moved against the opium trade, as the ships of the Chinese navy had difficulty operating in open water.[43][page range too broad] Inbound opium ships would unload a portion of their cargo onto these floating warehouses, where the narcotic was eventually purchased by Chinese opium dealers. By implementing this system of smuggling, foreign merchants could avoid inspection by Chinese officials and prevent retaliation against the trade in legal goods, in which many smugglers also participated.[41][31][page range too broad]

In the early 19th century American merchants joined the trade and began to introduce opium from Turkey into the Chinese market—this supply was of lesser quality but cheaper, and the resulting competition among British and American merchants drove down the price of opium, leading to an increase in the availability of the drug for Chinese consumers.[33] The demand for opium rose rapidly and was so profitable in China that Chinese opium dealers (who, unlike European merchants, could legally travel to and sell goods in the Chinese interior) began to seek out more suppliers of the drug. The resulting shortage in supply drew more European merchants into the increasingly lucrative opium trade to meet the Chinese demand. In the words of one trading house agent, "[Opium] it is like gold. I can sell it anytime."[44] From 1804 to 1820, a period when the Qing treasury needed to finance the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion and other conflicts, the flow of money gradually reversed, and Chinese merchants were soon exporting silver to pay for opium rather than Europeans paying for Chinese goods with the precious metal.[45] European and American ships were able to arrive in Canton with their holds filled with opium, sell their cargo, use the proceeds to buy Chinese goods, and turn a profit in the form of silver bullion.[19][page needed] This silver would then be used to acquire more Chinese goods.[26][page range too broad] While opium remained the most profitable good to trade with China, foreign merchants began to export other cargoes, such as machine-spun cotton cloth, rattan, ginseng, fur, clocks, and steel tools. However, these goods never reached the same level of importance as narcotics, nor were they as lucrative.[46][47]

 
Graph showing the increase in Chinese opium imports by year.

The Qing imperial court debated whether or how to end the opium trade, but their efforts to curtail opium abuse were complicated by local officials and the Cohong, who profited greatly from the bribes and taxes involved in the narcotics trade.[43][page range too broad] Efforts by Qing officials to curb opium imports through regulations on consumption resulted in an increase in drug smuggling by European and Chinese traders, and corruption was rampant.[48][49] In 1810, the Daoguang Emperor issued an edict concerning the opium crisis, declaring,

Opium has a harm. Opium is a poison, undermining our good customs and morality. Its use is prohibited by law. Now the commoner, Yang, dares to bring it into the Forbidden City. Indeed, he flouts the law! However, recently the purchasers, eaters, and consumers of opium have become numerous. Deceitful merchants buy and sell it to gain profit. The customs house at the Ch'ung-wen Gate was originally set up to supervise the collection of imports (it had no responsibility with regard to opium smuggling). If we confine our search for opium to the seaports, we fear the search will not be sufficiently thorough. We should also order the general commandant of the police and police—censors at the five gates to prohibit opium and to search for it at all gates. If they capture any violators, they should immediately punish them and should destroy the opium at once. As to Kwangtung [Guangdong] and Fukien [Fujian], the provinces from which opium comes, we order their viceroys, governors, and superintendents of the maritime customs to conduct a thorough search for opium, and cut off its supply. They should in no ways consider this order a dead letter and allow opium to be smuggled out![50]

Nonetheless, by 1831, the annual opium traffic neared 20,000 chests, each with a net weight of around 140 pounds, compared with just about 4,000 chests per year between 1800 and 1818. After the East India Company's monopoly on tea ended in 1833 and private merchants began to join in, this quantity would go on to double before the close of the decade.[51]

Changing trade policy edit

In addition to the start of the opium trade, economic and social innovations led to a change in the parameters of the wider Sino-European trade.[52] The formulation of classical economics by Adam Smith and other economic theorists caused academic belief in mercantilism to decline in Britain.[53][54] Under the prior system, the Qianlong Emperor restricted trade with foreigners on Chinese soil only for licensed Chinese merchants, while the British government on their part issued a monopoly charter for trade only to the British East India Company. This arrangement was not challenged until the 19th century when the idea of free trade was popularised in the West.[55] Fueled by the Industrial Revolution, Britain began to use its growing naval power to spread a broadly liberal economic model, encompassing open markets and relatively barrier free international trade, a policy in line with the credo of Smithian economics.[54] This stance on trade was intended to open foreign markets to the resources of Britain's colonies, as well as provide the British public with greater access to consumer goods such as tea.[54] In Great Britain, the adoption of the gold standard in 1821 resulted in the empire minting standardised silver shillings, further reducing the availability of silver for trade in Asia and spurring the British government to press for more trading rights in China.[56][page needed][52]

In contrast to this new economic model, the Qing dynasty continued to employ a Confucian-Modernist, highly organised economic philosophy that called for strict government intervention in industry for the sake of preserving societal stability.[27] While the Qing government was not explicitly anti-trade, a lack of need for imports and increasingly heavy taxes on luxury goods limited pressure on the government to open further ports to international trade.[57] China's rigid merchant hierarchy also blocked efforts to open ports to foreign ships and businesses.[58] Chinese merchants operating in inland China wanted to avoid market fluctuations caused by importing foreign goods that would compete with domestic production, while the Cohong families of Canton profited greatly by keeping their city the only entry point for foreign products.[57][59][58][60][page needed]

At the turn of the 19th-century countries such as Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, and the United States began to seek additional trading rights in China.[61] Foremost among the concerns of the western nations was the end of the Canton System and the opening of China's vast consumer markets to trade. Britain in particular was keenly increasing its exports to China, as the empire's implementation of the gold standard forced it to purchase silver and gold from continental Europe and Mexico to further fuel its rapidly industrialising economy.[62] Attempts by a British embassy (led by Macartney in 1793), a Dutch mission (under Jacob van Braam in 1794), Russia (headed by Yury Golovkin in 1805), and the British again (Earl William Amherst in 1816) to negotiate increased access to the Chinese market were all vetoed by successive Qing Emperors.[32][page range too broad] Upon his meeting the Jiaqing Emperor in 1816, Amherst refused to perform the traditional kowtow, an act that the Qing saw as a severe breach of etiquette. Amherst and his party were expelled from China, a diplomatic rebuke that angered the British government.[63]

One major reason was that British consumers had developed a strong liking for Chinese tea, as well as other goods like porcelain and silk. But Chinese consumers had no similar preference for any goods produced in Britain. Because of this trade imbalance, Britain increasingly had to use silver to pay for its expanding purchases of Chinese goods. Britain suffered from a huge trade deficit during the Sino-British trade. Meanwhile, the high tariff made the British government very dissatisfied with the Qing government. The Chinese only allowed silver in exchange for the products they were offering so a significant amount of this commodity was leaving the British Empire.[64]

As its merchants gained increasing influence in China, Great Britain bolstered its military strength in Southern China. Britain began sending warships to combat piracy on the Pearl River, and in 1808 established a permanent garrison of British troops in Macau to defend against French attacks.[65][page range too broad]

Foreign merchants in Canton edit

As the opium-fuelled China Trade increased in scope and value, the foreign presence in Canton and Macau grew in size and influence. The Thirteen Factories district of Canton continued to expand, and was labelled the "foreign quarter".[27][page range too broad] A small population of merchants began to stay in Canton year round (most merchants lived in Macau for the summer months, then moved to Canton in the winter),[66] and a local chamber of commerce was formed. In the first two decades of the 19th century, the increasingly sophisticated (and profitable) trade between Europe and China allowed for a clique of European merchants to rise to positions of great importance in China.[67][page range too broad] The most notable of these figures were William Jardine and James Matheson (who went on to found Jardine Matheson), British merchants who operated a consignment and shipping business in Canton and Macau, with associates such as Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, who became their principal supplier in India.[68][69] While all three dealt in legal goods, they also profited greatly from selling opium. Jardine in particular was effective in navigating the political environment of Canton to allow for more narcotics to be smuggled into China.[31] He was also contemptuous of the Chinese legal system, and often used his economic influence to subvert Chinese authorities.[31] This included his (with Matheson's support) petitioning for the British government to attempt to gain trading rights and political recognition from Imperial China, by force if necessary. In addition to trade, some western missionaries arrived and began to proselytise Christianity to the Chinese. While some officials tolerated this (Macau-based Jesuits had been active in China since the early 17th century), some officials clashed with Chinese Christians, raising tensions between western merchants and Qing officials.[60][page needed][70]

While the foreign community in Canton grew in influence, the local government began to suffer from civil discord inside China. The White Lotus Rebellion (1796–1804) drained the Qing dynasty's treasury of silver, forcing the government to levy increasingly heavy taxes on merchants. These taxes did not abate after the rebellion was crushed, as the Chinese government began a massive project to repair state-owned properties on the Yellow River, referred to as the "Yellow River Conservancy".[71] The merchants of Canton were further expected to make contributions to fight banditry. These taxes weighed heavily on the profits made by the Cohong merchants; by the 1830s, the once-prosperous Cohong had seen their wealth greatly reduced. In addition, the declining value of China's domestic currency resulted in many people in Canton using foreign silver coins (Spanish coins were the most valued, followed by American coins)[72] as they contained higher amounts of silver. Using western coins allowed Cantonese coiners to make many Chinese coins from melted-down western coins, greatly increasing the city's wealth, and tax revenue while tying much of the economy of the city to the foreign merchants.[60][page needed][73]

A significant development came in 1834 when reformers (some of whom were financially backed by Jardine)[70] in Britain, advocating for free trade, succeeded in ending the monopoly of the British East India Company under the Charter Act of the previous year. This shift in trade policy ended the need for merchants to comply with the royal charter for trade in the far east; with this centuries-old restriction lifted, the British China trade was opened to private entrepreneurs, many of whom joined the highly profitable opium trade.[33][74][page range too broad]

On the eve of the Qing government's crackdown on opium, a Chinese official described the changes in society caused by the drug;

At the beginning, opium smoking was confined to the fops of wealthy families who took up the habit as a form of conspicuous consumption, even they knew that they should not indulge in it to the greatest extreme. Later, people of all social strata—from government officials and members of the gentry to craftsmen, merchants, entertainers, and servants, and even women, Buddhist monks and nuns, and Taoist priests—took up the habit and openly bought and equipped themselves with smoking instruments. Even in the center of our dynasty—the nation's capital and its surrounding areas—some of the inhabitants have also been contaminated by this dreadful poison.[75]

Napier Affair edit

In late 1834, to accommodate the revocation of the East India Company's monopoly, the British sent Lord William John Napier to Macau along with John Francis Davis and Sir George Best Robinson, 2nd Baronet, as British superintendents of trade in China. Napier was instructed to obey Chinese regulations, communicate directly with Chinese authorities, superintend trade pertaining to the contraband trade of opium, and to survey China's coastline. Upon his arrival in China, Napier tried to circumvent the restrictive system that forbade direct contact with Chinese officials by sending a letter directly to the Viceroy of Canton. The Viceroy refused to accept it, and on 2 September of that year an edict was issued that temporarily closed British trade. In response, Napier ordered two Royal Navy vessels to bombard Chinese forts on the Pearl River in a show of force. This command was followed through, but war was avoided due to Napier falling ill with typhus and ordering a retreat. The brief gunnery duel drew condemnation by the Chinese government, as well as criticism from the British government and foreign merchants.[76] Other nationalities, such as the Americans, prospered through their continued peaceful trade with China, but the British were told to leave Canton for either Whampoa or Macau.[77][page needed] Lord Napier was forced to return to Macau, where he died of typhus a few days later.[78] After Lord Napier's death, Captain Charles Elliot received the King's Commission as Superintendent of Trade in 1836 to continue Napier's work of conciliating the Chinese.[78]

Escalation of tensions edit

Crackdown on opium edit

 
Commissioner Lin Zexu, dubbed "Lin of Clear Skies" for his moral integrity.
 
Lin Zexu's "memorial" (摺奏) written directly to Queen Victoria

By 1838, the British were selling roughly 1,400 tons of opium per year to China. Legalization of the opium trade was the subject of ongoing debate within the Chinese administration, but a proposal to legalise the narcotic was repeatedly rejected, and in 1838 the government began to actively sentence Chinese drug traffickers to death.[79][clarification needed]

There were also long-term factors that pushed the Chinese government into action. Historian Jonathan D. Spence lists these factors that led to war:

the social dislocations that began to appear in the Qing world, the spread of addiction, the growth of a hard-line mentality toward foreigners, foreign refusal to accept Chinese legal norms, changes in international trade structures, and the ending of Western intellectuals' admiration for China.... When the tough prohibitions of 1838 began to take effect, the market diminished and dealers found themselves dangerously oversupplied. A second contributing factor was that the new British post of superintendent of foreign trade in China was held by a deputy of the British crown....If the Chinese crossed the superintendent, they would be insulting the British nation rather than the business corporation....[The superintendent could] call directly on the aid of British armed Forces and the Royal Navy in times of serious trouble.[80]

In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor appointed scholar-official Lin Zexu to the post of Special Imperial Commissioner with the task of eradicating the opium trade.[81] Lin's famous open "Letter To Queen Victoria" appealed to Queen Victoria's moral reasoning. Citing what he mistakenly understood to be a strict prohibition on opium within Great Britain, Lin questioned how Britain could declare itself moral while its merchants profited from the legal sale in China of a drug that was banned in Britain.[9] He wrote: "Your Majesty has not before been thus officially notified, and you may plead ignorance of the severity of our laws, but I now give my assurance that we mean to cut this harmful drug forever."[82] The letter never reached the Queen, with one source suggesting that it was lost in transit.[83] Lin pledged that nothing would divert him from his mission, "If the traffic in opium were not stopped a few decades from now we shall not only be without soldiers to resist the enemy, but also in want of silver to provide an army."[84][page needed] Lin banned the sale of opium and demanded that all supplies of the drug be surrendered to the Chinese authorities. He also closed the Pearl River Channel, trapping British traders in Canton.[33] As well as seizing opium stockpiles in warehouses and the thirteen factories, Chinese troops boarded British ships in the Pearl River and South China Sea before destroying the opium on board.[85][86][better source needed]

The British Superintendent of Trade in China, Charles Elliot, protested the decision to forcibly seize the opium stockpiles. He ordered all ships carrying opium to flee and prepare for battle. Lin responded by besieging the foreign dealers in the foreign quarter of Canton, and kept them from communicating with their ships in port.[84][page needed] To defuse the situation, Elliot convinced the British traders to cooperate with Chinese authorities and hand over their opium stockpiles with the promise of eventual compensation for their losses by the British government.[33] While this amounted to a tacit acknowledgment that the British government did not disapprove of the trade, it also placed a huge liability on the exchequer. This promise, and the inability of the British government to pay it without causing a political storm, was used as an important casus belli for the subsequent British attack.[87][page needed] During April and May 1839, British and American dealers surrendered 20,283 chests and 200 sacks of opium. The stockpile was publicly destroyed on the beach outside Canton.[84][page needed]

 
Contemporary Chinese depiction of the destruction of opium under Commissioner Lin.

After the opium was surrendered, trade was restarted on the strict condition that no more opium be shipped into China. Looking for a way to effectively police foreign trade and purge corruption, Lin and his advisers decided to reform the existing bond system. Under this system, a foreign captain and the Cohong merchant who had purchased the goods off of his ship swore that the vessel carried no illegal goods. Upon examining the records of the port, Lin was infuriated to find that in the 20 years since opium had been declared illegal, not a single infraction had been reported.[88] As a consequence, Lin demanded that all foreign merchants and Qing officials sign a new bond promising not to deal in opium under penalty of death.[89] The British government opposed their signing of the bond, feeling that it violated the principle of free trade, but some merchants who did not trade in opium (such as Olyphant & Co.) were willing to sign against Elliot's orders. Trade in regular goods continued unabated, and the scarcity of opium caused by the seizure of the foreign warehouses caused the black market to flourish.[90] Some newly arrived merchant ships were able to learn of the ban on opium before they entered the Pearl River estuary, and so they unloaded their cargoes at Lintin Island. The opportunity caused by the sharp rise in the price of opium was seized upon by some of the Cohong trading houses and smugglers, who were able to evade commissioner Lin's efforts and smuggled more opium into China. Superintendent Elliot was aware of the smugglers' activities on Lintin and was under orders to stop them, but feared that any action by the Royal Navy could spark a war and withheld his ships.[33]

Skirmish at Kowloon edit

In early July 1839 a group of British merchant sailors in Kowloon became intoxicated after consuming rice liqueur. Two of the sailors became agitated with and beat to death Lin Weixi, a villager from nearby Tsim Sha Tsui.[91][92] Superintendent Elliot ordered the arrest of the two men, and paid compensation to Lin's family and village. However, he refused a request to turn the sailors over to Chinese authorities, fearing they would be killed in accordance with the Chinese legal code.[93] Commissioner Lin saw this as an obstruction of justice, and ordered the sailors to be handed over.[94] Elliot instead held a trial for the accused men aboard a warship at sea, with himself serving as the judge and merchant captains serving as jurors. He invited the Qing authorities to observe and comment on the proceedings, but the offer was declined.[95] The naval court convicted 5 sailors of assault and rioting, and sentenced them to fines along with hard labour in Britain (a verdict later overturned in British courts).[96][95]

 
1841 painting of the Chinese fort at Kowloon.

Angered by the violation of China's sovereignty, Lin recalled Chinese labourers from Macau and issued an edict preventing the sale of food to the British.[95] War Junks were deployed to the mouth of the Pearl River, while signs were placed and rumours spread by the Qing that they had poisoned the freshwater springs traditionally used to restock foreign merchant ships.[97] On 23 August a ship belonging to a prominent opium merchant was attacked by lascar pirates while travelling downriver from Canton to Macau. Rumors spread among the British that it had been Chinese soldiers who had attacked the ship, and Elliot ordered all British ships to leave the coast of China by 24 August.[97] That same day Macau barred British ships from its harbour at the request of Lin. The commissioner travelled in person to the city, where he was welcomed by some of the inhabitants as a hero who had restored law and order.[98] The flight from Macau ensured that by the end of August over 60 British ships and over 2000 people were idling off of the Chinese coast, fast running out of provisions. On 30 August HMS Volage arrived to defend the fleet from a potential Chinese attack, and Elliot warned Qing authorities in Kowloon that the embargo on food and water must be ended soon.[99][100][page needed]

Early on 4 September Elliot dispatched an armed schooner and a cutter to Kowloon to buy provisions from Chinese peasants. The two ships approached three Chinese war junks in the harbour and requested permission to land men in order to procure supplies. The British were allowed through and basic necessities were provided to the British by Chinese sailors, but the Chinese commander inside Kowloon fort refused to allow the locals to trade with the British and confined the townspeople inside the settlement. The situation grew more intense as the day went on, and in the afternoon Elliot issued an ultimatum that, if the Chinese refused to allow the British to purchase supplies, they would be fired upon. A 3:00 pm deadline set by Elliot passed and the British ships opened fire on the Chinese vessels. The junks returned fire, and Chinese gunners on land began to fire at the British ships. Nightfall ended the battle, and the Chinese junks withdrew, ending what would be known as the Battle of Kowloon. Many British officers wanted to launch a land attack on Kowloon fort the next day, but Elliot decided against it, stating that such an action would cause "great injury and irritation" to the town's inhabitants.[101] After the skirmish, Elliot circulated a paper in Kowloon, reading;

The men of the English nation desire nothing but peace; but they cannot submit to be poisoned and starved. The Imperial cruisers they have no wish to molest or impede; but they must not prevent the people from selling. To deprive men of food is the act only of the unfriendly and hostile.[102]

Having driven off the Chinese ships, the British fleet began to purchase provisions from the local villagers, often with the aid of bribed Chinese officials in Kowloon.[103] Lai Enjue, the local commander at Kowloon, declared that a victory had been won against the British.[103] He claimed that a two masted British warship had been sunk, and that 40–50 British had been killed.[98] He also reported that the British had been unable to acquire supplies, and his reports severely understated the strength of the Royal Navy.[104][105][failed verification]

First Battle of Chuenpi edit

In late October 1839 the merchant ship Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Canton. Thomas Coutts's Quaker owners refused on religious grounds to deal in opium, a fact that the Chinese authorities were aware of. The ship's captain, Warner, believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority by banning the signing of the "no opium trade" bond,[106] and negotiated with the governor of Canton. Warner hoped that all British ships not carrying opium could negotiate to legally unload their goods at Chuenpi, an island near Humen.[107][failed verification]

To prevent other British ships from following Thomas Coutts's precedent, Elliot ordered a blockade of British shipping in the Pearl River. Fighting began on 3 November 1839, when a second British ship, Royal Saxon, attempted to sail to Canton. The British Royal Navy ships HMS Volage and HMS Hyacinth fired warning shots at Royal Saxon. In response to this commotion, a fleet of Chinese war junks under the command of Guan Tianpei sailed out to protect Royal Saxon.[108] The ensuing First Battle of Chuenpi resulted in the destruction of 4 Chinese war junks and the withdrawal of both fleets.[109][page needed] The Qing navy's official report on the Battle of Chuenpi claimed that the navy had protected the British merchant vessel and reported a great victory for the day. In reality, the Chinese had been out-classed by the British vessels and several Chinese ships were disabled.[109][page needed] Elliot reported that his squadron was protecting the 29 British ships in Chuenpi, and began to prepare for the Qing reprisal. Fearing that the Chinese would reject any contacts with the British and eventually attack with fire rafts, he ordered all ships to leave Chuenpi and head for Causeway Bay, 20 miles (30 km) from Macau, hoping that offshore anchorages would be out of range of Lin. Elliot asked Adrião Acácio da Silveira Pinto, the Portuguese governor of Macau, to let British ships load and unload their goods there in exchange for paying rents and any duties. The governor refused for fear that the Chinese would discontinue supplying food and other necessities to Macau, and on 14 January 1840 the Daoguang Emperor asked all foreign merchants in China to halt material assistance to the British.[109][page needed]

Reaction in Britain edit

Parliamentary debates edit

Following the Chinese crackdown on the opium trade, discussion arose as to how Britain would respond, as the public in the United States and Britain had previously expressed outrage that Britain was supporting the opium trade.[110] The East India and China Association of London argued that the opium trade was directly or indirectly sanctioned by the government, and as such they should compensate them for their losses. Elliot signed certificates guaranteeing payment for the surrendered opium with the assumption that China would pay for it. This provided legal basis for the merchants to demand an indemnity from the British government, which they could either force China to pay or pay for it from the British treasury. As the government had no funds to pay such indemnities, they favored forcing China to pay since Elliot had provided them with plausible justification for a China Expedition. Many British citizens sympathised with the Chinese and wanted to halt the sale of opium, while others wanted to contain or regulate the international narcotics trade. However, a great deal of anger was expressed over the treatment of British diplomats and towards the protectionist trading policies of Qing China. The Whig controlled government in particular advocated war with China, and the pro-Whig press printed stories about Chinese "despotism and cruelty". This line of reasoning was primary defense for war with China.[111] Since August 1839, reports had been published in London newspapers about troubles at Canton and the impending war with China. The Queen's Annual Address to the House of Lords on 16 January 1840 expressed the concern that "Events have happened in China which have occasioned an interruption of the commercial intercourse of my subjects with that country. I have given, and shall continue to give, the most serious attention to a matter so deeply affecting the interests of my subjects and the dignity of my Crown."[112]

The Whig Melbourne Government was then in a weak political situation. It barely survived a motion of non-confidence on 31 January 1840 by a majority of 21. The Tories saw the China Question as an opportunity to beat the Government, and James Graham moved a motion on 7 April 1840 in the House of Commons, censuring the Government's "want of foresight and precaution" and "their neglect to furnish the superintendent at Canton with powers and instructions" to deal with the opium trade.[113] This was a deliberate move of the Tories to avoid the sensitive issues of war and opium trade and to obtain maximum support for the motion within the party.[114] Calls for military action were met with mixed responses when the matter went before Parliament. Foreign Secretary Palmerston, a politician known for his aggressive foreign policy and advocacy for free trade, led the pro war camp. Palmerston strongly believed that the destroyed opium should be considered property, not contraband, and as such reparations had to be made for its destruction. He justified military action by saying that no one could "say that he honestly believed the motive of the Chinese Government to have been the promotion of moral habits" and that the war was being fought to stem China's balance of payments deficit.[110][failed verification] After consulting with William Jardine, the foreign secretary drafted a letter to Prime Minister William Melbourne calling for a military response. Other merchants called for an opening of free trade with China, and it was commonly cited that the Chinese consumers were the driving factor of the opium trade. The periodic expulsion of British merchants from Canton and the refusal of the Qing government to treat Britain as a diplomatic equal were seen as a slight to national pride.[115][page needed]

Few Tory or liberal politicians supported the war. Sir James Graham, Lord Phillip Stanhope, and William Ewart Gladstone headed the anti-war faction in Britain, and denounced the ethics of the opium trade.[115][111] After three days of debate, the vote was taken on Graham's motion on 9 April 1840, which was defeated by a majority of only 9 votes (262 votes for vs 271 votes against ). The Tories in the House of Commons thus failed to deter the Government from proceeding with the war and stop the British warships already on their way to China. The House of Commons agreed on 27 July 1840 to a resolution of granting £173,442 for the expenses of the expedition to China, long after the war with China had broken out.[115][failed verification][111][failed verification]

Cabinet Decision and Palmerston letters edit

Under strong pressure and lobbying from various trade and manufacturer associations, the Whig cabinet under Prime Minister Melbourne decided on 1 October 1839 to send an expedition to China.[116] War preparations then began.

