1.
First Opium War
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European silver flowed into China when the Canton System, instituted in the mid-18th century, confined the sea trade to Canton and to the Chinese merchants of the Thirteen Factories. The British East India Company had a monopoly of British trade. The British East India Company began to auction opium grown on its plantations in India to independent foreign traders in exchange for silver, the opium was then transported to the Chinese coast and sold to local middlemen who retailed the drug inside China. This reverse flow of silver and the numbers of opium addicts alarmed Chinese officials. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, Lin confiscated around 20,000 chests of opium without offering compensation, blockaded trade, and confined foreign merchants to their quarters. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade, in China, the war is considered the beginning of modern Chinese history. Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese leased an outpost at Macau, after the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, the exchange of goods between China and western Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565, the annual Manila Galleon brought in enormous amounts of silver to the Asian trade network, from 1700–1842, Guangzhou came to dominate maritime trade with China, and this period became known as the Canton System. Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company, the British East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India. From the inception of the Canton System in 1757, trade in goods from China was extremely lucrative for European, however, foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were restricted to Canton. Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories, near Shameen Island, while silk and porcelain drove trade through their popularity in the west, an insatiable demand for tea existed in Britain. However, only silver was accepted in payment by China, which resulted in a trade deficit. From the mid-17th century around 28 million kilograms of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, Britain had been on the gold standard since the 18th century, so it had to purchase silver from continental Europe and Mexico to supply the Chinese appetite for silver. Attempts by a British embassy, a Dutch mission, Russias Golovkin in 1805, by 1817, the British realized they could reduce the trade deficit as well as turn the Indian colony profitable by counter-trading in narcotic Indian opium. Opium was produced in traditionally cotton-growing regions of India under British East India Company monopoly, both areas had been hard hit by the introduction of factory-produced cotton cloth, which used cotton grown in Egypt. The opium was auctioned in Calcutta on the condition that it be shipped by British traders to China, Opium as a medicinal ingredient was documented in texts as early as the Tang dynasty but its recreational use was limited and there were laws against its abuse. British sales of opium began in 1781, and sales increased fivefold between 1821 and 1837, by 1820, just when the Qing treasury needed to finance the suppression of rebellions, the flow of silver had reversed, Chinese merchants were now exporting it to pay for opium. The imperial court debated whether or how to end the opium trade, Napier was instructed to obey Chinese regulations, communicate directly with Chinese authorities, superintend trade pertaining to the contraband trade of opium, and to survey Chinas coastline
2.
Guangzhou
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Guangzhou, traditionally romanised as Canton, is the capital and most populous city of the province of Guangdong in southern China. Guangzhou is currently, the third city in mainland China, behind Beijing and Shanghai, holds sub-provincial administrative status. In 2015 the citys area was estimated to have a population of 13,501,100. Some estimates place the population of the area of the Pearl River Delta Mega City as high as 44 million without the Hong Kong SAR and 54 million including it. Guangzhou is ranked as a Beta+ Global city, in recent years, there has been a rapidly increasing number of foreign residents and illegal immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as well as from Africa. This has led to it being dubbed the Capital of the Third World, the migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40 percent of the citys total population in 2008. Long the only Chinese port accessible to foreign traders, the city fell to the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai. In modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, for the three consecutive years 2013–2015, Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city on the Chinese mainland. Guǎngzhōu is the pinyin romanisation of the Chinese name 廣州, which was simplified in mainland China to 广州 in the 1950s, before acquiring its current name, the town was known as Panyu, a name still borne by one of Guangzhous districts. The origin of the name is uncertain, with 11 various explanations being offered. The city has sometimes been known as Guangzhou Fu or Guangfu after its status as the capital of a commandery. From this latter name, Guangzhou was known to medieval Persians such as Al-Masudi, under the Southern Han, the city was renamed Xingwang. Under the Qing, it was known to its inhabitants as simply The Provincial Capital. The Chinese abbreviation for Guangzhou is 穗, after its nickname Rice City, the former name City of the Immortals came from the same story. The more recent City of Flowers is usually taken as a reference to the areas greenery. The English name Canton derived from Portuguese Cantão or Cidade de Cantão, although it originally and chiefly applied to the walled city, it was also used in English in reference to Guangdong generally. It was adopted as the Postal Map Romanization of Guangzhou and remained in use until the gradual adoption of pinyin
3.