In early November 1839, Palmerston instructed Auckland, Governor General of India, to prepare military forces for deployment in China. On 20 February 1840 Palmerston (who remained unaware of the First Battle of Chuenpi in November 1839) drafted two letters detailing the British response to the situation in China. One letter was addressed to the Elliots, the other to the Daoguang Emperor and the Qing government. The letter to the Emperor informed China that Great Britain had sent a military expeditionary force to the Chinese coast.[117] In the letter, Palmerston stated that,

These measures of hostility on the part of Great Britain against China are not only justified, but even rendered absolutely necessary, by the outrages which have been committed by the Chinese Authorities against British officers and Subjects, and these hostilities will not cease, until a satisfactory arrangement shall have been made by the Chinese Government.[117][dead link]

In his letter to the Elliots, Palmerston instructed the commanders to set up a blockade of the Pearl River and forward to a Chinese official the letter from Palmerston addressing the Chinese Emperor. They were to then capture the Zhoushan Islands, blockade the mouth of the Yangtze River, start negotiations with Qing officials, and finally sail the fleet into the Bohai Sea, where they would send another copy of the aforementioned letter to Beijing.[118] Palmerston also issued a list of objectives that the British government wanted accomplished, with said objectives being:[citation needed]

  • Demand to be treated with the respect due to a royal envoy by the Qing authorities.
  • Secure the right of the British superintendent to administer justice to British subjects in China.
  • Seek recompense for destroyed British property.
  • Gain most favoured trading status with the Chinese government.
  • Request the right for foreigners to safely inhabit and own private property in China.
  • Ensure that, if contraband is seized in accordance with Chinese law, no harm comes to the person(s) of British subjects carrying illicit goods in China.
  • End the system by which British merchants are restricted to trading solely in Canton.
  • Ask that the cities of Canton, Amoy, Shanghai, Ningbo, and the province of northern Formosa be freely opened to trade from all foreign powers.
  • Secure island(s) along the Chinese coast that can be easily defended and provisioned, or exchange captured islands for favourable trading terms.

Lord Palmerston left it to Superintendent Elliot's discretion as to how these objectives would be fulfilled, but noted that while negotiation would be a preferable outcome, he did not trust that diplomacy would succeed, writing;

To sum up in a few words the result of this Instruction, you will see, from what I have stated, that the British Government demands from that of China satisfaction for the past and security for the future; and does not choose to trust to negotiation for obtaining either of these things; but has sent out a Naval and Military Force with orders to begin at once to take the Measures necessary for attaining the object in view.[118][dead link]

War edit

Opening moves edit

 
Engagement between British and Chinese ships in the First Battle of Chuenpi, 1839.

The Chinese naval forces in Canton were under the command of Admiral Guan Tianpei, who had fought the British at Chuenpi. The Qing southern army and garrisons were under the command of General Yang Fang. Overall command was invested in the Daoguang Emperor and his court.[49] The Chinese government initially believed that, as in the 1834 Napier Affair, the British had been successfully expelled.[119] Few preparations were made for a British reprisal, and the events leading to the eventual outbreak of the Sino-Sikh War in 1841 were seen as a greater cause for concern.[120][121][page range too broad]

Left without a major base of operations in China, the British withdrew their merchant shipping from the region while maintaining the Royal Navy's China squadron in the islands around the mouth of the Pearl River. From London, Palmerston continued to dictate operations in China, ordering the East India Company to divert troops from India in preparation for a limited war against the Chinese. It was decided that the war would not be fought as a full-scale conflict, but rather as a punitive expedition.[122][123][page range too broad] Superintendent Elliot remained in charge of Britain's interests in China, while Commodore James Bremer led the Royal Marines and the China Squadron. Major General Hugh Gough was selected to command the British land forces, and was promoted to overall commander of British forces in China.[124] The cost of the war would be paid by the British Government.[109][page needed][119][125][page range too broad][126] Per Lord Palmerston's letter, plans were drawn up by the British to launch a series of attacks on Chinese ports and rivers.[127]

British plans to form an expeditionary force were started immediately after the January 1840 vote. Several infantry regiments were raised in the British isles, and the completion of ships already under construction was expedited. To conduct the upcoming war, Britain also began to draw on forces from its overseas empire.[128][page range too broad] British India had been preparing for a war since word had arrived that the opium had been destroyed, and several regiments of Bengali volunteers had been recruited to supplement the regular British Indian Army and East India Company forces. In terms of naval forces, the ships earmarked for the expedition were either posted in remote colonies or under repair, and Oriental Crisis of 1840 (and the resulting risk of war between Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire over Syria) drew the attention of the Royal Navy's European fleets away from China.[129] Orders were dispatched to British South Africa and Australia to send ships to Singapore, the assigned rendezvous point for the expedition. A number of steamers were purchased by the Royal Navy and attached to the expedition as transports. The unseasonable summer weather of India and the Strait of Malacca slowed the British deployment, and a number of accidents decreased the combat readiness of the expedition. Most notably, both of the 74-gun ships of the line that the Royal Navy intended to use against Chinese fortifications were temporarily put out of action by hull damage.[129] Despite these delays, by mid-June 1840 British forces had begun to assemble in Singapore. While they waited for more ships to arrive, the Royal Marines practised amphibious invasions on the beach, first by landing ashore in boats, then forming lines and advancing on mock fortifications.[129][128][page range too broad]

British offensive begins edit

 
Capture of Chusan, July 1840

In late June 1840 the first part of the expeditionary force arrived in China aboard 15 barracks ships, four steam-powered gunboats and 25 smaller boats.[130] The flotilla was under the command of Commodore Bremer. The British issued an ultimatum demanding the Qing Government pay compensation for losses suffered from interrupted trade and the destruction of opium, but were rebuffed by the Qing authorities in Canton.[131]

In his letters, Palmerston had instructed the joint plenipotentiaries Elliot and his cousin Admiral George Elliot to acquire the cession of at least one island for trade on the Chinese coast.[132] With the British expeditionary force now in place, a combined naval and ground assault was launched on the Zhoushan (Chusan) Archipelago. Zhoushan Island, the largest and best defended of the islands was the primary target for the attack, as was its vital port of Dinghai. When the British fleet arrived off Zhoushan, Elliot demanded the city surrender. The commander of the Chinese garrison refused the command, stating that he could not surrender and questioning what reason the British had for harassing Dinghai, as they had been driven out of Canton. Fighting began, a fleet of 12 small junks was destroyed by the Royal Navy, and British marines captured the hills to the south of Dinghai.[133]

 
The Battle of Chusan

The British captured the city itself after an intense naval bombardment on 5 July forced the surviving Chinese defenders to withdraw.[131] The British occupied Dinghai harbour and prepared to use it as a staging point for operations in China. In the fall of 1840 disease broke out in the Dinghai garrison, forcing the British to evacuate soldiers to Manila and Calcutta. By the beginning of 1841 only 1900 of the 3300 men who had originally occupied Dinghai were left, with many of those remaining incapable of fighting. An estimated 500 British soldiers died from disease, with the Cameron and Bengali volunteers suffering the most deaths, while the Royal Marines were relatively unscathed.[134]

Having captured Dinghai, the British expedition divided its forces, sending one fleet south to the Pearl River while sending a second fleet north to the Yellow Sea. The northern fleet sailed to the Hai River, where Elliot personally presented Palmerston's letter to the Emperor to Qing authorities from the capital. Qishan, a high-ranking Manchu official, was selected by the Imperial Court to replace Lin as the Viceroy of Liangguang after the latter was discharged for his failure to resolve the opium situation.[135][page needed] Negotiations began between the two sides, with Qishan serving as the primary negotiator for the Qing and Elliot serving as the representative for the British Crown. After a week of negotiations, Qishan and Elliot agreed to relocate to the Pearl River for further negotiations. In return for the courtesy of the British to withdraw from the Yellow Sea, Qishan promised to requisition imperial funds as restitution for British merchants who had suffered damages. The war, however, was not concluded and both sides continued to engage each other. In the late spring of 1841 reinforcements arrived from India in preparation for an offensive against Canton. A flotilla of transports brought 600 men of the professionally trained 37th Madras Native Infantry to Dinghai, where their arrival boosted British morale.[134] Accompanying the fleet as far as Macau was the newly constructed iron steamer HMS Nemesis, a weapon to which the Chinese navy had no effective counter.[136] On 19 August three British warships and 380 marines drove the Chinese from the land bridge (known as "The Barrier") separating Macau from the Chinese mainland.[137][non-primary source needed] The defeat of the Qing soldiers coupled with the arrival of the Nemesis in Macau's harbour resulted in a wave of pro-British support in the city, and several Qing officials were driven out or killed. Portugal remained neutral in the conflict, but after the battle was willing to allow British ships to dock in Macau, a decision that granted the British a functioning port in Southern China.[138] With the strategic harbours of Dinghai and Macau secured, the British began to focus on the war on the Pearl River. Five months after the British victory at Chusan, the northern elements of the expedition sailed south to Humen, known to the British as The Bogue. Bremer judged that gaining control of the Pearl River and Canton would put the British in a strong negotiating position with the Qing authorities, as well as allow for the renewal of trade when the war ended.[122]

Pearl River campaign edit

While the British campaigned in the north, Qing Admiral Guan Tianpei greatly reinforced the Qing positions in Humen (Bocca Tigris), suspecting (sources state that Guan had been preparing for an eventual attack on the position since Napier's attack in 1835)[139] that the British would attempt to force their way up the Pearl River to Canton. The Humen forts blocked transit of the river, and were garrisoned with 3000 men and 306 cannons. By the time the British fleet was ready for action, 10,000 Qing soldiers were in position to defend Canton and the surrounding area.[139] The British fleet arrived in early January, and began to bombard the Qing defences at Chuenpi after a group of Chinese fire-rafts were sent drifting towards the Royal navy ships.[citation needed]

 
The Second Battle of Chuenpi

On 7 January 1841 the British won a decisive victory in the Second Battle of Chuenpi, destroying 11 Junks of the Chinese southern fleet and capturing the Humen forts. The victory allowed the British to set up a blockade of The Bogue, a blow that forced the Qing navy to retreat upriver.[140][better source needed]

Knowing the strategic value of Pearl River Delta to China and aware that British naval superiority made a reconquest of the region unlikely, Qishan attempted to prevent the war from widening further by negotiating a peace treaty with Britain.[141] On 21 January Qishan and Elliot drafted the Convention of Chuenpi, a document which both parties hoped would end the war.[141][142] The convention would establish equal diplomatic rights between Britain and China, exchange Hong Kong Island for Zhoushan, facilitate the release of shipwrecked and kidnapped British citizens held by the Chinese, and reopen trade in Canton by 1 February 1841.[142] China would also pay six million silver dollars as recompense for the opium destroyed at Humen in 1838. However, the legal status of the opium trade was not resolved and instead left open to be discussed at a future date. Despite the success of the negotiations between Qishan and Elliot, both of their respective governments refused to sign the convention. The Daoguang Emperor was infuriated that Qing territory would be given up in a treaty that had been signed without his permission, and ordered Qishan arrested (he was later sentenced to death; the sentence was then commuted to military service.) Lord Palmerston recalled Elliot from his post and refused to sign the convention, wanting more concessions to be forced from the Chinese per his original instructions.[123][page range too broad][135][page needed]

 
British ships approaching Canton in May 1841

The brief interlude in the fighting ended in the beginning of February after the Chinese refused to reopen Canton to British trade. On 19 February a longboat from HMS Nemesis came under fire from a fort on North Wangtong Island, prompting a British response.[143] The British commanders ordered another blockade of the Pearl River and resumed combat operations against the Chinese. The British captured the remaining Bogue forts on 26 February during the Battle of the Bogue and the Battle of First Bar on the following day, allowing the fleet to move further upriver towards Canton.[144][non-primary source needed][141] Admiral Tianpei was killed in action during the fighting on 26 February. On 2 March the British destroyed a Qing fort near Pazhou and captured Whampoa, an action that directly threatened Canton's east flank.[145][146][non-primary source needed] Major General Gough, who had recently arrived from Madras aboard HMS Cruizer, personally directed the attack on Whampoa. Superintendent Elliot (who was unaware that he had been dismissed), and the Governor-General of Canton declared a 3-day truce on 3 March. Between the 3rd and the 6th the British forces that had evacuated Zhoushan per the Convention of Chuenpi arrived in the Pearl River. The Chinese military was likewise reinforced, and by 16 March General Yang Fang commanded 30,000 men in the area surrounding Canton.[147]

While the main British fleet prepared to sail up the Pearl River to Canton, a group of three warships departed for the Xi River estuary, intending to navigate the waterway between Macau and Canton. The fleet, led by Captain James Scott and Superintendent Elliot, was composed of the frigate HMS Samarang and the steamships HMS Nemesis and HMS Atalanta.[148] Although the waterway was in places only 6 feet deep, the shallow drafts of the steamships allowed the British to approach Canton from a direction the Qing believed to be impossible.[149] In a series of engagements along the river from 13 to 15 March, the British captured or destroyed Chinese ships, guns, and military equipment. 9 junks, 6 fortresses, and 105 guns were destroyed or captured in what was known as the Broadway expedition.[150][page range too broad]

 
British map of the Pearl River.

With the Pearl River cleared of Chinese defences, the British debated advancing on Canton. Although the truce had ended on 6 March, Superintendent Elliot believed that the British should negotiate with the Qing authorities from their current position of strength rather than risk a battle in Canton. The Qing army made no aggressive moves against the British and instead began to fortify the city. Chinese military engineers began to establish a number of mud earthworks on the riverbank, sank junks to create riverblocks, and started constructing fire rafts and gunboats. Chinese merchants were ordered to remove all of the silk and tea from Canton to impede trade, and the local populace was barred from selling food to the British ships on the river.[151] On 16 March a British ship approaching a Chinese fort under a flag of truce was fired upon, leading to the British setting the fort on fire with rockets. These actions convinced Elliot that the Chinese were preparing to fight, and following the return of the ships of the Broadway expedition to the fleet, the British attacked Canton on 18 March, taking the Thirteen Factories with very few casualties and raising the Union Jack above the British factory.[141] The city was partially occupied by the British and trade was reopened after negotiation with the Cohong merchants. After several days of further military successes, British forces commanded the high ground around Canton. Another truce was declared on 20 March. Against the advice of some of his captains, Elliot withdrew most of the Royal Navy warships downriver to the Bocca Tigris.[147][70]

 
Sketch of British soldiers occupying the high ground above Canton in 1841.

In mid April Yishan (Qishan's replacement as Viceroy of Liangguang and the Daoguang Emperor's cousin) arrived in Canton. He declared that trade should continue to remain open, sent emissaries to Elliot, and began to gather military assets outside Canton. The Qing army camped outside of the city soon numbered 50,000, and the money earned from the reopened trade was spent repairing and expanding Canton's defences. Concealed artillery batteries were built along the Pearl River, Chinese soldiers were deployed in Whampoa and the Bocca Tigris, and hundreds of small river craft were armed for war. A bulletin sent from the Daoguang Emperor commanded the Qing forces to "Exterminate the rebels at all points", and orders were given to drive the British from the Pearl River before reclaiming Hong Kong and driving the invaders out of China altogether.[152] This order was leaked and became widely circulated in Canton among foreign merchants, who were already suspicious of Chinese intentions after learning of the Qing military buildup. In May many Cohong merchants and their families left the city, raising further concerns about a renewal of hostilities. Rumors spread that Chinese divers were being trained to drill holes in the hulls of British ships, and that fleets of fire rafts were being prepared for deployment against the Royal Navy.[153] During the buildup the Qing army was weakened by infighting between units and lack of confidence in Yishan, who openly distrusted Cantonese civilians and soldiers, instead choosing to rely on forces drawn from other Chinese provinces.[100][page needed] On 20 May Yishan issued a statement, asking the "people of Canton, and all foreign merchants who are respectfully obedient, not to tremble with alarm and be frightened out of their wits at the military hosts that are gathering around, there being no probability of hostilities." The next day Elliot requested that all British merchants evacuate the city by sundown, and several warships were recalled to their positions in front of Canton.[154]

On the night of 21 May the Qing launched a coordinated night attack on the British army and navy.[140][better source needed] Artillery batteries hidden in Canton and on the Pearl River (many of which the British believed they had disabled earlier) opened fire, and Qing soldiers retook the British Factory. A large formation of 200 fire rafts connected by a chain was sent drifting towards the British ships at Canton, and fishing boats armed with matchlock guns began to engage the Royal Navy. The British warships were able to evade the attack, and stray rafts set Canton's waterfront on fire, illuminating the river and foiling the night attack. Downriver at Whampoa the Chinese attacked the British vessels at anchor there and attempted to prevent ships from reaching Canton. Having suspected an attack, (and as a consequence delaying his own offensive) Major General Gough consolidated the British forces at Hong Kong and ordered a rapid advance upriver to Canton. These reinforcements arrived on 25 May, and the British counter-attacked, taking the last four Qing forts above Canton and bombarding the city.[140]

The Qing army fled in panic when the city heights were taken, and the British pursued them into the countryside. On 29 May a crowd of around 20,000 villagers and townspeople attacked and defeated a foraging company of 60 Indian sepoys in what became known as the Sanyuanli Incident, and Gough ordered a retreat back to the river. The fighting subsided on 30 May 1841 and Canton came fully under British occupation.[155] [156][141] Following the capture of Canton the British command and the governor-general of Canton agreed to a cease-fire in the region. Under the terms of the limited peace (later widely referred to as "The Ransom of Canton"), the British were paid to withdraw beyond the Bogue forts, an action they completed by 31 May.[155] Elliott signed the peace treaty without consulting the British army or Navy, an act which displeased General Gough.[157]

The defence of Canton was declared a diplomatic success by Yishan. In a letter to the Emperor, he wrote that the barbarians had begged "the chief general that he would implore the great Emperor in their behalf, that he would have mercy upon them, and cause their debts to be repaid them, and graciously permit them to carry on their commerce, when they would immediately withdraw their ships from the Bocca Tigris, and never dare again to raise any disturbance."[158] However, General Yang Fang was reprimanded by the Emperor for his agreeing to a truce rather than forcefully resisting the British.[159] The Emperor was not informed the British expedition had not been defeated and was very much intact. The imperial court continued to debate China's next course of action for the war, as the Daoguang Emperor wanted Hong Kong retaken.[160]

Central China edit

 
HMS Wellesley and the British squadron sailing from Hong Kong for the attack on Amoy in 1841.

Following their withdrawal from Canton, the British relocated the expeditionary force to Hong Kong. Just as with the Chinese commanders, the British leaders debated how the war should be continued. Elliot wanted to cease military operations and reopen trade, while Major General Gough wanted to capture the city of Amoy and blockade the Yangtze River.[161] In July, a typhoon struck Hong Kong, damaging British ships in the harbour and destroying some of the facilities the expedition was building on the island.[162] The situation changed when, on 29 July, Elliot was informed that he had been replaced as Superintendent by Henry Pottinger, who arrived in Hong Kong on 10 August to begin his administration. Pottinger wanted to negotiate terms with the Qing for the entire country of China, rather than just the Pearl River, and so he turned away Chinese envoys from Canton and gave permission for the expeditionary force to proceed with its war plans. Admiral Sir William Parker also arrived in Hong Kong to replace Humphrey Fleming Senhouse (who had died of a fever on 29 June) as the commander of the British naval forces in China. It was agreed by the British commanders that combat operations should be moved north to put pressure on Peking, and on 21 August the fleet sailed for Amoy.[163]

 
British troops at the Battle of Amoy, 1841

On 25 August, the British fleet entered the Jiulong River estuary and arrived at Amoy. The city was prepared for a naval assault, as Qing military engineers had built several artillery batteries into the granite cliffs overlooking the river. A purely naval assault was considered too risky by Parker, prompting Gough to order a combined naval and ground attack on the defences. On 26 August British marines and regular infantry (under the covering fire of the Royal Navy) flanked and destroyed the Chinese defences guarding the river. Several large British ships failed to destroy the largest of the Chinese batteries (which withstood over 12,000 cannonballs being fired at it),[164] so the position was scaled and captured by the British infantry. The city of Amoy was abandoned on 27 August, and British soldiers entered the inner town where they blew up the citadel's powder magazine. 26 Chinese junks and 128 cannons were captured, with the captured guns being thrown into the river by the British. As Lord Palmerston wanted Amoy to become an international trade port at the end of the war, Gough ordered that no looting be tolerated and had officers enforce the death penalty for anyone found to be plundering. However, many Chinese merchants refused to ask for British protection out of fear of being branded as traitors to the Qing dynasty. The British withdrew to an island on the river, where they established a small garrison and blockaded the Jiulong River. With the city empty of any army, peasants, criminals, and deserters looted the town. The Qing army retook the city and restored order several days later, after which the city governor declared that a victory had been won and 5 British ships sunk.[165][150][page range too broad][166][page range too broad]

In Britain, changes in Parliament resulted in Lord Palmerston being removed from his post as Foreign Minister on 30 August. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne replaced him, and sought a more measured approach to the situation in China. Lamb remained a supporter of the war.[167][168][page needed]

In September 1841, the British transport ship Nerbudda was shipwrecked on a reef off the northern coast of Taiwan after a brief gunnery duel with a Chinese fort. This sinking was followed by the loss of the brig Ann on another reef in March 1842. The survivors of both ships were captured and marched to southern Taiwan, where they were imprisoned. 197 were executed by Qing authorities on 10 August 1842, while an additional 87 died from ill-treatment in captivity. This became known as the Nerbudda incident.[169]

 
The British forces invasion and Second Capture of Chusan

October 1841 saw the British solidify their control over the central Chinese coast. Zhoushan (Chusan) had been exchanged for Hong Kong on the authority of Qishan in January 1841, after which the island had been re-garrisoned by the Qing. Fearing that the Chinese would improve the island's defences, the British began a military invasion. The British attacked the Qing on 1 October. The battle of the Second Capture of Chusan ensued. The British forces killed 1500 Qing soldiers and captured Zhoushan. The victory reestablished British control over Dinghai's important harbour.[170][better source needed]

On 10 October a British naval force bombarded and captured a fort on the outskirts of Ningbo in central China. A battle broke out between the British army and a Chinese force of 1500 men on the road between the town of Chinhai and Ningbo, during which the Chinese were routed. Following the defeat, Chinese authorities evacuated Ningbo and the empty city was taken by the British on 13 October. An imperial cannon manufactory in the city was captured by the British, reducing the ability of the Qing to replace their lost equipment, and the fall of the city threatened the nearby Qiantang River.[171][172] The capture of Ningbo forced the British command to examine their policy towards occupied Chinese territory and prizes of war. Admiral Parker and Superintendent Pottinger wanted a percentage of all captured Chinese property to be turned over to the British as legal prizes of war, while General Gough argued that this would only turn the Chinese population against the British, and that if property had to be seized, it should be public property rather than private. British policy eventually settled that 10% of all property captured by the British expeditionary forces would be seized as war loot in retaliation for injustices done to British merchants. Gough later stated that this edict would compel his men to "punish one set of robbers for the benefit of another."[173]

Fighting ceased for the winter of 1841 while the British resupplied.[174] False reports sent by Yishan to the Emperor in Beijing resulted in the continued British threat being downplayed. In late 1841 the Daoguang Emperor discovered that his officials in Canton and Amoy had been sending him embellished reports. He ordered the governor of Guangxi, Liang Chang-chü, to send him clear accounts of the events in Canton, noting that since Guangxi was a neighbouring province, Liang must be receiving independent accounts. He warned Liang that he would be able to verify his information by obtaining secret inquiries from other places.[175] Yishan was recalled to the capital and faced trial by the imperial court, which removed him from command. Now aware of the severity of the British threat, Chinese towns and cities began to fortify against naval incursions.[100][page needed][26][page range too broad]

In the spring of 1842 the Daoguang Emperor ordered his cousin Yijing to retake the city of Ningbo (Ningpo). In the ensuing Battle of Ningpo on 10 March the British garrison repelled the assault with rifle fire and naval artillery. At Ningbo the British lured the Qing army into the city streets before opening fire, resulting in heavy Chinese casualties.[176][177][178] The British pursued the retreating Chinese army, capturing the nearby city of Cixi on 15 March.[179]

The important harbour of Zhapu was captured on 18 May in the Battle of Chapu.[5] A British fleet bombarded the town, forcing its surrender. A holdout of 300 soldiers of the Eight Banners stalled the advance of British army for several hours, an act of heroism that was commended by Gough.[180][181]

Yangtze river campaign edit

With many Chinese ports now blockaded or under British occupation, Major General Gough sought to cripple the finances of the Qing Empire by striking up the Yangtze River. 25 warships and 10,000 men were assembled at Ningbo and Zhapu in May for a planned advance into the Chinese interior.[182] The expedition's advance ships sailed up the Yangtze and captured the emperor's tax barges, a devastating blow that slashed the revenue of the imperial court in Beijing to a fraction of what it had been.[183]

 
British troops capture Zhenjiang in the last major battle of the war, 21 July 1842

On 14 June, the mouth of the Huangpu River was captured by the British fleet. On 16 June, the Battle of Woosung occurred, after which the British captured the towns of Wusong and Baoshan. The undefended outskirts of Shanghai were occupied by the British on 19 June. Following the battle, Shanghai was looted by retreating Qing banner-men, British soldiers, and local civilians. Qing Admiral Chen Huacheng was killed while defending a fort in Woosong.[184][185][182]

The fall of Shanghai left the vital city of Nanjing (Known as Jiangning under the Qing) vulnerable. The Qing amassed an army of 56,000 Manchu Banner-men and Han Green Standards to defend Liangjiang Province, and strengthened their river defences on the Yangtze. However, British naval activity in Northern China led to resources and manpower being withdrawn to defend against a feared attack on Beijing.[186] The Qing commander in Liangjiang Province released 16 British prisoners with the hope that a ceasefire could be reached, but poor communications led both the Qing and the British to reject any overtures at peace.[187] In secret, the Daoguang Emperor considered signing a peace treaty with the British, but only in regards to the Yangtze River and not the war as a whole. Had it been signed, the British forces would have been paid to not enter the Yangtze River.[188]

On 14 July, the British fleet on the Yangtze began to sail up the river. Reconnaissance alerted Gough to the logistical importance of the city of Zhenjiang (Chinkiang), and plans were made to capture it.[189] Most of the city's guns had been relocated to Wusong and had been captured by the British when said city had been taken. The Qing commanders inside the city were disorganised, with Chinese sources stating that over 100 traitors were executed in Zhenjiang prior to the battle.[190][page needed] The British fleet arrived off of the city on the morning of 21 July, and the Chinese forts defending the city were blasted apart. The Chinese defenders initially retreated into the surrounding hills, causing a premature British landing. Fighting erupted when thousands of Chinese soldiers emerged from the city, beginning the Battle of Zhenjiang.[citation needed]

 
Fighting at Zhenjiang

British engineers blew open the western gate and stormed into the city, where fierce street to street fighting ensued. Zhenjiang was devastated by the battle, with many Chinese soldiers and their families committing suicide rather than be taken prisoner.[5][120] The British suffered their highest combat losses of the war (36 killed) taking the city.[185][77][page needed][181]

After capturing Zhenjiang, the British fleet cut the vital Grand Canal, paralysing the Caoyun system and severely disrupting the Chinese ability to distribute grain throughout the Empire.[191][185] The British departed Zhenjiang on 3 August, intending to sail to Nanking. They arrived outside the Jiangning District on 9 August, and were in position to assault the city by 11 August. Although explicit permission to negotiate had not yet been granted by the emperor, Qing officials inside the city agreed to a British request to negotiate.[192]

Treaty of Nanking edit

On 14 August a Chinese delegation led by the Manchu high court official Qiying (Kiying) and Llipu departed Nanking for the British fleet. Negotiations lasted for several weeks as the British delegation insisted the treaty be accepted by the Daoguang Emperor. The court advised the emperor to accept the treaty, and on 21 August the Daoguang Emperor authorised his diplomats to sign the peace treaty with the British.[193][194][page needed] The First Opium war officially ended on 29 August 1842 with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking.[195][page needed] The document was signed by officials of the British and Qing empires aboard HMS Cornwallis.[196]

 
Oil painting depicting the signing of the Treaty of Nanking.

Technology and tactics edit

British edit

The British military superiority during the conflict drew heavily on the strength of the Royal Navy.[136]

British warships carried more guns than their Chinese opponents and were manoeuvrable enough to evade Chinese boarding actions. Steam ships such as HMS Nemesis were able to move against winds and tides in Chinese rivers, and were armed with heavy guns and Congreve rockets.[136] Several of the larger British warships in China (notably the third-rates HMS Cornwallis, HMS Wellesley, and HMS Melville) carried more guns than entire fleets of Chinese junks.[182][non-primary source needed] British naval superiority allowed the Royal Navy to attack Chinese forts with very little risk to themselves, as British naval cannons out-ranged the vast majority of the Qing artillery.[182][non-primary source needed]

British soldiers in China were equipped with Brunswick rifles and rifle-modified Brown Bess muskets, both of which possessed an effective firing range of 200–300 metres.[197][better source needed] British marines were equipped with percussion caps that greatly reduced weapon misfires and allowed firearms to be used in damp environments. In terms of gunpowder, the British formula was better manufactured and contained more sulphur than the Chinese mixture.[197][better source needed] This granted British weapons an advantage in terms of range, accuracy and projectile velocity. British artillery was lighter (owing to improved forging methods) and more manoeuvrable than the cannons used by the Chinese. As with the naval artillery, British guns out-ranged the Chinese cannon.[citation needed]

In terms of tactics, the British forces in China followed doctrines established during the Napoleonic Wars that had been adapted during the various colonial wars of the 1820s and 1830s. Many of the British soldiers deployed to China were veterans of colonial wars in India and had experience fighting larger but technologically inferior armies.[198] In battle, the British line infantry would advance towards the enemy in columns, forming ranks once they had closed to firing range. Companies would commence firing volleys into the enemy ranks until they retreated. If a position needed to be taken, an advance or charge with bayonets would be ordered. Light infantry companies screened the line infantry formations, protecting their flanks and utilising skirmishing tactics to disrupt the enemy.[174] British artillery was used to destroy the Qing artillery and break up enemy formations. During the conflict, the British superiority in range, rate of fire, and accuracy allowed the infantry to deal significant damage to their enemy before the Chinese could return fire.[199][full citation needed] The use of naval artillery to support infantry operations allowed the British to take cities and forts with minimal casualties.[200][failed verification][201][failed verification]

The overall strategy of the British during the war was to inhibit the finances of the Qing Empire, with the ultimate goal of acquiring a colonial possession on the Chinese coast. This was accomplished through the capture of Chinese cities and by blockading major river systems.[202] Once a fort or city had been captured, the British would destroy the local arsenal and disable all of the captured guns.[201][failed verification] They would then move on to the next target, leaving a small garrison behind. This strategy was planned and implemented by Major General Gough, who was able to operate with minimal input from the British government after Superintendent Elliot was recalled in 1841.[203] The large number of private British merchants and East India Company ships deployed in Singapore and the India colonies ensured that the British forces in China were adequately supplied.[204][13][page needed]

Qing dynasty edit

China did not have a unified navy, instead allowing individual provinces to manage naval defenses.[205] Although the Qing had invested in naval defences for their adjacent seas in earlier periods, after the death of the Qianlong Emperor in 1799, the navy decayed as more attention was directed to suppressing the Miao Rebellion and White Lotus Rebellion. These conflicts left the Qing treasury bankrupt. The remaining naval forces were badly overstretched, undermanned, underfunded and uncoordinated.[206]

From the onset of the war, the Chinese navy was severely disadvantaged. Chinese war junks were intended for use against pirates or equivalent types of vessels, and were more effective in close range river engagements. Due to their ships' slow speeds, Qing captains consistently found themselves sailing towards much more maneuverable British ships, and as a consequence the Chinese could only use their bow guns.[207][non-primary source needed] The size of the British ships made traditional boarding tactics useless, and the junks carried smaller numbers of inferior weaponry.[176][non-primary source needed] In addition, the Chinese ships were poorly armoured; in several battles, British shells and rockets penetrated Chinese magazines and detonated gunpowder stores. Highly maneuverable steamships such as HMS Nemesis could decimate small fleets of junks, as the junks had little chance of catching up to and engaging the faster British steamers.[182][non-primary source needed] The only western-style warship in the Qing Navy, the converted East Indiaman Cambridge, was destroyed in the Battle of First Bar.[208][non-primary source needed]

Apparently the Chinese emperor was aware about this. In an 1842 edict he said:

... the invasion by the rebellious barbarians, they depended upon their strong ships and effective guns to commit outrageous acts on the seas and harm our people, largely because the native war junks are too small to match them. For this reason I, the Emperor, repeatedly ordered our generals to resist on land and not to fight on seas ... When the enemy ships come, no resistance can be offered; when they go away no means of pursuit are available ... In my opinion what the rebellious barbarians rely upon is the fact that Chinese war junks are incapable of going out to sea to fight them.[209]

The defensive nature of the conflict resulted in the Chinese relying heavily on an extensive network of fortifications. The Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722) began the construction of river defences to combat pirates, and encouraged the use of western style cannons. By the time of the First Opium War, multiple forts defended most major Chinese cities and waterways. Although the forts were well armed and strategically positioned, the Qing defeat exposed major flaws in their design. The cannons used in the Qing defensive fortifications were a collection of Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and British pieces.[210] The domestically produced Chinese cannon were crafted using sub-par forging methods, limiting their effectiveness in combat and causing excessive gun barrel wear. The Chinese blend of gunpowder also contained more charcoal than the British mixture did;[197][failed verification][better source needed] while this made it more stable and thus easier to store, it also limited its potential as a propellant, decreasing projectile range and accuracy.[211][197][better source needed] Overall, Chinese cannon technology was considered to be 200 years behind that of the British.[212]

Chinese forts were unable to withstand attacks by European weaponry, as they were designed without angled glacis and many did not have protected magazines.[202][213] The limited range of the Qing cannon allowed the British to bombard the Qing defences from a safe distance, then land soldiers to storm them with minimal risk. Many of the larger Chinese guns were built as fixed emplacements and were unable to be maneuvered to fire at British ships.[214] The failure of the Qing fortifications coupled with the Chinese underestimation of the Royal Navy allowed the British to force their way up major rivers and impede Qing logistics.[202] Most notably, the powerful series of forts at Humen were well positioned to stop an invader from proceeding upriver to Canton, but it had not been considered that an enemy would attack and destroy the forts themselves, as the British did during the war.[215]

At the start of the war the Qing army consisted of over 200,000 soldiers, with around 800,000 men being able to be called for war. These forces consisted of Manchu Bannermen, the Green Standard Army, provincial militias, and imperial garrisons. The Qing armies were armed with matchlocks and shotguns, which had an effective range of 100 metres.[197][better source needed] Chinese historians Liu and Zhang note that the Chinese soldiers "were equipped with sixty or seventy percent traditional weapons, of which the most important were the long lance, the side sword, the bow and arrow, and the rattan shield, and only thirty or forty percent [of their armament consisted of] gunpowder weapons, of which the most important were the matchlock musket, the heavy musket, the cannon, the fire arrow, and the earthshaking bomb and such things."[216][page needed] Chinese soldiers were also equipped with halberds, spears, swords, and crossbows. The Qing dynasty also employed large batteries of artillery in battle.[122]

The tactics of the Qing remained consistent with what they had been in previous centuries.[216][page needed][217] Soldiers with firearms would form ranks and fire volleys into the enemy while men armed with spears and pikes would drive (described by the Chinese as Tuī (推) push) the enemy off of the battlefield.[218] Cavalry was used to break infantry formations and pursue routed enemies, while Qing artillery was used to scatter enemy formations and destroy fortifications.[219] During the First Opium War, these tactics were unable to successfully deal with British firepower. Chinese melee formations were decimated by artillery, and Chinese soldiery armed with matchlocks could not effectively exchange fire with British ranks, who greatly outranged them.[220][174] Most battles of the war were fought in cities or on cliffs and riverbanks, limiting the Qing usage of cavalry. Many Qing cannon were destroyed by British counter-battery fire, and British light infantry companies were consistently able to outflank and capture Chinese artillery batteries.[213][failed verification] A British officer said of the opposing Qing forces, "The Chinese are robust muscular fellows, and no cowards; the Tartars [i.e. Manchus] desperate; but neither are well commanded nor acquainted with European warfare. Having had, however, experience of three of them, I am inclined to suppose that a Tartar bullet is not a whit softer than a French one."[122]

The strategy of the Qing dynasty during the war was to prevent the British from seizing Chinese territory.[122] This defensive strategy was hampered by the Qing severely underestimating the capacity of the British military. Qing defences on the Pearl and Yangtze rivers were ineffective in stopping the British push inland, and superior naval artillery prevented the Chinese from retaking cities.[177][33] The Qing imperial bureaucracy was unable to react quickly to the prodding British attacks, while officials and commanders often reported false, faulty, or incomplete information to their superiors.[221] The Qing military system made it difficult to deploy troops to counter the mobile British forces.[222] In addition, the ongoing conflict with Sikhs on the Qing border with India drew away some of the most experienced Qing units from the war with Britain.[121][page range too broad]

Aftermath edit

The war ended in the signing of China's first Unequal Treaty, the Treaty of Nanking.[195][page needed][196] In the supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, the Qing empire also recognised Britain as an equal to China and gave British subjects extraterritorial privileges in treaty ports. In 1844, the United States and France concluded similar treaties with China, the Treaty of Wanghia and Treaty of Whampoa, respectively.[223][better source needed]

In addition to opening China to European opium traders, the European trade in captive Chinese coolie labor boomed.[224]: 5  Anglophone capitalists referred to this trade collectively as "poison and pigs."[224]: 5 

Legacy and memory edit

 
Entrance of the Opium War Museum in Humen Town, Guangdong, China.
 
British gold medal, dually dated 1829 and March 1842, London mint. Extracted out of the Chinese silver indemnity payments of the Treaty of Nanking

The opium trade faced intense enmity from the later British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.[225] As a member of Parliament, Gladstone called it "most infamous and atrocious" referring to the opium trade between China and British India in particular.[226] Gladstone was fiercely against both of the Opium Wars Britain waged in China: the First Opium War initiated in 1840 and the Second Opium War initiated in 1857. He denounced British violence against the Chinese and was ardently opposed to the British trade in opium to China.[227] Gladstone lambasted it as "Palmerston's Opium War" and said in May 1840 that he felt "in dread of the judgments of God upon England for our national iniquity towards China".[228] Gladstone made a famous speech in Parliament against the First Opium War.[229][230] Gladstone criticised it as "a war more unjust in its origin, a war more calculated in its progress to cover this country with permanent disgrace".[231] His hostility to opium stemmed from the effects opium brought upon his sister Helen.[232][233] Due to the First Opium war brought on by Palmerston, there was initial reluctance to join the government of Peel on part of Gladstone before 1841.[234]

The war marked the start of what 20th century Chinese nationalists called the "Century of Humiliation". The ease with which the British forces defeated the numerically superior Chinese armies damaged the dynasty's prestige. The Treaty of Nanking was a step to opening the lucrative Chinese market to global commerce and the opium trade. The interpretation of the war, which was long the standard in the People's Republic of China, was summarised in 1976: The Opium War, "in which the Chinese people fought against British aggression, marked the beginning of modern Chinese history and the start of the Chinese people's bourgeois-democratic revolution against imperialism and feudalism."[49]

The Treaty of Nanking, the Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, and two French and American agreements were all "unequal treaties" signed between 1842 and 1844. The terms of these treaties undermined China's traditional mechanisms of foreign relations and methods of controlled trade. Five ports were opened for trade, gunboats, and foreign residence: Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai. Hong Kong was seized by the British to become a free and open port. Tariffs were abolished thus preventing the Chinese from raising future duties to protect domestic industries and extraterritorial practices exempted Westerners from Chinese law. This made them subject to their own civil and criminal laws of their home country. Most importantly, the opium problem was never addressed and after the treaty was signed opium addiction doubled. China was forced to pay 21 million silver taels as an indemnity, which was used to pay compensation for the traders' opium destroyed by Commissioner Lin. A couple of years after the treaties were signed internal rebellion began to threaten foreign trade. Due to the Qing government's inability to control collection of taxes on imported goods, the British government convinced the Manchu court to allow Westerners to partake in government official affairs. By the 1850s the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, one of the most important bureaucracies in the Manchu Government, was partially staffed and managed by Western Foreigners.[84][page needed] In 1858, opium was legalised, and would remain a problem.[235][page needed]

Commissioner Lin, often referred to as "Lin the Clear Sky" for his moral probity,[236] was made a scapegoat. He was blamed for ultimately failing to stem the tide of opium imports and usage as well as for provoking an unwinnable war through his rigidity and lack of understanding of the changing world.[237] Nevertheless, as the Chinese nation formed in the 20th century, Lin became viewed as a hero, and has been immortalised at various locations around China.[238][239][240]

The First Opium War both reflected and contributed to a further weakening of the Chinese state's power and legitimacy.[241] Anti-Qing sentiment grew in the form of rebellions, such as the Taiping Rebellion, a war lasting from 1850–64 in which at least 20 million Chinese died. The decline of the Qing dynasty was beginning to be felt by much of the Chinese population.[19][page needed]

Revisionist views edit

The impact of the opium habit on the Chinese people, and the manner in which the British imposed their power to guarantee the profitable trade, have been staples of Chinese historiography ever since.[242][page needed] The British historian Jasper Ridley concluded:

Conflict between China and Britain was inevitable. On the one side was a corrupt, decadent and caste-ridden despotism, with no desire or ability to wage war, which relied on custom much more than force for the enforcement of extreme privilege and discrimination, and which was blinded by a deep-rooted superiority complex into believing that they could assert their supremacy over Europeans without possessing military power. On the other side was the most economically advanced nation in the world, a nation of pushing, bustling traders, of self-help, free trade, and the pugnacious qualities of John Bull.[243]

However, Ridley adds, opposition in Britain was intense:

An entirely opposite British viewpoint was promoted by humanitarians and reformers such as the Chartists and religious nonconformists led by young William Ewart Gladstone. They argued that Palmerston (the foreign secretary) was only interested in the huge profits it would bring Britain, and was totally oblivious to the horrible moral evils of opium which the Chinese government was valiantly trying to stamp out.[244][245]

The American historian John K. Fairbank wrote:

In demanding diplomatic equality and commercial opportunity, Britain represented all the Western states, which would sooner or later have demanded the same things if Britain had not. It was an accident of history that the dynamic British commercial interests in the China trade was centered not only on tea but also on opium. If the main Chinese demand had continued to be for Indian raw cotton, or at any rate if there had been no market for opium in late-Ch'ing China, as there had been none earlier, then there would have been no "opium war". Yet probably some kind of Sino-foreign war would have come, given the irresistible vigor of Western expansion and immovable inertia of Chinese institutions.[246]

Some historians claim that Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, initiated the Opium War to maintain the principle of free trade.[247] Professor Glenn Melancon, for example, argues that the issue in going to war was not opium but Britain's need to uphold its reputation, its honour and its commitment to global free trade. China was pressing Britain just when the British faced serious pressures in the Near East, on the Indian frontier and in Latin America. In the end, says Melancon, the government's need to maintain its honour in Britain and prestige abroad forced the decision to go to war.[123][page range too broad] Former American president John Quincy Adams commented that opium was "a mere incident to the dispute ... the cause of the war is the kowtow—the arrogant and insupportable pretensions of China that she will hold commercial intercourse with the rest of mankind not upon terms of equal reciprocity, but upon the insulting and degrading forms of the relations between lord and vassal."[248]

The Australian historian Harry G. Gelber argues that opium played a role similar to the tea dumped into the harbour in the Boston Tea Party of 1773 leading to the American Revolutionary War. Gelber argues instead:

The British went to war because of Chinese military threats to defenceless British civilians, including women and children; because China refused to negotiate on terms of diplomatic equality and because China refused to open more ports than Canton to trade, not just with Britain but with everybody. The belief about British "guilt" came later, as part of China's long catalogue of alleged Western "exploitation and aggression".[249]

Western women were actually not legally permitted to enter Canton although they were permitted to live in Macao.[250] Into the 19th century, Western nations did not recognise diplomatic equality for entities that failed to meet their "standard of civilisation", including China.[251][252]

The policy of concentrating trade to a single port was also used in Western countries such as Spain and Portugal. Western merchants could also trade freely and legally with Chinese merchants in Xiamen and Macao or when the trade was conducted through ports outside China such as Manila and Batavia. That being said, the government hampered foreign trade and through the Canton system concentrated trade in Canton.[253] Furthermore, Macao was restricted to Portuguese traders, and Xiamen the Spanish, who rarely made use of this privilege.[254]

The public in Western countries had earlier condemned the British government for supporting the opium trade.[110] Opium was the most profitable single commodity trade of the 19th century. As Timothy Brook and Bob Wakabayashi write of opium, "The British Empire could not survive were it deprived of its most important source of capital, the substance that could turn any other commodity into silver."[255][256] although this thesis is controversial[257] Opium was the most common and the most profitable trade good and consisted 33-54% of all goods shipped from Bengal to the East between 1815 and 1818. Carl Trocki described "the British Empire east of Suez as of 1800 as essentially a drug cartel."[258] James Bradley stated: "opium accounted for 15 to 20 percent of the British Empire's revenue" and "between 1814 and 1850 [...] (removed) 11 percent of China's money supply".[259][page needed]

Although shipping was regulated, the Qianlong emperor's administration was diligent in accommodating the requisites of Western merchants. It hired a growing body of Western assistants for the Customs Office to help manage its fellow countrymen. The order to stay in Macao during the winter was lifted; tax was exempted on food, drink, and basic supplies for Western merchants; and protections were granted to Westerners and their property.[260] Qing laws prevented Chinese from pursuing foreigners through the courts. The prohibition mainly dated from the Qianlong Emperor's strong conviction that mistreatment of foreigners had been a major cause of the overthrow of several earlier dynasties.[261][page needed]

The Qianlong Emperor granted Lord Macartney a golden scepter, an important symbol of peace and wealth, but that was dismissed by the British, who were unaware of its symbolism. The Qianlong Emperor also dismissed the "lavish" presents that the British gave to facilitate diplomatic relations and concluded that they were no better than other European products. In 1806, Chinese officials compromised with the British on the murder of a Chinese man by British seamen, as Westerners refused to be punished under Chinese law, and local citizens vigorously protested for xenophobic reasons and because of perceived injustice. In 1816, the Jiaqing Emperor dismissed a British embassy for ita refusal to kowtow, but he sent them an apologetic letter with gifts, which were later found in the Foreign Office, unread. The British ignored Chinese laws and warnings not to deploy military forces in Chinese waters. The British landed troops in Macao despite a Chinese and Portuguese agreement to bar foreign forces from Macao and then in the War of 1812 attacked American ships deep in the inner harbour of Canton (the Americans had previously robbed British ships in Chinese waters as well). Those, in combination with the British support to Nepal during their invasion of Tibet and later British invasion of Nepal after it became a Chinese tributary state, led the Chinese authorities to become highly suspicious of British intentions.[262] In 1834, when British naval vessels intruded into Chinese waters again, the Daoguang Emperor commented: "How laughable and deplorable is it that we cannot even repel two barbarian ships. Our military had decayed so much. No wonder the barbarians are looking down on us."[263][page needed]

Was the war inevitable? edit

Historians have often pondered whether the war could have been avoided.[264] One factor was that China rejected diplomatic relations with the British or anyone else, as seen in the rejection of the Macartney mission in 1793. As a result, diplomatic mechanisms for negotiation and resolution were missing.[265] Michael Greenberg locates the inevitable cause in the momentum for more and more overseas trade in Britain's expanding modern economy.[266] On the other hand, the economic forces inside Britain that were war hawks, Radicals in Parliament and northern merchants and manufacturers, were a political minority and needed allies, especially Palmerston, before they could get their war.[267] In Parliament, the Melbourne government faced a host of complex international threats including the Chartist riots at home, bothersome budget deficits, unrest in Ireland, rebellions in Canada and Jamaica, war in Afghanistan, and French threats to British business interests in Mexico and Argentina. The opposition demanded more aggressive answers, and it was Foreign Minister Palmerston who set up an easy war to solve the political crisis.[268] It was not economics, opium sales or expanding trade that caused the British to go to war, Melancon argues, but it was more a matter of upholding aristocratic standards of national honour sullied by Chinese insults.[269][page range too broad][270][page needed]

One historiographical problem is that the emphasis on the British causal factors tends to ignore the Chinese. The Manchu rulers were focused on internal unrest by Chinese elements and paid little attention to the minor issues happening in Canton.[271][page range too broad] The historian James Polachek argues the reasons for trying to suppress the opium trade had to do with internal factionalism led by a purification-oriented group of literary scholars who paid no attention to the risk of international intervention by much more powerful military forces. Therefore, it was not a matter of inevitable conflict between contrasting worldviews.[272] Lin and the Daoguang Emperor, comments the historian Jonathan Spence, "seemed to have believed that the citizens of Canton and the foreign traders there had simple, childlike natures that would respond to firm guidance and statements of moral principles set out in simple, clear terms." Neither considered the possibility that the British government would be committed to protecting the smugglers.[273] Polachek argues, based on records of court debate, that growing court awareness that opium addiction in the Guangdong military garrisons, caused by widespread collusion between British smugglers, Chinese smugglers and Chinese officials, had completely impaired their military effectiveness. That left the entire southern flank of the Qing exposed to military threats and was more important in generating opposition to the drug trade than economic reasons. Polachek shows that Lin Zexu and the hardliners (mistakenly) believed that by arresting drug abusers, confiscating the opium supplies and promising to allow the British to continue trading in other goods, they could persuade the British to give up the drug trade without a war.[274]

Interactive map edit

Click on a battle to go directly to the relevant article.
 First Battle of CantonSecond Battle of CantonBattle of First BarBroadway expeditionBattle of the BarrierBattle of WhampoaBattle of the BogueBattle of KowloonBattle of ChuenpiSecond Battle of ChuenpiBattle of AmoyBattle of NingpoBattle of ChapuBattle of ChinkiangBattle of WoosungBattle of ChinhaiCapture of ChusanCapture of Chusan (1841)Battle of Tzeki

See also edit

Individuals edit

Contemporaneous Qing-dynasty wars edit

Fictional and narrative literature edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Comprising 5 troop ships, 3 brigs, 2 steamers, 1 survey vessel, and 1 hospital ship.
  2. ^ Refers to total troops in the provinces that were in the theatre of war, but only about 100,000 troops were actually mobilised for the war itself.[2]
  3. ^ Casualties include Manchu bannermen and their families who committed mass suicide at the Battle of Chapu and Battle of Chinkiang.[5][6]

References edit

Citations edit

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Sources edit

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  • Miron, Jeffrey A. & Feige, Chris (2008). "The Opium Wars: Opium Legalization and Opium Consumption in China" (PDF). Applied Economics Letters. 15 (12): 911–913. doi:10.1080/13504850600972295. S2CID 218639653.
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  • Spence, Jonathan D. "Opium Smoking in Ch’ing China." in Conflict and Control in Late Imperial China. Edited by Frederic Wakeman Jr. and Carolyn Grant. (U of California Press, 1975).
  • Wakeman, Frederic E. (1966). Strangers at the Gate; Social Disorder in South China, 1839-1861. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520212398.
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  • Correspondence Relating to China (1840). London: Printed by T. R. Harrison.
  • The Chinese Repository (1840). Volume 8.
  • Waley, Arthur (2013) [First published 1958]. The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-57665-2.
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  • Charles C. Mann (2011), 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, Random House Digital, pp. 123–163, ISBN 9780307596727
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  • Parker, Edward Harper (1888). Chinese Account of the Opium War. Shanghai
  • Headrick, Daniel R. (1979). (PDF). The Journal of Modern History. 51 (2): 231–263. doi:10.1086/241899. S2CID 144141748. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2011.
  • Bulletins and Other State Intelligence. Compiled and arranged from the official documents published in the London Gazette. London: F. Watts. 1841.
  • Granville G. Loch. The Closing Events of the Campaign in China: The Operations in the Yang-tze-kiang and treaty of Nanking . London. 1843 [2014-07-13]
  • "The Count of Aberdeen to Sir Henry Pudding" The "History of the Chinese Empire" (Chinese translation) vol. 1, pp. 755–756.
  • Gao, Shujuan (高淑娟); Feng, Bin (冯斌) (2003). Comparative Outline of Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy: Central Trade Policy in the Final Years of the Imperial Era (中日对外经济政策比较史纲: 以封建末期贸易政策为中心). Qinghua University Chinese Economic Historiography Series (清华大学中国经济史学丛书) (in Chinese). Qinghua University Publishing (清华大学出版社). ISBN 978-7302075172.

External links edit

  • Hansard of the British Parliament 1840s
  • Perdue, Peter C., "The First Opium War: The Anglo-Chinese War of 1839–1842: Opium Trade" (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. MIT Visualizing Cultures).
  • Perdue, Peter C., "The First Opium War: The Anglo-Chinese War of 1839–1842: Hostilities" (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. MIT Visualizing Cultures).
  • "The Opium War and Foreign Encroachment", Education for Educators (Columbia University). Resources for teaching.
  • Opium War Museum, Dongguan, Guangzhou; Google Arts & Culture

first, opium, opium, redirects, here, other, uses, opium, disambiguation, first, second, opium, wars, china, 19th, century, considered, collective, opium, wars, film, opium, film, part, opium, warsthe, east, india, company, steamship, nemesis, right, backgroun. Opium War redirects here For other uses see Opium War disambiguation For the first and Second Opium Wars in China in the 19th century considered as a collective see Opium Wars For the film see The Opium War film First Opium WarPart of the Opium WarsThe East India Company steamship Nemesis right background destroying war junks during the Second Battle of Chuenpi 7 January 1841Date4 September 1839 29 August 1842 2 years 11 months 3 weeks and 4 days LocationChina and South China SeaResultBritish Victory Treaty of NankingEstablishment of five treaty ports in Shanghai Ningbo Fuzhou Amoy CantonTerritorialchangesHong Kong Island ceded to BritainBelligerentsUnited Kingdom East India CompanyChinaCommanders and leadersQueen Victoria Robert Peel Henry Temple Charles Elliot George Elliot James Bremer Hugh Gough Henry Pottinger William Parker Humphrey SenhouseDaoguang Emperor Lin Zexu Qishan Yishan Yijing Yilibu Guan Tianpei Chen Huacheng Ge Yunfei Yang Fang KeyingStrength19 000 troops 1 British Army 5 000 Indian Army 5 000 Ceylon Light Infantry 2 000 Royal Marines 7 06937 ships 1 14 sloops 8 frigates 3 ships of the line 12 other ships a 222 212 total troops only about 100 000 were actually mobilised b Eight Banners 16 708 Green Standard Army 205 504Casualties and losses69 killed in battle 1 451 wounded 1 284 executed or died in captivity in Formosa 3 4 est 3 100 killed c 4 000 wounded 7 First Opium WarTraditional Chinese第一次鴉片戰爭TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinDiyici Yapian ZhanzhengYue CantoneseYale RomanizationDai6yat1ci3 A1pin3 Jin3jang1JyutpingDai6jat1ci3 Aa1pin3 Zin3zang1The First Opium War Chinese 第一次鴉片戰爭 pinyin Diyici Yapian Zhanzheng also known as the Anglo Chinese War was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842 The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from merchants at Canton and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders Despite the opium ban the British government supported the merchants demand for compensation for seized goods and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China Opium was Britain s single most profitable commodity trade of the 19th century After months of tensions between the two states the British navy launched an expedition in June 1840 which ultimately defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons by August 1842 The British then imposed the Treaty of Nanking which forced China to increase foreign trade give compensation and cede Hong Kong Island to the British Consequently the opium trade continued in China Twentieth century nationalists considered 1839 the start of a century of humiliation and many historians consider it the beginning of modern Chinese history In the 18th century the demand for Chinese luxury goods particularly silk porcelain and tea created a trade imbalance between China and Britain European silver flowed into China through the Canton System which confined incoming foreign trade to the southern port city of Canton To counter this imbalance the British East India Company began to grow opium in Bengal and allowed private British merchants to sell opium to Chinese smugglers for illegal sale in China The influx of narcotics reversed the Chinese trade surplus drained the economy of silver and increased the numbers of opium addicts inside the country outcomes that seriously worried Chinese officials In 1839 the Daoguang Emperor rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium appointed Viceroy Lin Zexu to go to Canton to halt the opium trade completely 8 Lin wrote an open letter to Queen Victoria appealing to her moral responsibility to stop the opium trade although she never read it 9 10 11 Lin then resorted to using force in the western merchants enclave He arrived in Guangzhou at the end of January and organized a coastal defense In March British opium dealers were forced to hand over 2 37 million pounds of opium On 3 June Lin ordered the opium to be destroyed in public on Humen Beach to show the Government s determination to ban smoking 12 All other supplies were confiscated and a blockade of foreign ships on the Pearl River was ordered 13 page needed Tensions escalated in July after British sailors killed a Chinese villager and the British government refused to hand the accused men over to Chinese authorities Fighting later broke out with the British navy destroying the Chinese naval blockade and launching an offensive 12 In the ensuing conflict the Royal Navy used its superior naval and gunnery power to inflict a series of decisive defeats on the Chinese Empire 14 In 1842 the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties which granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to British subjects in China opened five treaty ports to British merchants and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War 1856 60 The resulting social unrest was the background for the Taiping Rebellion which further weakened the Qing regime 15 full citation needed 16 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Establishment of trade relations 1 2 European trade deficits 1 3 Opium trade 1 4 Changing trade policy 1 5 Foreign merchants in Canton 1 5 1 Napier Affair 2 Escalation of tensions 2 1 Crackdown on opium 2 2 Skirmish at Kowloon 2 3 First Battle of Chuenpi 2 4 Reaction in Britain 2 4 1 Parliamentary debates 2 4 2 Cabinet Decision and Palmerston letters 3 War 3 1 Opening moves 3 2 British offensive begins 3 3 Pearl River campaign 3 4 Central China 3 5 Yangtze river campaign 3 6 Treaty of Nanking 3 7 Technology and tactics 3 7 1 British 3 7 2 Qing dynasty 4 Aftermath 5 Legacy and memory 5 1 Revisionist views 5 2 Was the war inevitable 6 Interactive map 7 See also 7 1 Individuals 7 2 Contemporaneous Qing dynasty wars 8 Fictional and narrative literature 9 Notes 10 References 10 1 Citations 10 2 Sources 11 External linksBackground editEstablishment of trade relations edit nbsp View of Canton with merchant ship of the Dutch East India Company c 1665Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese leased an outpost from the Ming dynasty in Macau Other European nations soon followed the Portuguese lead inserting themselves into the existing Asian maritime trade network to compete with Arab Chinese Indian and Japanese merchants in intra regional commerce 17 After the Spanish conquest of the Philippines the exchange of goods between China and Europe accelerated dramatically From 1565 the Manila Galleons brought silver into the Asian trade network from mines in South America 18 page range too broad China was a primary destination for the precious metal as the imperial government mandated that Chinese goods could only be exported in exchange for silver bullion 19 page needed 20 page range too broad British ships began to appear sporadically around the coasts of China from 1635 on 21 Without establishing formal relations through the Chinese tributary system by which most Asian nations were able to negotiate with China British merchants were only allowed to trade at the ports of Zhoushan Xiamen and Guangzhou 22 Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company which held a royal charter for trade with the Far East The East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino European trade from its position in India and due to the strength of the Royal Navy 23 nbsp View of the European factories in CantonTrade benefited after the newly risen Qing dynasty relaxed maritime trade restrictions in the 1680s Formosa Taiwan came under Qing control in 1683 and rhetoric regarding the tributary status of Europeans was muted 22 Guangzhou known as Canton to Europeans became the port of preference for incoming foreign trade Ships did try to call at other ports but these locations could not match the benefits of Canton s geographic position at the mouth of the Pearl River nor did they have the city s long experience in balancing the demands of Beijing with those of Chinese and foreign merchants 24 From 1700 onward Canton was the center of maritime trade with China and this market process was gradually formulated by Qing authorities into the Canton System 24 From the system s inception in 1757 trading in China was extremely lucrative for European and Chinese merchants alike as goods such as tea porcelain and silk were valued highly enough in Europe to justify the expenses of traveling to Asia The system was highly regulated by the Qing government Foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were forbidden to learn Chinese Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories and were not allowed to enter or trade in any other part of China Only low level government officials could be dealt with and the imperial court could not be lobbied for any reason excepting official diplomatic missions 25 The Imperial laws that upheld the system were collectively known as the Prevention Barbarian Ordinances 防範外夷規條 26 page range too broad The Cohong were particularly powerful in the Old China Trade as they were tasked with appraising the value of foreign products purchasing or rebuffing said imports and charged with selling Chinese exports at an appropriate price 27 page range too broad The Cohong was made up of between depending on the politics of Canton 6 to 20 merchant families Most of the merchant houses these families ruled had been established by low ranking mandarins but several were Cantonese or Han in origin 28 Another key function of the Cohong was the traditional bond signed between a Cohong member and a foreign merchant This bond stated that the receiving Cohong member was responsible for the foreign merchant s behavior and cargo while in China 29 In addition to dealing with the Cohong European merchants were required to pay customs fees measurement duties provide gifts and hire navigators 29 Despite restrictions silk and porcelain continued to drive trade through their popularity in Europe and an insatiable demand for Chinese tea existed in Britain From the mid 17th century onward around 28 million kilograms of silver were received by China principally from European powers in exchange for Chinese products 30 European trade deficits edit A brisk trade between China and European powers continued for over a century While this trading heavily favoured the Chinese and resulted in European nations sustaining large trade deficits the demand for Chinese goods continued to drive commerce In addition the colonisation and conquest of the Americas resulted in European nations namely Spain Great Britain and France gaining access to a cheap supply of silver resulting in European economies remaining relatively stable despite the trade deficit with China This silver was also shipped across the Pacific Ocean to China directly notably through the Spanish controlled Philippines In stark contrast to the European situation Qing China sustained a trade surplus Foreign silver flooded into China in exchange for Chinese goods expanding the Chinese economy but also causing inflation and forming a Chinese reliance on European silver 31 29 The continued economic expansion of European economies in 17th and 18th centuries gradually increased the European demand for precious metals which were used to mint new coins this increasing need for hard currency to remain in circulation in Europe reduced the supply of bullion available for trade in China driving up costs and leading to competition between merchants in Europe and European merchants who traded with the Chinese 31 This market force resulted in a chronic trade deficit for European governments who were forced to risk silver shortages in their domestic economies to supply the needs of their merchants in Asia who as private enterprises still turned a profit by selling valuable Chinese goods to consumers in Europe 26 page range too broad 32 page range too broad This gradual effect was greatly exacerbated by a series of large scale colonial wars between Great Britain and Spain in the mid 18th century these conflicts disrupted the international silver market and eventually resulted in the independence of powerful new nations namely the United States and Mexico 33 27 page range too broad Without cheap silver from the colonies to sustain their trade European merchants who traded with China began to take silver directly out of circulation in the already weakened economies of Europe to pay for goods in China 31 This angered governments who saw their economies shrink as a result and fostered a great deal of animosity towards the Chinese for their restriction of European trade 32 page range too broad 34 The Chinese economy was unaffected by fluctuations in silver prices as China was able to import Japanese silver to stabilise its money supply 19 page needed European goods remained in low demand in China ensuring the longstanding trade surplus with the European nations continued 33 Despite these tensions trade between China and Europe grew by an estimated 4 annually in the years leading up to the start of the opium trade 31 35 failed verification nbsp Chinese opium smokersOpium trade edit See also History of opium in ChinaOpium as a medicinal ingredient was documented in Chinese texts as early as the Tang dynasty but the recreational usage of narcotic opium was limited As with India opium then limited by distance to a dried powder often drunk with tea or water was introduced to China and Southeast Asia by Arab merchants 36 The Ming dynasty banned tobacco as a decadent good in 1640 and opium was seen as a similarly minor issue The first restrictions on opium were passed by the Qing in 1729 when Madak a substance made from powdered opium blended with tobacco was banned 8 At the time Madak production used up most of the opium being imported into China as pure opium was difficult to preserve Consumption of Javanese opium rose in the 18th century and after the Napoleonic Wars resulted in the British occupying Java British merchants became the primary traders in opium 37 The British realised they could reduce their trade deficit with Chinese manufactories by counter trading in narcotic opium and therefore efforts were made to produce more opium in the Indian colonies Limited British sales of Indian opium began in 1781 with exports to China increasing as the East India Company solidified its control over India 20 page range too broad 34 The British opium was produced in Bengal and the Ganges River Plain where the British inherited an existing opium industry from the declining Mughal Empire and saw the product as a potentially valuable export 38 The East India Company commissioned and managed hundreds of thousands of poppy plantations It took care of the painstaking lancing of individual pods to obtain the raw gum drying and forming it into cakes before coating and packaging them for auction in Calcutta 39 The company tightly controlled the opium industry and all opium was considered company property until it was sold 31 From Calcutta the company s Board of Customs Salt and Opium concerned itself with quality control by managing the way opium was packaged and shipped No poppies could be cultivated without the company s permission and the company banned private businesses from refining opium All opium in India was sold to the company at a fixed rate and the company hosted a series of public opium auctions every year The difference of the company set price of raw opium and the sale price of refined opium at auction minus expenses was profit made by the East India Company 38 27 page range too broad In addition to securing poppies cultivated on lands under its direct control the company s board issued licences to the independent princely states of Malwa where significant quantities of poppies were grown 38 31 nbsp A depiction of opium ships at Lintin China by the British artist William John Huggins in 1824By the late 18th century company and Malwan farmlands which were traditionally dependent on cotton growing had been hard hit by the introduction of factory produced cotton cloth which used cotton grown in Egypt or the American South Opium was considered a lucrative replacement and was soon being auctioned in ever larger amounts in Calcutta 27 Private merchants who possessed a company charter to comply with the British royal charter for Asiatic trade bid on and acquired goods at the Calcutta auction before sailing to Southern China British ships brought their cargoes to islands off the coast especially Lintin Island where Chinese traders with fast and well armed small boats took the goods inland for distribution paying for the opium with silver 27 The Qing administration initially tolerated opium importation because it created an indirect tax on Chinese subjects as increasing the silver supply available to foreign merchants through the sale of opium encouraged Europeans to spend more money on Chinese goods This policy provided the funds British merchants needed to then greatly increase tea exports from China to England delivering further profits to the Qing monopoly on tea exports held by the imperial treasury and its agents in Canton 40 31 nbsp A British lithograph depicting a storehouse filled with opium at the factory of the British East India Company in Patna India in c 1850However opium usage continued to grow in China adversely affecting societal stability From Canton the habit spread outwards to the North and West affecting members from every class of Chinese society 41 By the early 19th century more and more Chinese were smoking British opium as a recreational drug But for many what started as recreation soon became a punishing addiction many people who stopped ingesting opium suffered chills nausea and cramps and sometimes died from withdrawal Once addicted people would often do almost anything to continue to get access to the drug 42 These serious social issues eventually led to the Qing government issuing an edict against the drug in 1780 followed by an outright ban in 1796 and an order from the governor of Canton to stop the trade in 1799 41 To circumnavigate the increasingly stringent regulations in Canton foreign merchants bought older ships and converted them into floating warehouses These ships were anchored off of the Chinese coast at the mouth of the Pearl River in case the Chinese authorities moved against the opium trade as the ships of the Chinese navy had difficulty operating in open water 43 page range too broad Inbound opium ships would unload a portion of their cargo onto these floating warehouses where the narcotic was eventually purchased by Chinese opium dealers By implementing this system of smuggling foreign merchants could avoid inspection by Chinese officials and prevent retaliation against the trade in legal goods in which many smugglers also participated 41 31 page range too broad In the early 19th century American merchants joined the trade and began to introduce opium from Turkey into the Chinese market this supply was of lesser quality but cheaper and the resulting competition among British and American merchants drove down the price of opium leading to an increase in the availability of the drug for Chinese consumers 33 The demand for opium rose rapidly and was so profitable in China that Chinese opium dealers who unlike European merchants could legally travel to and sell goods in the Chinese interior began to seek out more suppliers of the drug The resulting shortage in supply drew more European merchants into the increasingly lucrative opium trade to meet the Chinese demand In the words of one trading house agent Opium it is like gold I can sell it anytime 44 From 1804 to 1820 a period when the Qing treasury needed to finance the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion and other conflicts the flow of money gradually reversed and Chinese merchants were soon exporting silver to pay for opium rather than Europeans paying for Chinese goods with the precious metal 45 European and American ships were able to arrive in Canton with their holds filled with opium sell their cargo use the proceeds to buy Chinese goods and turn a profit in the form of silver bullion 19 page needed This silver would then be used to acquire more Chinese goods 26 page range too broad While opium remained the most profitable good to trade with China foreign merchants began to export other cargoes such as machine spun cotton cloth rattan ginseng fur clocks and steel tools However these goods never reached the same level of importance as narcotics nor were they as lucrative 46 47 nbsp Graph showing the increase in Chinese opium imports by year The Qing imperial court debated whether or how to end the opium trade but their efforts to curtail opium abuse were complicated by local officials and the Cohong who profited greatly from the bribes and taxes involved in the narcotics trade 43 page range too broad Efforts by Qing officials to curb opium imports through regulations on consumption resulted in an increase in drug smuggling by European and Chinese traders and corruption was rampant 48 49 In 1810 the Daoguang Emperor issued an edict concerning the opium crisis declaring Opium has a harm Opium is a poison undermining our good customs and morality Its use is prohibited by law Now the commoner Yang dares to bring it into the Forbidden City Indeed he flouts the law However recently the purchasers eaters and consumers of opium have become numerous Deceitful merchants buy and sell it to gain profit The customs house at the Ch ung wen Gate was originally set up to supervise the collection of imports it had no responsibility with regard to opium smuggling If we confine our search for opium to the seaports we fear the search will not be sufficiently thorough We should also order the general commandant of the police and police censors at the five gates to prohibit opium and to search for it at all gates If they capture any violators they should immediately punish them and should destroy the opium at once As to Kwangtung Guangdong and Fukien Fujian the provinces from which opium comes we order their viceroys governors and superintendents of the maritime customs to conduct a thorough search for opium and cut off its supply They should in no ways consider this order a dead letter and allow opium to be smuggled out 50 Nonetheless by 1831 the annual opium traffic neared 20 000 chests each with a net weight of around 140 pounds compared with just about 4 000 chests per year between 1800 and 1818 After the East India Company s monopoly on tea ended in 1833 and private merchants began to join in this quantity would go on to double before the close of the decade 51 Changing trade policy edit In addition to the start of the opium trade economic and social innovations led to a change in the parameters of the wider Sino European trade 52 The formulation of classical economics by Adam Smith and other economic theorists caused academic belief in mercantilism to decline in Britain 53 54 Under the prior system the Qianlong Emperor restricted trade with foreigners on Chinese soil only for licensed Chinese merchants while the British government on their part issued a monopoly charter for trade only to the British East India Company This arrangement was not challenged until the 19th century when the idea of free trade was popularised in the West 55 Fueled by the Industrial Revolution Britain began to use its growing naval power to spread a broadly liberal economic model encompassing open markets and relatively barrier free international trade a policy in line with the credo of Smithian economics 54 This stance on trade was intended to open foreign markets to the resources of Britain s colonies as well as provide the British public with greater access to consumer goods such as tea 54 In Great Britain the adoption of the gold standard in 1821 resulted in the empire minting standardised silver shillings further reducing the availability of silver for trade in Asia and spurring the British government to press for more trading rights in China 56 page needed 52 In contrast to this new economic model the Qing dynasty continued to employ a Confucian Modernist highly organised economic philosophy that called for strict government intervention in industry for the sake of preserving societal stability 27 While the Qing government was not explicitly anti trade a lack of need for imports and increasingly heavy taxes on luxury goods limited pressure on the government to open further ports to international trade 57 China s rigid merchant hierarchy also blocked efforts to open ports to foreign ships and businesses 58 Chinese merchants operating in inland China wanted to avoid market fluctuations caused by importing foreign goods that would compete with domestic production while the Cohong families of Canton profited greatly by keeping their city the only entry point for foreign products 57 59 58 60 page needed At the turn of the 19th century countries such as Great Britain the Netherlands Denmark Russia and the United States began to seek additional trading rights in China 61 Foremost among the concerns of the western nations was the end of the Canton System and the opening of China s vast consumer markets to trade Britain in particular was keenly increasing its exports to China as the empire s implementation of the gold standard forced it to purchase silver and gold from continental Europe and Mexico to further fuel its rapidly industrialising economy 62 Attempts by a British embassy led by Macartney in 1793 a Dutch mission under Jacob van Braam in 1794 Russia headed by Yury Golovkin in 1805 and the British again Earl William Amherst in 1816 to negotiate increased access to the Chinese market were all vetoed by successive Qing Emperors 32 page range too broad Upon his meeting the Jiaqing Emperor in 1816 Amherst refused to perform the traditional kowtow an act that the Qing saw as a severe breach of etiquette Amherst and his party were expelled from China a diplomatic rebuke that angered the British government 63 One major reason was that British consumers had developed a strong liking for Chinese tea as well as other goods like porcelain and silk But Chinese consumers had no similar preference for any goods produced in Britain Because of this trade imbalance Britain increasingly had to use silver to pay for its expanding purchases of Chinese goods Britain suffered from a huge trade deficit during the Sino British trade Meanwhile the high tariff made the British government very dissatisfied with the Qing government The Chinese only allowed silver in exchange for the products they were offering so a significant amount of this commodity was leaving the British Empire 64 As its merchants gained increasing influence in China Great Britain bolstered its military strength in Southern China Britain began sending warships to combat piracy on the Pearl River and in 1808 established a permanent garrison of British troops in Macau to defend against French attacks 65 page range too broad Foreign merchants in Canton edit As the opium fuelled China Trade increased in scope and value the foreign presence in Canton and Macau grew in size and influence The Thirteen Factories district of Canton continued to expand and was labelled the foreign quarter 27 page range too broad A small population of merchants began to stay in Canton year round most merchants lived in Macau for the summer months then moved to Canton in the winter 66 and a local chamber of commerce was formed In the first two decades of the 19th century the increasingly sophisticated and profitable trade between Europe and China allowed for a clique of European merchants to rise to positions of great importance in China 67 page range too broad The most notable of these figures were William Jardine and James Matheson who went on to found Jardine Matheson British merchants who operated a consignment and shipping business in Canton and Macau with associates such as Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy who became their principal supplier in India 68 69 While all three dealt in legal goods they also profited greatly from selling opium Jardine in particular was effective in navigating the political environment of Canton to allow for more narcotics to be smuggled into China 31 He was also contemptuous of the Chinese legal system and often used his economic influence to subvert Chinese authorities 31 This included his with Matheson s support petitioning for the British government to attempt to gain trading rights and political recognition from Imperial China by force if necessary In addition to trade some western missionaries arrived and began to proselytise Christianity to the Chinese While some officials tolerated this Macau based Jesuits had been active in China since the early 17th century some officials clashed with Chinese Christians raising tensions between western merchants and Qing officials 60 page needed 70 While the foreign community in Canton grew in influence the local government began to suffer from civil discord inside China The White Lotus Rebellion 1796 1804 drained the Qing dynasty s treasury of silver forcing the government to levy increasingly heavy taxes on merchants These taxes did not abate after the rebellion was crushed as the Chinese government began a massive project to repair state owned properties on the Yellow River referred to as the Yellow River Conservancy 71 The merchants of Canton were further expected to make contributions to fight banditry These taxes weighed heavily on the profits made by the Cohong merchants by the 1830s the once prosperous Cohong had seen their wealth greatly reduced In addition the declining value of China s domestic currency resulted in many people in Canton using foreign silver coins Spanish coins were the most valued followed by American coins 72 as they contained higher amounts of silver Using western coins allowed Cantonese coiners to make many Chinese coins from melted down western coins greatly increasing the city s wealth and tax revenue while tying much of the economy of the city to the foreign merchants 60 page needed 73 A significant development came in 1834 when reformers some of whom were financially backed by Jardine 70 in Britain advocating for free trade succeeded in ending the monopoly of the British East India Company under the Charter Act of the previous year This shift in trade policy ended the need for merchants to comply with the royal charter for trade in the far east with this centuries old restriction lifted the British China trade was opened to private entrepreneurs many of whom joined the highly profitable opium trade 33 74 page range too broad On the eve of the Qing government s crackdown on opium a Chinese official described the changes in society caused by the drug At the beginning opium smoking was confined to the fops of wealthy families who took up the habit as a form of conspicuous consumption even they knew that they should not indulge in it to the greatest extreme Later people of all social strata from government officials and members of the gentry to craftsmen merchants entertainers and servants and even women Buddhist monks and nuns and Taoist priests took up the habit and openly bought and equipped themselves with smoking instruments Even in the center of our dynasty the nation s capital and its surrounding areas some of the inhabitants have also been contaminated by this dreadful poison 75 Napier Affair edit In late 1834 to accommodate the revocation of the East India Company s monopoly the British sent Lord William John Napier to Macau along with John Francis Davis and Sir George Best Robinson 2nd Baronet as British superintendents of trade in China Napier was instructed to obey Chinese regulations communicate directly with Chinese authorities superintend trade pertaining to the contraband trade of opium and to survey China s coastline Upon his arrival in China Napier tried to circumvent the restrictive system that forbade direct contact with Chinese officials by sending a letter directly to the Viceroy of Canton The Viceroy refused to accept it and on 2 September of that year an edict was issued that temporarily closed British trade In response Napier ordered two Royal Navy vessels to bombard Chinese forts on the Pearl River in a show of force This command was followed through but war was avoided due to Napier falling ill with typhus and ordering a retreat The brief gunnery duel drew condemnation by the Chinese government as well as criticism from the British government and foreign merchants 76 Other nationalities such as the Americans prospered through their continued peaceful trade with China but the British were told to leave Canton for either Whampoa or Macau 77 page needed Lord Napier was forced to return to Macau where he died of typhus a few days later 78 After Lord Napier s death Captain Charles Elliot received the King s Commission as Superintendent of Trade in 1836 to continue Napier s work of conciliating the Chinese 78 Escalation of tensions editCrackdown on opium edit Main article Destruction of opium at Humen nbsp Commissioner Lin Zexu dubbed Lin of Clear Skies for his moral integrity nbsp Lin Zexu s memorial 摺奏 written directly to Queen VictoriaBy 1838 the British were selling roughly 1 400 tons of opium per year to China Legalization of the opium trade was the subject of ongoing debate within the Chinese administration but a proposal to legalise the narcotic was repeatedly rejected and in 1838 the government began to actively sentence Chinese drug traffickers to death 79 clarification needed There were also long term factors that pushed the Chinese government into action Historian Jonathan D Spence lists these factors that led to war the social dislocations that began to appear in the Qing world the spread of addiction the growth of a hard line mentality toward foreigners foreign refusal to accept Chinese legal norms changes in international trade structures and the ending of Western intellectuals admiration for China When the tough prohibitions of 1838 began to take effect the market diminished and dealers found themselves dangerously oversupplied A second contributing factor was that the new British post of superintendent of foreign trade in China was held by a deputy of the British crown If the Chinese crossed the superintendent they would be insulting the British nation rather than the business corporation The superintendent could call directly on the aid of British armed Forces and the Royal Navy in times of serious trouble 80 In 1839 the Daoguang Emperor appointed scholar official Lin Zexu to the post of Special Imperial Commissioner with the task of eradicating the opium trade 81 Lin s famous open Letter To Queen Victoria appealed to Queen Victoria s moral reasoning Citing what he mistakenly understood to be a strict prohibition on opium within Great Britain Lin questioned how Britain could declare itself moral while its merchants profited from the legal sale in China of a drug that was banned in Britain 9 He wrote Your Majesty has not before been thus officially notified and you may plead ignorance of the severity of our laws but I now give my assurance that we mean to cut this harmful drug forever 82 The letter never reached the Queen with one source suggesting that it was lost in transit 83 Lin pledged that nothing would divert him from his mission If the traffic in opium were not stopped a few decades from now we shall not only be without soldiers to resist the enemy but also in want of silver to provide an army 84 page needed Lin banned the sale of opium and demanded that all supplies of the drug be surrendered to the Chinese authorities He also closed the Pearl River Channel trapping British traders in Canton 33 As well as seizing opium stockpiles in warehouses and the thirteen factories Chinese troops boarded British ships in the Pearl River and South China Sea before destroying the opium on board 85 86 better source needed The British Superintendent of Trade in China Charles Elliot protested the decision to forcibly seize the opium stockpiles He ordered all ships carrying opium to flee and prepare for battle Lin responded by besieging the foreign dealers in the foreign quarter of Canton and kept them from communicating with their ships in port 84 page needed To defuse the situation Elliot convinced the British traders to cooperate with Chinese authorities and hand over their opium stockpiles with the promise of eventual compensation for their losses by the British government 33 While this amounted to a tacit acknowledgment that the British government did not disapprove of the trade it also placed a huge liability on the exchequer This promise and the inability of the British government to pay it without causing a political storm was used as an important casus belli for the subsequent British attack 87 page needed During April and May 1839 British and American dealers surrendered 20 283 chests and 200 sacks of opium The stockpile was publicly destroyed on the beach outside Canton 84 page needed nbsp Contemporary Chinese depiction of the destruction of opium under Commissioner Lin After the opium was surrendered trade was restarted on the strict condition that no more opium be shipped into China Looking for a way to effectively police foreign trade and purge corruption Lin and his advisers decided to reform the existing bond system Under this system a foreign captain and the Cohong merchant who had purchased the goods off of his ship swore that the vessel carried no illegal goods Upon examining the records of the port Lin was infuriated to find that in the 20 years since opium had been declared illegal not a single infraction had been reported 88 As a consequence Lin demanded that all foreign merchants and Qing officials sign a new bond promising not to deal in opium under penalty of death 89 The British government opposed their signing of the bond feeling that it violated the principle of free trade but some merchants who did not trade in opium such as Olyphant amp Co were willing to sign against Elliot s orders Trade in regular goods continued unabated and the scarcity of opium caused by the seizure of the foreign warehouses caused the black market to flourish 90 Some newly arrived merchant ships were able to learn of the ban on opium before they entered the Pearl River estuary and so they unloaded their cargoes at Lintin Island The opportunity caused by the sharp rise in the price of opium was seized upon by some of the Cohong trading houses and smugglers who were able to evade commissioner Lin s efforts and smuggled more opium into China Superintendent Elliot was aware of the smugglers activities on Lintin and was under orders to stop them but feared that any action by the Royal Navy could spark a war and withheld his ships 33 Skirmish at Kowloon edit See also Battle of Kowloon In early July 1839 a group of British merchant sailors in Kowloon became intoxicated after consuming rice liqueur Two of the sailors became agitated with and beat to death Lin Weixi a villager from nearby Tsim Sha Tsui 91 92 Superintendent Elliot ordered the arrest of the two men and paid compensation to Lin s family and village However he refused a request to turn the sailors over to Chinese authorities fearing they would be killed in accordance with the Chinese legal code 93 Commissioner Lin saw this as an obstruction of justice and ordered the sailors to be handed over 94 Elliot instead held a trial for the accused men aboard a warship at sea with himself serving as the judge and merchant captains serving as jurors He invited the Qing authorities to observe and comment on the proceedings but the offer was declined 95 The naval court convicted 5 sailors of assault and rioting and sentenced them to fines along with hard labour in Britain a verdict later overturned in British courts 96 95 nbsp 1841 painting of the Chinese fort at Kowloon Angered by the violation of China s sovereignty Lin recalled Chinese labourers from Macau and issued an edict preventing the sale of food to the British 95 War Junks were deployed to the mouth of the Pearl River while signs were placed and rumours spread by the Qing that they had poisoned the freshwater springs traditionally used to restock foreign merchant ships 97 On 23 August a ship belonging to a prominent opium merchant was attacked by lascar pirates while travelling downriver from Canton to Macau Rumors spread among the British that it had been Chinese soldiers who had attacked the ship and Elliot ordered all British ships to leave the coast of China by 24 August 97 That same day Macau barred British ships from its harbour at the request of Lin The commissioner travelled in person to the city where he was welcomed by some of the inhabitants as a hero who had restored law and order 98 The flight from Macau ensured that by the end of August over 60 British ships and over 2000 people were idling off of the Chinese coast fast running out of provisions On 30 August HMS Volage arrived to defend the fleet from a potential Chinese attack and Elliot warned Qing authorities in Kowloon that the embargo on food and water must be ended soon 99 100 page needed Early on 4 September Elliot dispatched an armed schooner and a cutter to Kowloon to buy provisions from Chinese peasants The two ships approached three Chinese war junks in the harbour and requested permission to land men in order to procure supplies The British were allowed through and basic necessities were provided to the British by Chinese sailors but the Chinese commander inside Kowloon fort refused to allow the locals to trade with the British and confined the townspeople inside the settlement The situation grew more intense as the day went on and in the afternoon Elliot issued an ultimatum that if the Chinese refused to allow the British to purchase supplies they would be fired upon A 3 00 pm deadline set by Elliot passed and the British ships opened fire on the Chinese vessels The junks returned fire and Chinese gunners on land began to fire at the British ships Nightfall ended the battle and the Chinese junks withdrew ending what would be known as the Battle of Kowloon Many British officers wanted to launch a land attack on Kowloon fort the next day but Elliot decided against it stating that such an action would cause great injury and irritation to the town s inhabitants 101 After the skirmish Elliot circulated a paper in Kowloon reading The men of the English nation desire nothing but peace but they cannot submit to be poisoned and starved The Imperial cruisers they have no wish to molest or impede but they must not prevent the people from selling To deprive men of food is the act only of the unfriendly and hostile 102 Having driven off the Chinese ships the British fleet began to purchase provisions from the local villagers often with the aid of bribed Chinese officials in Kowloon 103 Lai Enjue the local commander at Kowloon declared that a victory had been won against the British 103 He claimed that a two masted British warship had been sunk and that 40 50 British had been killed 98 He also reported that the British had been unable to acquire supplies and his reports severely understated the strength of the Royal Navy 104 105 failed verification First Battle of Chuenpi edit In late October 1839 the merchant ship Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Canton Thomas Coutts s Quaker owners refused on religious grounds to deal in opium a fact that the Chinese authorities were aware of The ship s captain Warner believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority by banning the signing of the no opium trade bond 106 and negotiated with the governor of Canton Warner hoped that all British ships not carrying opium could negotiate to legally unload their goods at Chuenpi an island near Humen 107 failed verification To prevent other British ships from following Thomas Coutts s precedent Elliot ordered a blockade of British shipping in the Pearl River Fighting began on 3 November 1839 when a second British ship Royal Saxon attempted to sail to Canton The British Royal Navy ships HMS Volage and HMS Hyacinth fired warning shots at Royal Saxon In response to this commotion a fleet of Chinese war junks under the command of Guan Tianpei sailed out to protect Royal Saxon 108 The ensuing First Battle of Chuenpi resulted in the destruction of 4 Chinese war junks and the withdrawal of both fleets 109 page needed The Qing navy s official report on the Battle of Chuenpi claimed that the navy had protected the British merchant vessel and reported a great victory for the day In reality the Chinese had been out classed by the British vessels and several Chinese ships were disabled 109 page needed Elliot reported that his squadron was protecting the 29 British ships in Chuenpi and began to prepare for the Qing reprisal Fearing that the Chinese would reject any contacts with the British and eventually attack with fire rafts he ordered all ships to leave Chuenpi and head for Causeway Bay 20 miles 30 km from Macau hoping that offshore anchorages would be out of range of Lin Elliot asked Adriao Acacio da Silveira Pinto the Portuguese governor of Macau to let British ships load and unload their goods there in exchange for paying rents and any duties The governor refused for fear that the Chinese would discontinue supplying food and other necessities to Macau and on 14 January 1840 the Daoguang Emperor asked all foreign merchants in China to halt material assistance to the British 109 page needed Reaction in Britain edit Parliamentary debates edit Following the Chinese crackdown on the opium trade discussion arose as to how Britain would respond as the public in the United States and Britain had previously expressed outrage that Britain was supporting the opium trade 110 The East India and China Association of London argued that the opium trade was directly or indirectly sanctioned by the government and as such they should compensate them for their losses Elliot signed certificates guaranteeing payment for the surrendered opium with the assumption that China would pay for it This provided legal basis for the merchants to demand an indemnity from the British government which they could either force China to pay or pay for it from the British treasury As the government had no funds to pay such indemnities they favored forcing China to pay since Elliot had provided them with plausible justification for a China Expedition Many British citizens sympathised with the Chinese and wanted to halt the sale of opium while others wanted to contain or regulate the international narcotics trade However a great deal of anger was expressed over the treatment of British diplomats and towards the protectionist trading policies of Qing China The Whig controlled government in particular advocated war with China and the pro Whig press printed stories about Chinese despotism and cruelty This line of reasoning was primary defense for war with China 111 Since August 1839 reports had been published in London newspapers about troubles at Canton and the impending war with China The Queen s Annual Address to the House of Lords on 16 January 1840 expressed the concern that Events have happened in China which have occasioned an interruption of the commercial intercourse of my subjects with that country I have given and shall continue to give the most serious attention to a matter so deeply affecting the interests of my subjects and the dignity of my Crown 112 The Whig Melbourne Government was then in a weak political situation It barely survived a motion of non confidence on 31 January 1840 by a majority of 21 The Tories saw the China Question as an opportunity to beat the Government and James Graham moved a motion on 7 April 1840 in the House of Commons censuring the Government s want of foresight and precaution and their neglect to furnish the superintendent at Canton with powers and instructions to deal with the opium trade 113 This was a deliberate move of the Tories to avoid the sensitive issues of war and opium trade and to obtain maximum support for the motion within the party 114 Calls for military action were met with mixed responses when the matter went before Parliament Foreign Secretary Palmerston a politician known for his aggressive foreign policy and advocacy for free trade led the pro war camp Palmerston strongly believed that the destroyed opium should be considered property not contraband and as such reparations had to be made for its destruction He justified military action by saying that no one could say that he honestly believed the motive of the Chinese Government to have been the promotion of moral habits and that the war was being fought to stem China s balance of payments deficit 110 failed verification After consulting with William Jardine the foreign secretary drafted a letter to Prime Minister William Melbourne calling for a military response Other merchants called for an opening of free trade with China and it was commonly cited that the Chinese consumers were the driving factor of the opium trade The periodic expulsion of British merchants from Canton and the refusal of the Qing government to treat Britain as a diplomatic equal were seen as a slight to national pride 115 page needed Few Tory or liberal politicians supported the war Sir James Graham Lord Phillip Stanhope and William Ewart Gladstone headed the anti war faction in Britain and denounced the ethics of the opium trade 115 111 After three days of debate the vote was taken on Graham s motion on 9 April 1840 which was defeated by a majority of only 9 votes 262 votes for vs 271 votes against The Tories in the House of Commons thus failed to deter the Government from proceeding with the war and stop the British warships already on their way to China The House of Commons agreed on 27 July 1840 to a resolution of granting 173 442 for the expenses of the expedition to China long after the war with China had broken out 115 failed verification 111 failed verification Cabinet Decision and Palmerston letters edit Under strong pressure and lobbying from various trade and manufacturer associations the Whig cabinet under Prime Minister Melbourne decided on 1 October 1839 to send an expedition to China 116 War preparations then began In early November 1839 Palmerston instructed Auckland Governor General of India to prepare military forces for deployment in China On 20 February 1840 Palmerston who remained unaware of the First Battle of Chuenpi in November 1839 drafted two letters detailing the British response to the situation in China One letter was addressed to the Elliots the other to the Daoguang Emperor and the Qing government The letter to the Emperor informed China that Great Britain had sent a military expeditionary force to the Chinese coast 117 In the letter Palmerston stated that These measures of hostility on the part of Great Britain against China are not only justified but even rendered absolutely necessary by the outrages which have been committed by the Chinese Authorities against British officers and Subjects and these hostilities will not cease until a satisfactory arrangement shall have been made by the Chinese Government 117 dead link In his letter to the Elliots Palmerston instructed the commanders to set up a blockade of the Pearl River and forward to a Chinese official the letter from Palmerston addressing the Chinese Emperor They were to then capture the Zhoushan Islands blockade the mouth of the Yangtze River start negotiations with Qing officials and finally sail the fleet into the Bohai Sea where they would send another copy of the aforementioned letter to Beijing 118 Palmerston also issued a list of objectives that the British government wanted accomplished with said objectives being citation needed Demand to be treated with the respect due to a royal envoy by the Qing authorities Secure the right of the British superintendent to administer justice to British subjects in China Seek recompense for destroyed British property Gain most favoured trading status with the Chinese government Request the right for foreigners to safely inhabit and own private property in China Ensure that if contraband is seized in accordance with Chinese law no harm comes to the person s of British subjects carrying illicit goods in China End the system by which British merchants are restricted to trading solely in Canton Ask that the cities of Canton Amoy Shanghai Ningbo and the province of northern Formosa be freely opened to trade from all foreign powers Secure island s along the Chinese coast that can be easily defended and provisioned or exchange captured islands for favourable trading terms Lord Palmerston left it to Superintendent Elliot s discretion as to how these objectives would be fulfilled but noted that while negotiation would be a preferable outcome he did not trust that diplomacy would succeed writing To sum up in a few words the result of this Instruction you will see from what I have stated that the British Government demands from that of China satisfaction for the past and security for the future and does not choose to trust to negotiation for obtaining either of these things but has sent out a Naval and Military Force with orders to begin at once to take the Measures necessary for attaining the object in view 118 dead link War editOpening moves edit nbsp Engagement between British and Chinese ships in the First Battle of Chuenpi 1839 The Chinese naval forces in Canton were under the command of Admiral Guan Tianpei who had fought the British at Chuenpi The Qing southern army and garrisons were under the command of General Yang Fang Overall command was invested in the Daoguang Emperor and his court 49 The Chinese government initially believed that as in the 1834 Napier Affair the British had been successfully expelled 119 Few preparations were made for a British reprisal and the events leading to the eventual outbreak of the Sino Sikh War in 1841 were seen as a greater cause for concern 120 121 page range too broad Left without a major base of operations in China the British withdrew their merchant shipping from the region while maintaining the Royal Navy s China squadron in the islands around the mouth of the Pearl River From London Palmerston continued to dictate operations in China ordering the East India Company to divert troops from India in preparation for a limited war against the Chinese It was decided that the war would not be fought as a full scale conflict but rather as a punitive expedition 122 123 page range too broad Superintendent Elliot remained in charge of Britain s interests in China while Commodore James Bremer led the Royal Marines and the China Squadron Major General Hugh Gough was selected to command the British land forces and was promoted to overall commander of British forces in China 124 The cost of the war would be paid by the British Government 109 page needed 119 125 page range too broad 126 Per Lord Palmerston s letter plans were drawn up by the British to launch a series of attacks on Chinese ports and rivers 127 British plans to form an expeditionary force were started immediately after the January 1840 vote Several infantry regiments were raised in the British isles and the completion of ships already under construction was expedited To conduct the upcoming war Britain also began to draw on forces from its overseas empire 128 page range too broad British India had been preparing for a war since word had arrived that the opium had been destroyed and several regiments of Bengali volunteers had been recruited to supplement the regular British Indian Army and East India Company forces In terms of naval forces the ships earmarked for the expedition were either posted in remote colonies or under repair and Oriental Crisis of 1840 and the resulting risk of war between Britain France and the Ottoman Empire over Syria drew the attention of the Royal Navy s European fleets away from China 129 Orders were dispatched to British South Africa and Australia to send ships to Singapore the assigned rendezvous point for the expedition A number of steamers were purchased by the Royal Navy and attached to the expedition as transports The unseasonable summer weather of India and the Strait of Malacca slowed the British deployment and a number of accidents decreased the combat readiness of the expedition Most notably both of the 74 gun ships of the line that the Royal Navy intended to use against Chinese fortifications were temporarily put out of action by hull damage 129 Despite these delays by mid June 1840 British forces had begun to assemble in Singapore While they waited for more ships to arrive the Royal Marines practised amphibious invasions on the beach first by landing ashore in boats then forming lines and advancing on mock fortifications 129 128 page range too broad British offensive begins edit nbsp Capture of Chusan July 1840In late June 1840 the first part of the expeditionary force arrived in China aboard 15 barracks ships four steam powered gunboats and 25 smaller boats 130 The flotilla was under the command of Commodore Bremer The British issued an ultimatum demanding the Qing Government pay compensation for losses suffered from interrupted trade and the destruction of opium but were rebuffed by the Qing authorities in Canton 131 In his letters Palmerston had instructed the joint plenipotentiaries Elliot and his cousin Admiral George Elliot to acquire the cession of at least one island for trade on the Chinese coast 132 With the British expeditionary force now in place a combined naval and ground assault was launched on the Zhoushan Chusan Archipelago Zhoushan Island the largest and best defended of the islands was the primary target for the attack as was its vital port of Dinghai When the British fleet arrived off Zhoushan Elliot demanded the city surrender The commander of the Chinese garrison refused the command stating that he could not surrender and questioning what reason the British had for harassing Dinghai as they had been driven out of Canton Fighting began a fleet of 12 small junks was destroyed by the Royal Navy and British marines captured the hills to the south of Dinghai 133 nbsp The Battle of ChusanThe British captured the city itself after an intense naval bombardment on 5 July forced the surviving Chinese defenders to withdraw 131 The British occupied Dinghai harbour and prepared to use it as a staging point for operations in China In the fall of 1840 disease broke out in the Dinghai garrison forcing the British to evacuate soldiers to Manila and Calcutta By the beginning of 1841 only 1900 of the 3300 men who had originally occupied Dinghai were left with many of those remaining incapable of fighting An estimated 500 British soldiers died from disease with the Cameron and Bengali volunteers suffering the most deaths while the Royal Marines were relatively unscathed 134 Having captured Dinghai the British expedition divided its forces sending one fleet south to the Pearl River while sending a second fleet north to the Yellow Sea The northern fleet sailed to the Hai River where Elliot personally presented Palmerston s letter to the Emperor to Qing authorities from the capital Qishan a high ranking Manchu official was selected by the Imperial Court to replace Lin as the Viceroy of Liangguang after the latter was discharged for his failure to resolve the opium situation 135 page needed Negotiations began between the two sides with Qishan serving as the primary negotiator for the Qing and Elliot serving as the representative for the British Crown After a week of negotiations Qishan and Elliot agreed to relocate to the Pearl River for further negotiations In return for the courtesy of the British to withdraw from the Yellow Sea Qishan promised to requisition imperial funds as restitution for British merchants who had suffered damages The war however was not concluded and both sides continued to engage each other In the late spring of 1841 reinforcements arrived from India in preparation for an offensive against Canton A flotilla of transports brought 600 men of the professionally trained 37th Madras Native Infantry to Dinghai where their arrival boosted British morale 134 Accompanying the fleet as far as Macau was the newly constructed iron steamer HMS Nemesis a weapon to which the Chinese navy had no effective counter 136 On 19 August three British warships and 380 marines drove the Chinese from the land bridge known as The Barrier separating Macau from the Chinese mainland 137 non primary source needed The defeat of the Qing soldiers coupled with the arrival of the Nemesis in Macau s harbour resulted in a wave of pro British support in the city and several Qing officials were driven out or killed Portugal remained neutral in the conflict but after the battle was willing to allow British ships to dock in Macau a decision that granted the British a functioning port in Southern China 138 With the strategic harbours of Dinghai and Macau secured the British began to focus on the war on the Pearl River Five months after the British victory at Chusan the northern elements of the expedition sailed south to Humen known to the British as The Bogue Bremer judged that gaining control of the Pearl River and Canton would put the British in a strong negotiating position with the Qing authorities as well as allow for the renewal of trade when the war ended 122 Pearl River campaign edit While the British campaigned in the north Qing Admiral Guan Tianpei greatly reinforced the Qing positions in Humen Bocca Tigris suspecting sources state that Guan had been preparing for an eventual attack on the position since Napier s attack in 1835 139 that the British would attempt to force their way up the Pearl River to Canton The Humen forts blocked transit of the river and were garrisoned with 3000 men and 306 cannons By the time the British fleet was ready for action 10 000 Qing soldiers were in position to defend Canton and the surrounding area 139 The British fleet arrived in early January and began to bombard the Qing defences at Chuenpi after a group of Chinese fire rafts were sent drifting towards the Royal navy ships citation needed nbsp The Second Battle of ChuenpiOn 7 January 1841 the British won a decisive victory in the Second Battle of Chuenpi destroying 11 Junks of the Chinese southern fleet and capturing the Humen forts The victory allowed the British to set up a blockade of The Bogue a blow that forced the Qing navy to retreat upriver 140 better source needed Knowing the strategic value of Pearl River Delta to China and aware that British naval superiority made a reconquest of the region unlikely Qishan attempted to prevent the war from widening further by negotiating a peace treaty with Britain 141 On 21 January Qishan and Elliot drafted the Convention of Chuenpi a document which both parties hoped would end the war 141 142 The convention would establish equal diplomatic rights between Britain and China exchange Hong Kong Island for Zhoushan facilitate the release of shipwrecked and kidnapped British citizens held by the Chinese and reopen trade in Canton by 1 February 1841 142 China would also pay six million silver dollars as recompense for the opium destroyed at Humen in 1838 However the legal status of the opium trade was not resolved and instead left open to be discussed at a future date Despite the success of the negotiations between Qishan and Elliot both of their respective governments refused to sign the convention The Daoguang Emperor was infuriated that Qing territory would be given up in a treaty that had been signed without his permission and ordered Qishan arrested he was later sentenced to death the sentence was then commuted to military service Lord Palmerston recalled Elliot from his post and refused to sign the convention wanting more concessions to be forced from the Chinese per his original instructions 123 page range too broad 135 page needed nbsp British ships approaching Canton in May 1841The brief interlude in the fighting ended in the beginning of February after the Chinese refused to reopen Canton to British trade On 19 February a longboat from HMS Nemesis came under fire from a fort on North Wangtong Island prompting a British response 143 The British commanders ordered another blockade of the Pearl River and resumed combat operations against the Chinese The British captured the remaining Bogue forts on 26 February during the Battle of the Bogue and the Battle of First Bar on the following day allowing the fleet to move further upriver towards Canton 144 non primary source needed 141 Admiral Tianpei was killed in action during the fighting on 26 February On 2 March the British destroyed a Qing fort near Pazhou and captured Whampoa an action that directly threatened Canton s east flank 145 146 non primary source needed Major General Gough who had recently arrived from Madras aboard HMS Cruizer personally directed the attack on Whampoa Superintendent Elliot who was unaware that he had been dismissed and the Governor General of Canton declared a 3 day truce on 3 March Between the 3rd and the 6th the British forces that had evacuated Zhoushan per the Convention of Chuenpi arrived in the Pearl River The Chinese military was likewise reinforced and by 16 March General Yang Fang commanded 30 000 men in the area surrounding Canton 147 While the main British fleet prepared to sail up the Pearl River to Canton a group of three warships departed for the Xi River estuary intending to navigate the waterway between Macau and Canton The fleet led by Captain James Scott and Superintendent Elliot was composed of the frigate HMS Samarang and the steamships HMS Nemesis and HMS Atalanta 148 Although the waterway was in places only 6 feet deep the shallow drafts of the steamships allowed the British to approach Canton from a direction the Qing believed to be impossible 149 In a series of engagements along the river from 13 to 15 March the British captured or destroyed Chinese ships guns and military equipment 9 junks 6 fortresses and 105 guns were destroyed or captured in what was known as the Broadway expedition 150 page range too broad nbsp British map of the Pearl River With the Pearl River cleared of Chinese defences the British debated advancing on Canton Although the truce had ended on 6 March Superintendent Elliot believed that the British should negotiate with the Qing authorities from their current position of strength rather than risk a battle in Canton The Qing army made no aggressive moves against the British and instead began to fortify the city Chinese military engineers began to establish a number of mud earthworks on the riverbank sank junks to create riverblocks and started constructing fire rafts and gunboats Chinese merchants were ordered to remove all of the silk and tea from Canton to impede trade and the local populace was barred from selling food to the British ships on the river 151 On 16 March a British ship approaching a Chinese fort under a flag of truce was fired upon leading to the British setting the fort on fire with rockets These actions convinced Elliot that the Chinese were preparing to fight and following the return of the ships of the Broadway expedition to the fleet the British attacked Canton on 18 March taking the Thirteen Factories with very few casualties and raising the Union Jack above the British factory 141 The city was partially occupied by the British and trade was reopened after negotiation with the Cohong merchants After several days of further military successes British forces commanded the high ground around Canton Another truce was declared on 20 March Against the advice of some of his captains Elliot withdrew most of the Royal Navy warships downriver to the Bocca Tigris 147 70 nbsp Sketch of British soldiers occupying the high ground above Canton in 1841 In mid April Yishan Qishan s replacement as Viceroy of Liangguang and the Daoguang Emperor s cousin arrived in Canton He declared that trade should continue to remain open sent emissaries to Elliot and began to gather military assets outside Canton The Qing army camped outside of the city soon numbered 50 000 and the money earned from the reopened trade was spent repairing and expanding Canton s defences Concealed artillery batteries were built along the Pearl River Chinese soldiers were deployed in Whampoa and the Bocca Tigris and hundreds of small river craft were armed for war A bulletin sent from the Daoguang Emperor commanded the Qing forces to Exterminate the rebels at all points and orders were given to drive the British from the Pearl River before reclaiming Hong Kong and driving the invaders out of China altogether 152 This order was leaked and became widely circulated in Canton among foreign merchants who were already suspicious of Chinese intentions after learning of the Qing military buildup In May many Cohong merchants and their families left the city raising further concerns about a renewal of hostilities Rumors spread that Chinese divers were being trained to drill holes in the hulls of British ships and that fleets of fire rafts were being prepared for deployment against the Royal Navy 153 During the buildup the Qing army was weakened by infighting between units and lack of confidence in Yishan who openly distrusted Cantonese civilians and soldiers instead choosing to rely on forces drawn from other Chinese provinces 100 page needed On 20 May Yishan issued a statement asking the people of Canton and all foreign merchants who are respectfully obedient not to tremble with alarm and be frightened out of their wits at the military hosts that are gathering around there being no probability of hostilities The next day Elliot requested that all British merchants evacuate the city by sundown and several warships were recalled to their positions in front of Canton 154 On the night of 21 May the Qing launched a coordinated night attack on the British army and navy 140 better source needed Artillery batteries hidden in Canton and on the Pearl River many of which the British believed they had disabled earlier opened fire and Qing soldiers retook the British Factory A large formation of 200 fire rafts connected by a chain was sent drifting towards the British ships at Canton and fishing boats armed with matchlock guns began to engage the Royal Navy The British warships were able to evade the attack and stray rafts set Canton s waterfront on fire illuminating the river and foiling the night attack Downriver at Whampoa the Chinese attacked the British vessels at anchor there and attempted to prevent ships from reaching Canton Having suspected an attack and as a consequence delaying his own offensive Major General Gough consolidated the British forces at Hong Kong and ordered a rapid advance upriver to Canton These reinforcements arrived on 25 May and the British counter attacked taking the last four Qing forts above Canton and bombarding the city 140 The Qing army fled in panic when the city heights were taken and the British pursued them into the countryside On 29 May a crowd of around 20 000 villagers and townspeople attacked and defeated a foraging company of 60 Indian sepoys in what became known as the Sanyuanli Incident and Gough ordered a retreat back to the river The fighting subsided on 30 May 1841 and Canton came fully under British occupation 155 156 141 Following the capture of Canton the British command and the governor general of Canton agreed to a cease fire in the region Under the terms of the limited peace later widely referred to as The Ransom of Canton the British were paid to withdraw beyond the Bogue forts an action they completed by 31 May 155 Elliott signed the peace treaty without consulting the British army or Navy an act which displeased General Gough 157 The defence of Canton was declared a diplomatic success by Yishan In a letter to the Emperor he wrote that the barbarians had begged the chief general that he would implore the great Emperor in their behalf that he would have mercy upon them and cause their debts to be repaid them and graciously permit them to carry on their commerce when they would immediately withdraw their ships from the Bocca Tigris and never dare again to raise any disturbance 158 However General Yang Fang was reprimanded by the Emperor for his agreeing to a truce rather than forcefully resisting the British 159 The Emperor was not informed the British expedition had not been defeated and was very much intact The imperial court continued to debate China s next course of action for the war as the Daoguang Emperor wanted Hong Kong retaken 160 Central China edit nbsp HMS Wellesley and the British squadron sailing from Hong Kong for the attack on Amoy in 1841 Following their withdrawal from Canton the British relocated the expeditionary force to Hong Kong Just as with the Chinese commanders the British leaders debated how the war should be continued Elliot wanted to cease military operations and reopen trade while Major General Gough wanted to capture the city of Amoy and blockade the Yangtze River 161 In July a typhoon struck Hong Kong damaging British ships in the harbour and destroying some of the facilities the expedition was building on the island 162 The situation changed when on 29 July Elliot was informed that he had been replaced as Superintendent by Henry Pottinger who arrived in Hong Kong on 10 August to begin his administration Pottinger wanted to negotiate terms with the Qing for the entire country of China rather than just the Pearl River and so he turned away Chinese envoys from Canton and gave permission for the expeditionary force to proceed with its war plans Admiral Sir William Parker also arrived in Hong Kong to replace Humphrey Fleming Senhouse who had died of a fever on 29 June as the commander of the British naval forces in China It was agreed by the British commanders that combat operations should be moved north to put pressure on Peking and on 21 August the fleet sailed for Amoy 163 nbsp British troops at the Battle of Amoy 1841On 25 August the British fleet entered the Jiulong River estuary and arrived at Amoy The city was prepared for a naval assault as Qing military engineers had built several artillery batteries into the granite cliffs overlooking the river A purely naval assault was considered too risky by Parker prompting Gough to order a combined naval and ground attack on the defences On 26 August British marines and regular infantry under the covering fire of the Royal Navy flanked and destroyed the Chinese defences guarding the river Several large British ships failed to destroy the largest of the Chinese batteries which withstood over 12 000 cannonballs being fired at it 164 so the position was scaled and captured by the British infantry The city of Amoy was abandoned on 27 August and British soldiers entered the inner town where they blew up the citadel s powder magazine 26 Chinese junks and 128 cannons were captured with the captured guns being thrown into the river by the British As Lord Palmerston wanted Amoy to become an international trade port at the end of the war Gough ordered that no looting be tolerated and had officers enforce the death penalty for anyone found to be plundering However many Chinese merchants refused to ask for British protection out of fear of being branded as traitors to the Qing dynasty The British withdrew to an island on the river where they established a small garrison and blockaded the Jiulong River With the city empty of any army peasants criminals and deserters looted the town The Qing army retook the city and restored order several days later after which the city governor declared that a victory had been won and 5 British ships sunk 165 150 page range too broad 166 page range too broad In Britain changes in Parliament resulted in Lord Palmerston being removed from his post as Foreign Minister on 30 August William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne replaced him and sought a more measured approach to the situation in China Lamb remained a supporter of the war 167 168 page needed In September 1841 the British transport ship Nerbudda was shipwrecked on a reef off the northern coast of Taiwan after a brief gunnery duel with a Chinese fort This sinking was followed by the loss of the brig Ann on another reef in March 1842 The survivors of both ships were captured and marched to southern Taiwan where they were imprisoned 197 were executed by Qing authorities on 10 August 1842 while an additional 87 died from ill treatment in captivity This became known as the Nerbudda incident 169 nbsp The British forces invasion and Second Capture of ChusanOctober 1841 saw the British solidify their control over the central Chinese coast Zhoushan Chusan had been exchanged for Hong Kong on the authority of Qishan in January 1841 after which the island had been re garrisoned by the Qing Fearing that the Chinese would improve the island s defences the British began a military invasion The British attacked the Qing on 1 October The battle of the Second Capture of Chusan ensued The British forces killed 1500 Qing soldiers and captured Zhoushan The victory reestablished British control over Dinghai s important harbour 170 better source needed On 10 October a British naval force bombarded and captured a fort on the outskirts of Ningbo in central China A battle broke out between the British army and a Chinese force of 1500 men on the road between the town of Chinhai and Ningbo during which the Chinese were routed Following the defeat Chinese authorities evacuated Ningbo and the empty city was taken by the British on 13 October An imperial cannon manufactory in the city was captured by the British reducing the ability of the Qing to replace their lost equipment and the fall of the city threatened the nearby Qiantang River 171 172 The capture of Ningbo forced the British command to examine their policy towards occupied Chinese territory and prizes of war Admiral Parker and Superintendent Pottinger wanted a percentage of all captured Chinese property to be turned over to the British as legal prizes of war while General Gough argued that this would only turn the Chinese population against the British and that if property had to be seized it should be public property rather than private British policy eventually settled that 10 of all property captured by the British expeditionary forces would be seized as war loot in retaliation for injustices done to British merchants Gough later stated that this edict would compel his men to punish one set of robbers for the benefit of another 173 Fighting ceased for the winter of 1841 while the British resupplied 174 False reports sent by Yishan to the Emperor in Beijing resulted in the continued British threat being downplayed In late 1841 the Daoguang Emperor discovered that his officials in Canton and Amoy had been sending him embellished reports He ordered the governor of Guangxi Liang Chang chu to send him clear accounts of the events in Canton noting that since Guangxi was a neighbouring province Liang must be receiving independent accounts He warned Liang that he would be able to verify his information by obtaining secret inquiries from other places 175 Yishan was recalled to the capital and faced trial by the imperial court which removed him from command Now aware of the severity of the British threat Chinese towns and cities began to fortify against naval incursions 100 page needed 26 page range too broad In the spring of 1842 the Daoguang Emperor ordered his cousin Yijing to retake the city of Ningbo Ningpo In the ensuing Battle of Ningpo on 10 March the British garrison repelled the assault with rifle fire and naval artillery At Ningbo the British lured the Qing army into the city streets before opening fire resulting in heavy Chinese casualties 176 177 178 The British pursued the retreating Chinese army capturing the nearby city of Cixi on 15 March 179 The important harbour of Zhapu was captured on 18 May in the Battle of Chapu 5 A British fleet bombarded the town forcing its surrender A holdout of 300 soldiers of the Eight Banners stalled the advance of British army for several hours an act of heroism that was commended by Gough 180 181 Yangtze river campaign editWith many Chinese ports now blockaded or under British occupation Major General Gough sought to cripple the finances of the Qing Empire by striking up the Yangtze River 25 warships and 10 000 men were assembled at Ningbo and Zhapu in May for a planned advance into the Chinese interior 182 The expedition s advance ships sailed up the Yangtze and captured the emperor s tax barges a devastating blow that slashed the revenue of the imperial court in Beijing to a fraction of what it had been 183 nbsp British troops capture Zhenjiang in the last major battle of the war 21 July 1842On 14 June the mouth of the Huangpu River was captured by the British fleet On 16 June the Battle of Woosung occurred after which the British captured the towns of Wusong and Baoshan The undefended outskirts of Shanghai were occupied by the British on 19 June Following the battle Shanghai was looted by retreating Qing banner men British soldiers and local civilians Qing Admiral Chen Huacheng was killed while defending a fort in Woosong 184 185 182 The fall of Shanghai left the vital city of Nanjing Known as Jiangning under the Qing vulnerable The Qing amassed an army of 56 000 Manchu Banner men and Han Green Standards to defend Liangjiang Province and strengthened their river defences on the Yangtze However British naval activity in Northern China led to resources and manpower being withdrawn to defend against a feared attack on Beijing 186 The Qing commander in Liangjiang Province released 16 British prisoners with the hope that a ceasefire could be reached but poor communications led both the Qing and the British to reject any overtures at peace 187 In secret the Daoguang Emperor considered signing a peace treaty with the British but only in regards to the Yangtze River and not the war as a whole Had it been signed the British forces would have been paid to not enter the Yangtze River 188 On 14 July the British fleet on the Yangtze began to sail up the river Reconnaissance alerted Gough to the logistical importance of the city of Zhenjiang Chinkiang and plans were made to capture it 189 Most of the city s guns had been relocated to Wusong and had been captured by the British when said city had been taken The Qing commanders inside the city were disorganised with Chinese sources stating that over 100 traitors were executed in Zhenjiang prior to the battle 190 page needed The British fleet arrived off of the city on the morning of 21 July and the Chinese forts defending the city were blasted apart The Chinese defenders initially retreated into the surrounding hills causing a premature British landing Fighting erupted when thousands of Chinese soldiers emerged from the city beginning the Battle of Zhenjiang citation needed nbsp Fighting at ZhenjiangBritish engineers blew open the western gate and stormed into the city where fierce street to street fighting ensued Zhenjiang was devastated by the battle with many Chinese soldiers and their families committing suicide rather than be taken prisoner 5 120 The British suffered their highest combat losses of the war 36 killed taking the city 185 77 page needed 181 After capturing Zhenjiang the British fleet cut the vital Grand Canal paralysing the Caoyun system and severely disrupting the Chinese ability to distribute grain throughout the Empire 191 185 The British departed Zhenjiang on 3 August intending to sail to Nanking They arrived outside the Jiangning District on 9 August and were in position to assault the city by 11 August Although explicit permission to negotiate had not yet been granted by the emperor Qing officials inside the city agreed to a British request to negotiate 192 Treaty of Nanking edit Main article Treaty of Nanking On 14 August a Chinese delegation led by the Manchu high court official Qiying Kiying and Llipu departed Nanking for the British fleet Negotiations lasted for several weeks as the British delegation insisted the treaty be accepted by the Daoguang Emperor The court advised the emperor to accept the treaty and on 21 August the Daoguang Emperor authorised his diplomats to sign the peace treaty with the British 193 194 page needed The First Opium war officially ended on 29 August 1842 with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking 195 page needed The document was signed by officials of the British and Qing empires aboard HMS Cornwallis 196 nbsp Oil painting depicting the signing of the Treaty of Nanking Technology and tactics edit British edit The British military superiority during the conflict drew heavily on the strength of the Royal Navy 136 British warships carried more guns than their Chinese opponents and were manoeuvrable enough to evade Chinese boarding actions Steam ships such as HMS Nemesis were able to move against winds and tides in Chinese rivers and were armed with heavy guns and Congreve rockets 136 Several of the larger British warships in China notably the third rates HMS Cornwallis HMS Wellesley and HMS Melville carried more guns than entire fleets of Chinese junks 182 non primary source needed British naval superiority allowed the Royal Navy to attack Chinese forts with very little risk to themselves as British naval cannons out ranged the vast majority of the Qing artillery 182 non primary source needed British soldiers in China were equipped with Brunswick rifles and rifle modified Brown Bess muskets both of which possessed an effective firing range of 200 300 metres 197 better source needed British marines were equipped with percussion caps that greatly reduced weapon misfires and allowed firearms to be used in damp environments In terms of gunpowder the British formula was better manufactured and contained more sulphur than the Chinese mixture 197 better source needed This granted British weapons an advantage in terms of range accuracy and projectile velocity British artillery was lighter owing to improved forging methods and more manoeuvrable than the cannons used by the Chinese As with the naval artillery British guns out ranged the Chinese cannon citation needed In terms of tactics the British forces in China followed doctrines established during the Napoleonic Wars that had been adapted during the various colonial wars of the 1820s and 1830s Many of the British soldiers deployed to China were veterans of colonial wars in India and had experience fighting larger but technologically inferior armies 198 In battle the British line infantry would advance towards the enemy in columns forming ranks once they had closed to firing range Companies would commence firing volleys into the enemy ranks until they retreated If a position needed to be taken an advance or charge with bayonets would be ordered Light infantry companies screened the line infantry formations protecting their flanks and utilising skirmishing tactics to disrupt the enemy 174 British artillery was used to destroy the Qing artillery and break up enemy formations During the conflict the British superiority in range rate of fire and accuracy allowed the infantry to deal significant damage to their enemy before the Chinese could return fire 199 full citation needed The use of naval artillery to support infantry operations allowed the British to take cities and forts with minimal casualties 200 failed verification 201 failed verification The overall strategy of the British during the war was to inhibit the finances of the Qing Empire with the ultimate goal of acquiring a colonial possession on the Chinese coast This was accomplished through the capture of Chinese cities and by blockading major river systems 202 Once a fort or city had been captured the British would destroy the local arsenal and disable all of the captured guns 201 failed verification They would then move on to the next target leaving a small garrison behind This strategy was planned and implemented by Major General Gough who was able to operate with minimal input from the British government after Superintendent Elliot was recalled in 1841 203 The large number of private British merchants and East India Company ships deployed in Singapore and the India colonies ensured that the British forces in China were adequately supplied 204 13 page needed nbsp A Royal Navy steamship destroying a Chinese junk with a Congreve rocket Lightly armoured Chinese warships were decimated by heavy guns and explosive weaponry nbsp British line infantry advancing on a Chinese position Qing dynasty edit China did not have a unified navy instead allowing individual provinces to manage naval defenses 205 Although the Qing had invested in naval defences for their adjacent seas in earlier periods after the death of the Qianlong Emperor in 1799 the navy decayed as more attention was directed to suppressing the Miao Rebellion and White Lotus Rebellion These conflicts left the Qing treasury bankrupt The remaining naval forces were badly overstretched undermanned underfunded and uncoordinated 206 From the onset of the war the Chinese navy was severely disadvantaged Chinese war junks were intended for use against pirates or equivalent types of vessels and were more effective in close range river engagements Due to their ships slow speeds Qing captains consistently found themselves sailing towards much more maneuverable British ships and as a consequence the Chinese could only use their bow guns 207 non primary source needed The size of the British ships made traditional boarding tactics useless and the junks carried smaller numbers of inferior weaponry 176 non primary source needed In addition the Chinese ships were poorly armoured in several battles British shells and rockets penetrated Chinese magazines and detonated gunpowder stores Highly maneuverable steamships such as HMS Nemesis could decimate small fleets of junks as the junks had little chance of catching up to and engaging the faster British steamers 182 non primary source needed The only western style warship in the Qing Navy the converted East Indiaman Cambridge was destroyed in the Battle of First Bar 208 non primary source needed Apparently the Chinese emperor was aware about this In an 1842 edict he said the invasion by the rebellious barbarians they depended upon their strong ships and effective guns to commit outrageous acts on the seas and harm our people largely because the native war junks are too small to match them For this reason I the Emperor repeatedly ordered our generals to resist on land and not to fight on seas When the enemy ships come no resistance can be offered when they go away no means of pursuit are available In my opinion what the rebellious barbarians rely upon is the fact that Chinese war junks are incapable of going out to sea to fight them 209 The defensive nature of the conflict resulted in the Chinese relying heavily on an extensive network of fortifications The Kangxi Emperor 1654 1722 began the construction of river defences to combat pirates and encouraged the use of western style cannons By the time of the First Opium War multiple forts defended most major Chinese cities and waterways Although the forts were well armed and strategically positioned the Qing defeat exposed major flaws in their design The cannons used in the Qing defensive fortifications were a collection of Chinese Portuguese Spanish and British pieces 210 The domestically produced Chinese cannon were crafted using sub par forging methods limiting their effectiveness in combat and causing excessive gun barrel wear The Chinese blend of gunpowder also contained more charcoal than the British mixture did 197 failed verification better source needed while this made it more stable and thus easier to store it also limited its potential as a propellant decreasing projectile range and accuracy 211 197 better source needed Overall Chinese cannon technology was considered to be 200 years behind that of the British 212 Chinese forts were unable to withstand attacks by European weaponry as they were designed without angled glacis and many did not have protected magazines 202 213 The limited range of the Qing cannon allowed the British to bombard the Qing defences from a safe distance then land soldiers to storm them with minimal risk Many of the larger Chinese guns were built as fixed emplacements and were unable to be maneuvered to fire at British ships 214 The failure of the Qing fortifications coupled with the Chinese underestimation of the Royal Navy allowed the British to force their way up major rivers and impede Qing logistics 202 Most notably the powerful series of forts at Humen were well positioned to stop an invader from proceeding upriver to Canton but it had not been considered that an enemy would attack and destroy the forts themselves as the British did during the war 215 At the start of the war the Qing army consisted of over 200 000 soldiers with around 800 000 men being able to be called for war These forces consisted of Manchu Bannermen the Green Standard Army provincial militias and imperial garrisons The Qing armies were armed with matchlocks and shotguns which had an effective range of 100 metres 197 better source needed Chinese historians Liu and Zhang note that the Chinese soldiers were equipped with sixty or seventy percent traditional weapons of which the most important were the long lance the side sword the bow and arrow and the rattan shield and only thirty or forty percent of their armament consisted of gunpowder weapons of which the most important were the matchlock musket the heavy musket the cannon the fire arrow and the earthshaking bomb and such things 216 page needed Chinese soldiers were also equipped with halberds spears swords and crossbows The Qing dynasty also employed large batteries of artillery in battle 122 The tactics of the Qing remained consistent with what they had been in previous centuries 216 page needed 217 Soldiers with firearms would form ranks and fire volleys into the enemy while men armed with spears and pikes would drive described by the Chinese as Tui 推 push the enemy off of the battlefield 218 Cavalry was used to break infantry formations and pursue routed enemies while Qing artillery was used to scatter enemy formations and destroy fortifications 219 During the First Opium War these tactics were unable to successfully deal with British firepower Chinese melee formations were decimated by artillery and Chinese soldiery armed with matchlocks could not effectively exchange fire with British ranks who greatly outranged them 220 174 Most battles of the war were fought in cities or on cliffs and riverbanks limiting the Qing usage of cavalry Many Qing cannon were destroyed by British counter battery fire and British light infantry companies were consistently able to outflank and capture Chinese artillery batteries 213 failed verification A British officer said of the opposing Qing forces The Chinese are robust muscular fellows and no cowards the Tartars i e Manchus desperate but neither are well commanded nor acquainted with European warfare Having had however experience of three of them I am inclined to suppose that a Tartar bullet is not a whit softer than a French one 122 The strategy of the Qing dynasty during the war was to prevent the British from seizing Chinese territory 122 This defensive strategy was hampered by the Qing severely underestimating the capacity of the British military Qing defences on the Pearl and Yangtze rivers were ineffective in stopping the British push inland and superior naval artillery prevented the Chinese from retaking cities 177 33 The Qing imperial bureaucracy was unable to react quickly to the prodding British attacks while officials and commanders often reported false faulty or incomplete information to their superiors 221 The Qing military system made it difficult to deploy troops to counter the mobile British forces 222 In addition the ongoing conflict with Sikhs on the Qing border with India drew away some of the most experienced Qing units from the war with Britain 121 page range too broad nbsp Chinese soldiers armed with a gingal during the First Opium War nbsp Painting of a battle between Qing matchlock armed infantry and British line infantry at the Battle of Chinkiang The retreat of the Qing infantry into the city and the ensuing close quarters combat led to heavy casualties on both sides Aftermath editThe war ended in the signing of China s first Unequal Treaty the Treaty of Nanking 195 page needed 196 In the supplementary Treaty of the Bogue the Qing empire also recognised Britain as an equal to China and gave British subjects extraterritorial privileges in treaty ports In 1844 the United States and France concluded similar treaties with China the Treaty of Wanghia and Treaty of Whampoa respectively 223 better source needed In addition to opening China to European opium traders the European trade in captive Chinese coolie labor boomed 224 5 Anglophone capitalists referred to this trade collectively as poison and pigs 224 5 Legacy and memory edit nbsp Entrance of the Opium War Museum in Humen Town Guangdong China nbsp British gold medal dually dated 1829 and March 1842 London mint Extracted out of the Chinese silver indemnity payments of the Treaty of NankingThe opium trade faced intense enmity from the later British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone 225 As a member of Parliament Gladstone called it most infamous and atrocious referring to the opium trade between China and British India in particular 226 Gladstone was fiercely against both of the Opium Wars Britain waged in China the First Opium War initiated in 1840 and the Second Opium War initiated in 1857 He denounced British violence against the Chinese and was ardently opposed to the British trade in opium to China 227 Gladstone lambasted it as Palmerston s Opium War and said in May 1840 that he felt in dread of the judgments of God upon England for our national iniquity towards China 228 Gladstone made a famous speech in Parliament against the First Opium War 229 230 Gladstone criticised it as a war more unjust in its origin a war more calculated in its progress to cover this country with permanent disgrace 231 His hostility to opium stemmed from the effects opium brought upon his sister Helen 232 233 Due to the First Opium war brought on by Palmerston there was initial reluctance to join the government of Peel on part of Gladstone before 1841 234 The war marked the start of what 20th century Chinese nationalists called the Century of Humiliation The ease with which the British forces defeated the numerically superior Chinese armies damaged the dynasty s prestige The Treaty of Nanking was a step to opening the lucrative Chinese market to global commerce and the opium trade The interpretation of the war which was long the standard in the People s Republic of China was summarised in 1976 The Opium War in which the Chinese people fought against British aggression marked the beginning of modern Chinese history and the start of the Chinese people s bourgeois democratic revolution against imperialism and feudalism 49 The Treaty of Nanking the Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue and two French and American agreements were all unequal treaties signed between 1842 and 1844 The terms of these treaties undermined China s traditional mechanisms of foreign relations and methods of controlled trade Five ports were opened for trade gunboats and foreign residence Guangzhou Xiamen Fuzhou Ningbo and Shanghai Hong Kong was seized by the British to become a free and open port Tariffs were abolished thus preventing the Chinese from raising future duties to protect domestic industries and extraterritorial practices exempted Westerners from Chinese law This made them subject to their own civil and criminal laws of their home country Most importantly the opium problem was never addressed and after the treaty was signed opium addiction doubled China was forced to pay 21 million silver taels as an indemnity which was used to pay compensation for the traders opium destroyed by Commissioner Lin A couple of years after the treaties were signed internal rebellion began to threaten foreign trade Due to the Qing government s inability to control collection of taxes on imported goods the British government convinced the Manchu court to allow Westerners to partake in government official affairs By the 1850s the Chinese Maritime Customs Service one of the most important bureaucracies in the Manchu Government was partially staffed and managed by Western Foreigners 84 page needed In 1858 opium was legalised and would remain a problem 235 page needed Commissioner Lin often referred to as Lin the Clear Sky for his moral probity 236 was made a scapegoat He was blamed for ultimately failing to stem the tide of opium imports and usage as well as for provoking an unwinnable war through his rigidity and lack of understanding of the changing world 237 Nevertheless as the Chinese nation formed in the 20th century Lin became viewed as a hero and has been immortalised at various locations around China 238 239 240 The First Opium War both reflected and contributed to a further weakening of the Chinese state s power and legitimacy 241 Anti Qing sentiment grew in the form of rebellions such as the Taiping Rebellion a war lasting from 1850 64 in which at least 20 million Chinese died The decline of the Qing dynasty was beginning to be felt by much of the Chinese population 19 page needed Revisionist views edit The impact of the opium habit on the Chinese people and the manner in which the British imposed their power to guarantee the profitable trade have been staples of Chinese historiography ever since 242 page needed The British historian Jasper Ridley concluded Conflict between China and Britain was inevitable On the one side was a corrupt decadent and caste ridden despotism with no desire or ability to wage war which relied on custom much more than force for the enforcement of extreme privilege and discrimination and which was blinded by a deep rooted superiority complex into believing that they could assert their supremacy over Europeans without possessing military power On the other side was the most economically advanced nation in the world a nation of pushing bustling traders of self help free trade and the pugnacious qualities of John Bull 243 However Ridley adds opposition in Britain was intense An entirely opposite British viewpoint was promoted by humanitarians and reformers such as the Chartists and religious nonconformists led by young William Ewart Gladstone They argued that Palmerston the foreign secretary was only interested in the huge profits it would bring Britain and was totally oblivious to the horrible moral evils of opium which the Chinese government was valiantly trying to stamp out 244 245 The American historian John K Fairbank wrote In demanding diplomatic equality and commercial opportunity Britain represented all the Western states which would sooner or later have demanded the same things if Britain had not It was an accident of history that the dynamic British commercial interests in the China trade was centered not only on tea but also on opium If the main Chinese demand had continued to be for Indian raw cotton or at any rate if there had been no market for opium in late Ch ing China as there had been none earlier then there would have been no opium war Yet probably some kind of Sino foreign war would have come given the irresistible vigor of Western expansion and immovable inertia of Chinese institutions 246 Some historians claim that Lord Palmerston the British Foreign Secretary initiated the Opium War to maintain the principle of free trade 247 Professor Glenn Melancon for example argues that the issue in going to war was not opium but Britain s need to uphold its reputation its honour and its commitment to global free trade China was pressing Britain just when the British faced serious pressures in the Near East on the Indian frontier and in Latin America In the end says Melancon the government s need to maintain its honour in Britain and prestige abroad forced the decision to go to war 123 page range too broad Former American president John Quincy Adams commented that opium was a mere incident to the dispute the cause of the war is the kowtow the arrogant and insupportable pretensions of China that she will hold commercial intercourse with the rest of mankind not upon terms of equal reciprocity but upon the insulting and degrading forms of the relations between lord and vassal 248 The Australian historian Harry G Gelber argues that opium played a role similar to the tea dumped into the harbour in the Boston Tea Party of 1773 leading to the American Revolutionary War Gelber argues instead The British went to war because of Chinese military threats to defenceless British civilians including women and children because China refused to negotiate on terms of diplomatic equality and because China refused to open more ports than Canton to trade not just with Britain but with everybody The belief about British guilt came later as part of China s long catalogue of alleged Western exploitation and aggression 249 Western women were actually not legally permitted to enter Canton although they were permitted to live in Macao 250 Into the 19th century Western nations did not recognise diplomatic equality for entities that failed to meet their standard of civilisation including China 251 252 The policy of concentrating trade to a single port was also used in Western countries such as Spain and Portugal Western merchants could also trade freely and legally with Chinese merchants in Xiamen and Macao or when the trade was conducted through ports outside China such as Manila and Batavia That being said the government hampered foreign trade and through the Canton system concentrated trade in Canton 253 Furthermore Macao was restricted to Portuguese traders and Xiamen the Spanish who rarely made use of this privilege 254 The public in Western countries had earlier condemned the British government for supporting the opium trade 110 Opium was the most profitable single commodity trade of the 19th century As Timothy Brook and Bob Wakabayashi write of opium The British Empire could not survive were it deprived of its most important source of capital the substance that could turn any other commodity into silver 255 256 although this thesis is controversial 257 Opium was the most common and the most profitable trade good and consisted 33 54 of all goods shipped from Bengal to the East between 1815 and 1818 Carl Trocki described the British Empire east of Suez as of 1800 as essentially a drug cartel 258 James Bradley stated opium accounted for 15 to 20 percent of the British Empire s revenue and between 1814 and 1850 removed 11 percent of China s money supply 259 page needed Although shipping was regulated the Qianlong emperor s administration was diligent in accommodating the requisites of Western merchants It hired a growing body of Western assistants for the Customs Office to help manage its fellow countrymen The order to stay in Macao during the winter was lifted tax was exempted on food drink and basic supplies for Western merchants and protections were granted to Westerners and their property 260 Qing laws prevented Chinese from pursuing foreigners through the courts The prohibition mainly dated from the Qianlong Emperor s strong conviction that mistreatment of foreigners had been a major cause of the overthrow of several earlier dynasties 261 page needed The Qianlong Emperor granted Lord Macartney a golden scepter an important symbol of peace and wealth but that was dismissed by the British who were unaware of its symbolism The Qianlong Emperor also dismissed the lavish presents that the British gave to facilitate diplomatic relations and concluded that they were no better than other European products In 1806 Chinese officials compromised with the British on the murder of a Chinese man by British seamen as Westerners refused to be punished under Chinese law and local citizens vigorously protested for xenophobic reasons and because of perceived injustice In 1816 the Jiaqing Emperor dismissed a British embassy for ita refusal to kowtow but he sent them an apologetic letter with gifts which were later found in the Foreign Office unread The British ignored Chinese laws and warnings not to deploy military forces in Chinese waters The British landed troops in Macao despite a Chinese and Portuguese agreement to bar foreign forces from Macao and then in the War of 1812 attacked American ships deep in the inner harbour of Canton the Americans had previously robbed British ships in Chinese waters as well Those in combination with the British support to Nepal during their invasion of Tibet and later British invasion of Nepal after it became a Chinese tributary state led the Chinese authorities to become highly suspicious of British intentions 262 In 1834 when British naval vessels intruded into Chinese waters again the Daoguang Emperor commented How laughable and deplorable is it that we cannot even repel two barbarian ships Our military had decayed so much No wonder the barbarians are looking down on us 263 page needed Was the war inevitable edit Historians have often pondered whether the war could have been avoided 264 One factor was that China rejected diplomatic relations with the British or anyone else as seen in the rejection of the Macartney mission in 1793 As a result diplomatic mechanisms for negotiation and resolution were missing 265 Michael Greenberg locates the inevitable cause in the momentum for more and more overseas trade in Britain s expanding modern economy 266 On the other hand the economic forces inside Britain that were war hawks Radicals in Parliament and northern merchants and manufacturers were a political minority and needed allies especially Palmerston before they could get their war 267 In Parliament the Melbourne government faced a host of complex international threats including the Chartist riots at home bothersome budget deficits unrest in Ireland rebellions in Canada and Jamaica war in Afghanistan and French threats to British business interests in Mexico and Argentina The opposition demanded more aggressive answers and it was Foreign Minister Palmerston who set up an easy war to solve the political crisis 268 It was not economics opium sales or expanding trade that caused the British to go to war Melancon argues but it was more a matter of upholding aristocratic standards of national honour sullied by Chinese insults 269 page range too broad 270 page needed One historiographical problem is that the emphasis on the British causal factors tends to ignore the Chinese The Manchu rulers were focused on internal unrest by Chinese elements and paid little attention to the minor issues happening in Canton 271 page range too broad The historian James Polachek argues the reasons for trying to suppress the opium trade had to do with internal factionalism led by a purification oriented group of literary scholars who paid no attention to the risk of international intervention by much more powerful military forces Therefore it was not a matter of inevitable conflict between contrasting worldviews 272 Lin and the Daoguang Emperor comments the historian Jonathan Spence seemed to have believed that the citizens of Canton and the foreign traders there had simple childlike natures that would respond to firm guidance and statements of moral principles set out in simple clear terms Neither considered the possibility that the British government would be committed to protecting the smugglers 273 Polachek argues based on records of court debate that growing court awareness that opium addiction in the Guangdong military garrisons caused by widespread collusion between British smugglers Chinese smugglers and Chinese officials had completely impaired their military effectiveness That left the entire southern flank of the Qing exposed to military threats and was more important in generating opposition to the drug trade than economic reasons Polachek shows that Lin Zexu and the hardliners mistakenly believed that by arresting drug abusers confiscating the opium supplies and promising to allow the British to continue trading in other goods they could persuade the British to give up the drug trade without a war 274 Interactive map editClick on a battle to go directly to the relevant article nbsp See also editIllustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms The Opium War film Second Opium War Tea in the United Kingdom History 18th century History of tea United KingdomIndividuals edit Lin Zexu William Jardine merchant William Napier 9th Lord Napier David SassoonContemporaneous Qing dynasty wars edit Sino Sikh War 1841 1842 Fictional and narrative literature editLeasor James Mandarin Gold Archived 2 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine London Heinemann 1973 e published James Leasor Ltd 2011 Amitav Ghosh River of Smoke Farrar Straus and Giroux 2011 Flood of Fire and Sea of Poppies collectively known as the Ibis Trilogy Timothy Mo An Insular Possession Chatto and Windus 1986 Paddleless Press 2002 R F Kuang Babel or the Necessity of Violence Harper Voyager 2022 includes the outbreak of the Opium War in an alternate reality where magical silver bars are used to fuel the British EmpireNotes edit Comprising 5 troop ships 3 brigs 2 steamers 1 survey vessel and 1 hospital ship Refers to total troops in the provinces that were in the theatre of war but only about 100 000 troops were actually mobilised for the war itself 2 Casualties include Manchu bannermen and their families who committed mass suicide at the Battle of Chapu and Battle of Chinkiang 5 6 References editCitations edit a b c d Martin Robert Montgomery 1847 China Political Commercial and Social In an Official Report to Her Majesty s Government Volume 2 London James Madden pp 80 82 Mao 2016 pp 50 53 The Chinese Repository vol 12 p 248 Bate 1952 p 174 a b c Rait Robert S 1903 The Life and Campaigns of Hugh First Viscount Gough Field Marshal Volume 1 p 265 Makeham John 2008 China The World s Oldest Living Civilization Revealed Thames amp Hudson p 331 ISBN 978 0 500 25142 3 张莉 第一次鸦片战争中 英军队的伤亡及其影响 2008年 Archived from the original on 19 December 2014 Retrieved 19 December 2014 a b Fay 2000 p 73 a b Fay 2000 p 143 digital china harvard Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria cyber harvard edu Retrieved 23 November 2022 Longman World History wps pearsoncustom com Retrieved 23 November 2022 a b Opium Wars Definition Summary Facts amp Causes Britannica www britannica com Retrieved 28 November 2021 a b Farooqui Amar March 2005 Smuggling as Subversion Colonialism Indian Merchants and the Politics of Opium 1790 1843 Lexington Books ISBN 0 7391 0886 7 Steve Tsang A modern history of Hong Kong 2007 pp 3 13 Tsang A modern history of Hong Kong p 29 The Mechanics of Opium Wars The Australian Museum Retrieved 28 June 2022 Gray 2002 pp 22 23 Carrera Stampa Manuel La Nao de la China Historia Mexicana 9 no 33 1959 97 118 a b c d Goldstone Jack A 2016 Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World Population Change and State Breakdown in England France Turkey and China 1600 1850 25th Anniversary Edition Routledge ISBN 978 1 315 40860 6 a b Charles C Mann 2011 pp 123 163 Spence 1999 p 120 a b Spence 1999 p 120 Bernstein William J 2008 A splendid exchange how trade shaped the world New York Atlantic Monthly Press p 286 ISBN 978 0 87113 979 5 a b Van Dyke Paul A 2005 The Canton trade life and enterprise on the China coast 1700 1845 Hong Kong Hong Kong University Press pp 6 9 ISBN 962 209 749 9 Hucker Charles O 1958 Governmental Organization of the Ming Dynasty Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Harvard Yenching Institute 38 a b c d Alain Peyrefitte The Immobile Empire The first great collision of East and West the astonishing history of Britain s grand an ill fated expedition to open China to Western Trade 1792 94 New York Alfred A Knopf 1992 pp 520 545 a b c d e f g Fay 2000 pp 38 45 55 54 60 68 Fay 2000 pp 62 64 a b c Fay 2000 p 65 Early American Trade BBC a b c d e f g h i j Fay 2000 pp 75 81 a b c Peyrefitte 1993 pp 487 503 a b c d e f g h China The First Opium War John Jay College of Criminal Justice City University of New York Archived from the original on 1 December 2010 Retrieved 2 December 2010 Quoting British Parliamentary Papers 1840 XXXVI 223 p 374 a b Hanes III W Travis Sanello Frank 2002 The Opium Wars Naperville Illinois Sourcebooks Inc p 20 Meyers Wang 2003 p 587 Fay 2000 p 38 Fay 2000 pp 74 75 a b c Fay 2000 pp 13 14 42 Lovell p 3 Peyrefitte 1993 p 520 a b c Fay 2000 pp 73 74 Canada Asia Pacific Foundation of The Opium Wars in China Asia Pacific Curriculum a b Fay 2000 pp 41 62 Peyrefitte Alain 2013 The Immobile Empire Vintage Books ISBN 978 0345803955 Layton 1997 p 28 Early American Trade with China teachingresources atlas illinois edu Retrieved 8 August 2017 Davis Nancy February 1989 Cargo Manifests and Custom Records from American China Trade Vessels Bound for the Port of Philadelphia 1790 1840 Journal of East Asian Libraries 1989 86 17 20 Retrieved 23 September 2018 Fay 2000 pp 76 80 a b c The History of Modern China Beijing 1976 quoted in Janin Hunt 1999 The India China Opium Trade in the Nineteenth Century McFarland p 207 ISBN 0 7864 0715 8 Fu Lo shu 1966 A Documentary Chronicle of Sino Western relations Volume 1 p 380 Lovell Julia 2014 The Opium War drugs dreams and the making of China New York pp 2 3 ISBN 978 1468308952 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link a b Report from the Select Committee on the Royal Mint together with the minutes of evidence appendix and index Volume 2 Great Britain Committee on Royal Mint 1849 p 172 The Wars of the Poppies History Today www historytoday com Retrieved 2 August 2017 a b c L Seabrooke 2006 Global Standards of Market Civilization p 192 Taylor amp Francis 2006 Schirokauer Conrad Brown Miranda 2012 A Brief History of Chinese Civilization 4th illustrated ed Cengage Learning p 221 ISBN 978 0495913238 Xu Zhongyou Modern Chinese History World Book Publishing Company 2008 ISBN 978 7506287128 a b Grandeur of the Qing Economy www learn columbia edu Archived from the original on 12 May 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2017 a b Gao Feng 2003 p 141 Compilation Group for the History of Modern China Series 2000 p 17 a b c T Rowe William 2009 China s last empire the great Qing Cambridge Mass Belknap Press of Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0674036123 OCLC 648759723 Downs pp 22 24 Liu Henry C K 4 September 2008 Developing China with sovereign credit Asia Times Online Guo Ting History of Modern China Hong Kong Chinese University Press 1979 p 39 The Opium Wars in China Asia Pacific Curriculum Retrieved 28 November 2021 Hariharan Shantha Hariharan P S 1 December 2013 The Expedition to Garrison Portuguese Macao with British Troops Temporary Occupation and Re embarkation 1808 International Journal of Maritime History 25 2 85 116 doi 10 1177 084387141302500209 ISSN 0843 8714 S2CID 161472099 Fay 2000 pp 72 75 Fay 2000 pp 72 81 Alain Le Pichon 2006 China Trade and Empire Jardine Matheson amp Co and the Origins of British Rule in Hong Kong 1827 1843 OUP British Academy p 28 ISBN 978 0 19 726337 2 Hans Derks 2012 History of the Opium Problem The Assault on the East ca 1600 1950 Brill p 94 ISBN 978 90 04 22158 1 a b c Fay 2000 pp 110 113 Fay 2000 pp 57 58 60 Fay 2000 p 68 Fay 2000 pp 62 71 Fay 2000 pp 84 95 Cleary Vern The First Opium War 1838 1842 webs bcp org Archived from the original on 24 June 2019 Retrieved 10 August 2017 Lydia He LIU Lydia He Liu 2009 The Clash of Empires the invention of China in modern world making Harvard University Press pp 47 ISBN 978 0 674 04029 8 a b Michie Alexander 2012 The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era As Illustrated in the Career of Sir Rutherford Alcock Volume 1 HardPress Publishing ISBN 978 1 290 63687 2 a b The Napier Affair 1834 Modern China Research Institute of Modern History Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Archived from the original on 4 December 2014 Retrieved 10 December 2014 Hanes p 44 Jonathan D Spence The Search for Modern China 1990 p 153 England and China The Opium Wars 1839 60 victorianweb org Retrieved 3 June 2016 Commissioner Lin Letter to Queen Victoria 1839 Modern History Sourcebook Hanes amp Sanello 2004 p 41 a b c d Kort June M Grasso Jay Corrin Michael 2009 Modernization and revolution in China from the opium wars to the Olympics 4th ed Armonk NY Sharpe ISBN 978 0 7656 2391 1 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Why the Chinese military is still haunted by this 19th century humiliation 6 August 2016 Archived from the original on 23 April 2020 Retrieved 7 July 2017 Report from the select committee on the trade with China together with the minutes of evidence Ordered to be printed 5 June 1840 1840 Foreign Mud The opium imbroglio at Canton in the 1830s and the Anglo Chinese War by Maurice Collis W W Norton New York 1946 Fay 2000 pp 192 193 Coleman Anthony 1999 Millennium Transworld Publishers pp 243 244 ISBN 0 593 04478 9 Doing Business with China Early American Trading Houses www library hbs edu Retrieved 24 May 2017 Hanes amp Sanello 2002 p 61 Hoe amp Roebuck 1999 p 91 Correspondence Relating to China 1840 p 432 Hanes amp Sanello 2002 p 62 a b c Hoe amp Roebuck 1999 p 92 Correspondence Relating to China 1840 p 433 a b Fay 2000 p 203 a b Fay 2000 p 205 Hoe amp Roebuck 1999 p 93 a b c Lovell Julia 2015 The Opium War Drugs Dreams and the Making of Modern China The Overlook Press ISBN 1468311735 Correspondence Relating to China 1840 p 447 Correspondence Relating to China 1840 p 449 a b Waley 1958 p 70 The Battle of Kowloon Fighting Gallery Empires empires tv series net Archived from the original on 1 September 2017 Retrieved 5 July 2017 Elleman 2001 p 15 Hanes amp Sanello 2004 p 68 Hans Sellano 2004 p 68 Parker 1888 pp 10 11 a b c d Elleman Bruce A 2001 Modern Chinese warfare 1795 1989 Routledge ISBN 0 415 21474 2 OCLC 469963841 a b c Glenn Melancon 2003 Britain s China Policy and the Opium Crisis Balancing Drugs Violence and National Honour 1833 1840 Ashgate p 126 a b c Chen Li 2016 Chinese Law in Imperial Eyes Sovereignty Justice and Transcultural Politics Columbia University Press ISBN 978 0231540216 pp 221 228 Jon Bursey 2018 Captain Elliot and the Founding of Hong Kong Pearl of the Orient Grub Street Publishers p 192 ISBN 978 1526722577 Bursey 2018 Captain Elliot Grub Street Publishers pp 192 194 ISBN 978 1526722577 Fay 2000 p 202 a b c Justifiers of the British Opium Trade Arguments by Parliament Traders and the Times Leading Up to the Opium War PDF Archived from the original PDF on 11 November 2020 Retrieved 23 September 2018 Rebecca Berens Matzke 2011 Deterrence Through Strength British Naval Power and Foreign Policy Under Pax Britannica U of Nebraska Press pp 108 112 ISBN 978 0803235144 a b Palmerston to Emperor Feb 1840 China s external relations a history www chinaforeignrelations net Archived from the original on 1 August 2017 Retrieved 20 July 2017 a b Palmerston to Elliots Feb 1840 China s external relations a history www chinaforeignrelations net Archived from the original on 9 August 2017 Retrieved 20 July 2017 a b Glenn Melancon 2003 Britain s China Policy and the Opium Crisis Balancing Drugs Violence and National Honour 1833 1840 Ashgate p 126 ISBN 978 0754607045 a b Elliott Mark June 1990 Bannerman and Townsman Ethnic Tension in Nineteenth Century Jiangnan Late Imperial China 11 1 51 a b The Sino Indian Border Disputes by Alfred P Rubin The International and Comparative Law Quarterly Vol 9 No 1 Jan 1960 pp 96 125 a b c d e The life and campaigns of Hugh first Viscount Gough Field Marshal archive org Westminster A Constable amp Co 1903 Retrieved 3 June 2016 a b c Glenn Melancon Honor in Opium The British Declaration of War on China 1839 1840 International History Review 1999 21 4 pp 854 874 No 19989 The London Gazette 18 June 1841 p 1583 John K Derden The British Foreign Office and Policy Formation The 1840s Proceedings amp Papers of the Georgia Association of Historians 1981 pp 64 79 Luscombe Stephen The British Empire Imperialism Colonialism Colonies www britishempire co uk Retrieved 26 May 2017 Rait 1903 p 161 a b Fay 2000 pp 210 223 a b c Fay 2000 pp 240 243 Spence 1999 pp 153 155 a b No 19930 The London Gazette 15 December 1840 pp 2990 2991 Morse p 628 Fay 2000 p 252 a b Fay 2000 pp 288 289 a b Hummel Arthur W Sr ed 1943 Index Eminent Chinese of the Ch ing Period United States Government Printing Office a b c The Nemesis Great Britain s Secret Weapon in the Opium Wars 1839 60 www victorianweb org Retrieved 30 May 2017 Bingham 1843 pp 400 401 Fay 2000 pp 276 277 a b Haijian Mao 2016 The Qing Empire and the Opium War Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1107069879 pp 200 204 a b c MacPherson 1843 pp 312 315 316 a b c d e Dillon 2010 p 55 a b Bulletins of State Intelligence 1841 p 32 Bulletins of State Intelligence 1841 pp 329 330 Bingham pp 69 70 Perdue Peter C Cambridge Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011 MIT Visualizing Cultures p 15 Bingham 1842 pp 73 74 a b McPherson Carruthers 2013 pp 54 55 60 Bernard Hall 1847 p 138 Bernard Hall 1844 pp 378 a b Bernard Hall 1847 pp 138 148 Bernard Hall 1844 p 369 McPherson Carruthers 2013 p 59 Bernard Hall 1844 p 435 McPherson Carruthers 2013 p 60 a b Wakeman 1966 pp 11 14 Bulletins and Other State Intelligence 1841 p 686 Rait 1903 p 193 Rait 1903 p 203 Dillion 2010 p 156 Rait 1903 pp 204 205 Rait 1903 p 204 Rait 1903 p 202 Rait 1903 203 208 Rait 1903 p 212 Frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India vol 6 p 382 Rait 1903 pp 208 218 Hoiberg pp 27 28 Tsang Steve Yui Sang 2011 A modern history of Hong Kong I B Tauris ISBN 978 1 84511 419 0 OCLC 827739089 Bate H Maclear 1952 Reports from Formosa New York E P Dutton p 174 MacPherson 1843 pp 216 359 MacPherson 1843 pp 381 385 Hall amp Bernard 1846 p 260 Rait 1903 pp 236 240 a b c Luscombe Stephen The British Empire Imperialism Colonialism Colonies www britishempire co uk Retrieved 30 May 2017 Waley 1958 p 73 a b Bulletins of State Intelligence 1842 pp 578 594 a b Waley Arthur 2013 p 171 Lenton Robbren Tibetan Expeditionary Force participating in the Opium War Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine China Tibet Information Center Bulletins 1842 p 601 Rait 1903 p 264 a b Bulletins of State Intelligence 1842 p 918 a b c d e Hall amp Bernard 1846 p 330 War The Definitive Visual History Penguin 2009 ISBN 978 0 7566 6817 4 Bulletins of State Intelligence 1842 pp 759 816 a b c Rait 1903 pp 267 268 Granville G Loch The Closing Events of the Campaign in China The Operations in the Yang tze kiang and treaty of Nanking London 1843 2014 Rait 1903 p 266 Academy of Military Sciences History of Modern Chinese War Section VII of the British invasion of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Military Science Press The Count of Aberdeen to Sir Henry Pudding The Jazz History of the Chinese Empire Chinese translation vol 1 pp 755 756 3 Part 5 Diary of the Grass Shanghai Bookstore 2000 ISBN 7 80622 800 4 John Makeham 2008 p 331 Waley 1959 p 197 Treaty Chinese humiliating first the signing of the Nanjing Treaty Archived 24 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine Chinese history theyatic networks 2008 08 31 Chinese source used for dates only Opium War Volume 5 Shanghai People s Publishing House 2000 305 pages a b Greenwood ch 4 a b After the Opium War Treaty Ports and Compradors www library hbs edu Retrieved 26 May 2017 a b c d e Warfare technology in the Opium War The Opium War 1839 1842 22 November 2014 Retrieved 30 May 2017 Jackson Major Donovan 1940 India s Army London Low Marston pp 1 8 ISBN 8187226374 Kim Joosam An Analysis of the Process of Modernization in East Asia and the Corresponding changes in China and Japan after the Opium Wars Asian Study 11 3 2009 The Korean Association of Philippine Studies Web Welcome to Zhenhai coast defence history museum www zhkhfsg com Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 30 May 2017 a b Hederic p 234 a b c Cone Daniel An Indefensible Defense The Incompetence of Qing Dynasty Officials in the Opium Wars and the Consequences of Defeat Archived 28 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Hoiberg pp 28 30 Bulletins of State Intelligence 1841 p 348 Dreyer Edward L 2007 Zheng He China and the Ocean in the Early Ming Dynasty 1405 1433 New York Pearson Education Inc p 180 Po Ronald C 2018 The Blue Frontier Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire Cambridge Oceanic Histories Cambridge University Press p 80 ISBN 978 1108424615 Bingham 1843 p 399 Bingham 1843 p 72 Chang T T 1934 Sino Portuguese Trade from 1514 to 1644 Leyden p 120 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link McPherson Carruthers 2013 pp 53 Haijian Mao 2016 The Qing Empire and the Opium War Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1107069879 p 32 Haijian Mao 2016 The Qing Empire and the Opium War Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1107069879 p 27 a b Rait 1903 pp 189 231 PBS org The Story of China Age of Revolution Aired 7 November 2017 https www pbs org video 3001741892 Haijian Mao 2016 The Qing Empire and the Opium War Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1107069879 p 201 a b Andrade Tonio 2016 The Gunpowder Age China Military Innovation and the Rise of the West in World History Princeton University Press ISBN 978 1 4008 7444 6 Elliott 2001 pp 283 284 Elliott 2001 pp 283 284 300 303 CrossleySiuSutton 2006 p 50 Rait 1903 p 228 Waley 1958 pp 71 73 Haijian Mao 2016 The Qing Empire and the Opium War Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1107069879 p 204 Treaty of peace amity and commerce between the United States of America and the Chinese Empire s n 21 July 1846 via catalog loc gov Library Catalog a b Driscoll Mark W 2020 The Whites are Enemies of Heaven Climate Caucasianism and Asian Ecological Protection Durham Duke University Press ISBN 978 1 4780 1121 7 Kathleen L Lodwick 2015 Crusaders Against Opium Protestant Missionaries in China 1874 1917 University Press of Kentucky pp 86 ISBN 978 0 8131 4968 4 Pierre Arnaud Chouvy 2009 Opium Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy Harvard University Press pp 9 ISBN 978 0 674 05134 8 Dr Roland Quinault Dr Ruth Clayton Windscheffel Mr Roger Swift 2013 William Gladstone New Studies and Perspectives Ashgate Publishing Ltd pp 238 ISBN 978 1 4094 8327 4 Ms Louise Foxcroft 2013 The Making of Addiction The Use and Abuse of Opium in Nineteenth Century Britain Ashgate Publishing Ltd pp 66 ISBN 978 1 4094 7984 0 William Travis Hanes Frank Sanello 2004 Opium Wars The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another Sourcebooks Inc pp 78 ISBN 978 1 4022 0149 3 W Travis Hanes III Frank Sanello 2004 The Opium Wars The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another Sourcebooks pp 88 ISBN 978 1 4022 5205 1 Fay 2000 pp 290 Isle of Wight Catholic History Society iow chs org Anne Isba 2006 Gladstone and Women A amp C Black pp 224 ISBN 978 1 85285 471 3 David William Bebbington 1993 William Ewart Gladstone Faith and Politics in Victorian Britain Wm B Eerdmans Publishing pp 108 ISBN 978 0 8028 0152 4 Miron Jeffrey A and Feige Chris The Opium Wars Opium Legalization and Opium Consumption in China National Bureau of Economic Research 2005 Lin Zexu Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived from the original on 1 July 2008 Retrieved 3 June 2016 Lee Khoon Choy 2007 Pioneers of Modern China Understanding the Inscrutable Chinese Chapter 1 Fujian Ren amp Lin Ze Xu The Fuzhou Hero Who Destroyed Opium East Asian Studies Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 3 June 2016 Monument to the People s Heroes Lonely Planet Archived from the original on 22 September 2008 Retrieved 3 June 2016 Lin Zexu Memorial chinaculture org Archived from the original on 13 June 2016 Retrieved 3 June 2016 Lin Zexu Memorial Museum Ola Macau Travel Guide olamacauguide com Archived from the original on 22 October 2006 Retrieved 3 June 2016 Schell Orville John Delury 12 July 2013 A Rising China Needs a New National Story Wall Street Journal Retrieved 14 July 2013 Arthur Waley The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes London Allen and Unwin 1958 Jasper Ridley Lord Palmerston 1970 p 249 Ridley 254 256 May Caroline Chan Canton 1857 Victorian Review 2010 36 1 pp 31 35 John K Fairbank Edwin O Reischauer and Albert M Craig A History of East Asian Civilization Volume Two East Asia the Modern transformation 1965 p 136 Jasper Ridley Lord Palmerston 1970 p 248 Julia Lovell 2015 The Opium War Drugs Dreams and the Making of Modern China Abrams p 67 ISBN 978 1468313239 Harry G Gelber China as Victim The Opium War That Wasn t in Harvard University Center for European Studies Working Paper Series 136 2019 online Waley Cohen Joanna 2000 The Sextants of Beijing Global Currents in Chinese History New York London W W Norton and Company p 99 ISBN 039324251X Wilde Ralph 2009 From Trusteeship to Self Determination and Back Again The Role of the Hague Regulations in the Evolution of International Trusteeship and the Framework of Rights and Duties of Occupying Powers Loy L A Int l amp Comp L Rev 31 85 142 p 94 Tourme Jouannet Emmanuelle 2014 A Short Introduction to International Law Cambridge University Press pp 8 18 19 ISBN 978 1107086401 Vries Peer 2015 State Economy and the Great Divergence Great Britain and China 1680s 1850s Bloomsbury Publishing pp 353 354 ISBN 978 1472526403 Greenberg Michael 1969 British Trade and the Opening of China 1800 1842 Cambridge University Press p 47 Brook Timothy Wakabayashi Bob Tadashi 2000 Opium Regimes China Britain and Japan 1839 1952 Berkeley University of California Press p 6 doi 10 1525 california 9780520220096 001 0001 ISBN 9780520220096 Wakeman Frederic Jr Fairbank John K 1978 The Canton Trade in the Opium War in The Cambridge History of China vol 10 Late Ch ing 1800 1911 New York Cambridge University Press p 172 Klimburg Alexander 2001 Some Research Notes on Carl A Trocki s Publication Opium Empire and the Global Political Economy Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64 2 260 267 doi 10 1017 S0041977X01000155 JSTOR 3657672 PMID 18546608 S2CID 34708108 via JSTOR Trocki Carl 2019 Opium and Empire Chinese Society in Colonial Singapore 1800 1910 Cornell University Press pp 50 58 ISBN 978 1501746352 Bradley James 2009 Chapter 10 The Imperial Cruise a Secret History of Empire and War Little Brown ISBN 978 0316049665 Po Chung yam 28 June 2013 Conceptualizing the Blue Frontier The Great Qing and the Maritime World in the Long Eighteenth Century PDF Thesis Ruprecht Karls Universitat Heidelberg pp 203 204 Waley Cohen Joanna 2000 Chapter 4 The Sextants of Beijing Global Currents in Chinese History New York London W W Norton and Company ISBN 039324251X Waley Cohen Joanna 2000 The Sextants of Beijing Global Currents in Chinese History New York London W W Norton and Company pp 104 126 129 131 136 1137 ISBN 039324251X Sng Tuan Hwee Size and dynastic decline The principal agent problem in late imperial China 1700 1850 PDF Glenn Paul Melancon Palmerston Parliament and Peking The Melbourne Ministry and the Opium Crisis 1835 1840 PhD LSU 1994 pp 222 239 Spence The Search for Modern China 1990 pp 122 123 Michael Greenberg British Trade and the Opening of China 1800 1842 1951 p 215 Peter J Cain and Anthony G Hopkins British Imperialism Innovation and Expansion 1688 1914 1993 p 40 Jasper Ridley Lord Palmerston 1970 pp 248 260 Glen Melancon Honour in Opium The British Declaration of War on China 1839 1840 International History Review 21 1999 855 874 online Glenn Melancon Britain s China Policy and the Opium Crisis Balancing Drugs Violence and National Honour 1833 1840 2003 Paul A Cohen Discovering History in China American Writing on the Recent Chinese Past 1984 pp 9 55 97 147 James M Polachek 1992 The Inner Opium War Harvard Univ Asia Center pp 73 76 134 135 ISBN 978 0674454460 Spence 1999 pp 152 158 James M Polachek 1992 The Inner Opium War Harvard Univ Asia Center pp 109 128 135 ISBN 978 0674454460 Sources edit Beeching Jack The Chinese Opium Wars Hutchinson 1975 Bingham John Elliot 1843 Narrative of the Expedition to China from the Commencement of the War to Its Termination in 1842 2nd ed Volume 2 London Henry Colburn Compilation Group for the History of Modern China Series 2000 The Opium War Honolulu University Press of the Pacific reprint from 1976 edition ISBN 0 89875 150 0 Crossley Pamela Kyle Siu Helen F Sutton Donald S 2006 Empire at the Margins Culture Ethnicity and Frontier in Early Modern China University of California Press ISBN 0 520 23015 9 Derden John K The British Foreign Office and Policy Formation The 1840s Proceedings amp Papers of the Georgia Association of Historians 1981 pp 64 79 Dillon Michael 2010 China A Modern History I B Tauris ISBN 978 1 85043 582 2 Downs Jacques M 1997 The Golden Ghetto The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy 1784 1844 Bethlehem PA Lehigh University Press reprinted Hong Kong University Press 2014 ISBN 0 934223 35 1 Elliot Mark C 2001 The Manchu Way The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China Stanford Stanford University Press ISBN 0 8047 4684 2 Fairbank John King Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast the Opening of the Treaty Ports 1842 1854 Harvard UP 1953 Teng Ssu yu Fairbank John King 1979 China s Response to the West A Documentary Survey 1839 1923 Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674120259 Fay Peter Ward The Opium War 1840 1842 Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the early part of the nineteenth century and the way by which they forced the gates ajar Chapel Hill North Carolina University of North Carolina Press 2000 Gray Jack 2002 Rebellions and Revolutions China from the 1800s to 2000 New York Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 870069 2 Greenberg Michael British Trade and the Opening of China 1800 42 Cambridge Cambridge University Press Cambridge Studies in Economic History 1951 Various reprints Uses Jardine Matheson papers to detail the British side of the trade Greenwood Adrian 2015 Victoria s Scottish Lion The Life of Colin Campbell Lord Clyde UK History Press p 496 ISBN 978 0 7509 5685 7 Hanes W Travis Sanello Frank 2004 Opium Wars The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another Sourcebooks ISBN 978 1 4022 2969 5 Hoe Susanna Roebuck Derek 1999 The Taking of Hong Kong Charles and Clara Elliot in China Waters Curzon Press ISBN 0 7007 1145 7 Hsin Pao Chang Commissioner Lin and the Opium War Harvard University Press Harvard East Asian Series 1964 Hoiberg Dale H ed 2010 Aberdeen George Hamilton Gordon 4th Earl Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th ed Chicago Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc p 28 ISBN 978 1 59339 837 8 Hummel Arthur W Sr ed 1943 Index Eminent Chinese of the Ch ing Period United States Government Printing Office Johnson Kendall The New Middle Kingdom China and the Early American Romance of Free Trade Johns Hopkins UP 2017 ISBN 978 1 4214 2251 0 Klein Thoralf Rethinking the Origins of Western Imperialism in China Global Constellations and Imperial Policies 1790 1860 History Compass 10 11 2012 789 801 online dead link Mao Haijian 2016 The Qing Empire and the Opium War Cambridge University Press ISBN 9781107069879 Lovell Julia The Opium War Drug Dreams and the Making of China London Picador 2011 ISBN 0 330 45747 0 Well referenced narrative using both Chinese and western sources and scholarship McPherson Duncan Carruthers Bob The First Opium War The Chinese Expedition 1840 1842 the illustrated edition Coda Books 2013 ISBN 978 1781583609 MacPherson D 1842 Two Years in China Narrative of the Chinese Expedition from Its Formation in April 1840 Till April 1842 with an Appendix Containing the Most Important of the General Orders amp Despatches Published During the Above Period London Saunders and Otley Madancy Joyce Unearthing popular attitudes toward the opium trade and opium suppression in Late Qing and Early Republican Fujian Modern China 27 4 2001 436 483 online Archived 24 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine Makeham John 2008 China The World s Oldest Living Civilization Revealed Thames amp Hudson p 331 ISBN 978 0 500 25142 3 Melancon Glenn Honour in Opium The British Declaration of War on China 1839 1840 International History Review 21 4 1999 855 874 online Melancon Glenn Britain s China Policy and the Opium Crisis Balancing Drugs Violence and National Honour 1833 1840 Routledge 2017 Morse Hosea Ballou The International Relations of the Chinese Empire Volume 1 1910 Manhong Lin China Upside Down Currency Society and Ideologies 1808 1856 Cambridge Mass Harvard University Asia Center Harvard East Asian Monographs 2006 ISBN 0 674 02268 8 Detailed study of the economics of the trade Miron Jeffrey A amp Feige Chris 2008 The Opium Wars Opium Legalization and Opium Consumption in China PDF Applied Economics Letters 15 12 911 913 doi 10 1080 13504850600972295 S2CID 218639653 Newman Richard K Opium smoking in late imperial China a reconsideration Modern Asian Studies 29 4 1995 765 794 Polachek James M The Inner Opium War Cambridge Massachusetts Council on East Asian Studies Harvard University 1992 Based on court records and diaries presents the debates among Chinese officials whether to legalise or suppress the use and trade in opium Perdue Peter C The First Opium War The Anglo Chinese War of 1839 1842 Hostilities Cambridge Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011 MIT Visualizing Cultures Rait Robert S 1903 The Life and Campaigns of Hugh First Viscount Gough Field Marshal Volume 1 Westminster Archibald Constable Frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India vol 6 p 382 Spence Jonathan D 1999 The Search for Modern China second ed New York W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 393 97351 8 Spence Jonathan D Opium Smoking in Ch ing China in Conflict and Control in Late Imperial China Edited by Frederic Wakeman Jr and Carolyn Grant U of California Press 1975 Wakeman Frederic E 1966 Strangers at the Gate Social Disorder in South China 1839 1861 Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0520212398 Waley Arthur The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes London Allen amp Unwin 1958 reprinted Stanford California Stanford University Press 1968 Translations and narrative based on Lin s writings Correspondence Relating to China 1840 London Printed by T R Harrison The Chinese Repository 1840 Volume 8 Waley Arthur 2013 First published 1958 The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 1 136 57665 2 Myers H Ramon Wang Yeh Chien 2002 Economic developments 1644 1800 in Peterson Willard J ed Part One The Ch ing Empire to 1800 The Cambridge History of China 9 Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 563 647 ISBN 978 0 521 24334 6 Charles C Mann 2011 1493 Uncovering the New World Columbus Created Random House Digital pp 123 163 ISBN 9780307596727 Bernard William Dallas Hall William Hutcheon 1847 The Nemesis in China 3rd ed London Henry Colburn Parker Edward Harper 1888 Chinese Account of the Opium War Shanghai Headrick Daniel R 1979 The Tools of Imperialism Technology and the Expansion of European Colonial Empires in the Nineteenth Century PDF The Journal of Modern History 51 2 231 263 doi 10 1086 241899 S2CID 144141748 Archived from the original PDF on 29 June 2011 Bulletins and Other State Intelligence Compiled and arranged from the official documents published in the London Gazette London F Watts 1841 Granville G Loch The Closing Events of the Campaign in China The Operations in the Yang tze kiang and treaty of Nanking London 1843 2014 07 13 The Count of Aberdeen to Sir Henry Pudding The History of the Chinese Empire Chinese translation vol 1 pp 755 756 Gao Shujuan 高淑娟 Feng Bin 冯斌 2003 Comparative Outline of Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy Central Trade Policy in the Final Years of the Imperial Era 中日对外经济政策比较史纲 以封建末期贸易政策为中心 Qinghua University Chinese Economic Historiography Series 清华大学中国经济史学丛书 in Chinese Qinghua University Publishing 清华大学出版社 ISBN 978 7302075172 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to First Opium War Hansard of the British Parliament 1840s Perdue Peter C The First Opium War The Anglo Chinese War of 1839 1842 Opium Trade Cambridge Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011 MIT Visualizing Cultures Perdue Peter C The First Opium War The Anglo Chinese War of 1839 1842 Hostilities Cambridge Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011 MIT Visualizing Cultures The Opium War and Foreign Encroachment Education for Educators Columbia University Resources for teaching Opium War Museum Dongguan Guangzhou Google Arts amp Culture Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title First Opium War amp oldid 1195799866, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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