Guangdong
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Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the Peoples Republic of China. The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are among the most populous, the population increase since the census has been modest, the province at 2014 end had 107,240,000 people. Since 1989, Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second. According to state statistics, Guangdongs GDP in 2014 reached RMB6,779 billion, or US$1.104 trillion, since 2011, Guangdong has the highest GDP among all provinces of Mainland China. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRCs national economic output, Guangdong also hosts the largest import and export fair in China called the Canton Fair in Guangdongs capital city Guangzhou. Guǎng means expanse or vast, and has associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD226. Guangdong and neighbouring Guangxi literally mean expanse east and expanse west, together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called Loeng gwong. During the Song dynasty, the Two Guangs were formally separated as Guǎngnán Dōnglù and Guǎngnán Xīlù, one should note that Canton, though etymologically derived from Cantão, refers only to the provincial capital instead of the whole province, as documented by authoritative English dictionaries. The local people of the city of Guangzhou and their language are commonly referred to as Cantonese in English. Because of the prestige of Canton and its accent, Cantonese sensu lato can also be used for the phylogenetically related residents, Chinese administration and reliable historical records in the region began with the Qin dynasty. After establishing the first unified Chinese empire, the Qin expanded southwards and set up Nanhai Commandery at Panyu, the region was independent as Nanyue between the fall of Qin and the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Under the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period, Guangdong was made its own province, for example, internal strife in northern China following the rebellion of An Lushan resulted in a 75% increase in the population of Guangzhou prefecture between 740s–750s and 800s–810s. As more migrants arrived, the population was gradually assimilated to Han Chinese culture or displaced. Multiple women originating from the Persian Gulf lived in Guangzhous foreign quarter, together with Guangxi, Guangdong was made part of Lingnan Circuit, or Mountain-South Circuit, in 627 during the Tang dynasty. The Guangdong part of Lingnan Circuit was renamed Guangnan East Circuit guǎng nán dōng lù in 971 during the Song dynasty, Guangnan East is the source of Guangdong. As Mongols from the north engaged in their conquest of China in the 13th century, the Battle of Yamen 1279 in Guangdong marked the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. During the Mongol Yuan dynasty, large parts of current Guangdong belonged to Jiangxi and its present name, Guangdong Province was given in early Ming dynasty. Since the 16th century, Guangdong has had extensive links with the rest of the world
4.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
5.
East India Company
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The company also ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India. The company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, wealthy merchants and aristocrats owned the Companys shares. Initially the government owned no shares and had only indirect control, during its first century of operation the focus of the Company was trade, not the building of an empire in India. The company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own armies, exercising military power. Despite frequent government intervention, the company had recurring problems with its finances, the official government machinery of British India had assumed its governmental functions and absorbed its armies. Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean, one of them, Edward Bonventure, then sailed around Cape Comorin to the Malay Peninsula and returned to England in 1594. In 1596, three ships sailed east, however, these were all lost at sea. Two days later, on 24 September, the Adventurers reconvened and resolved to apply to the Queen for support of the project, the Adventurers convened again a year later. For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Anybody who traded in breach of the charter without a licence from the Company was liable to forfeiture of their ships and cargo, the governance of the company was in the hands of one governor and 24 directors or committees, who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors, ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. According to tradition, business was transacted at the Nags Head Inn, opposite St Botolphs church in Bishopsgate. Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601, in March 1604 Sir Henry Middleton commanded the second voyage. Early in 1608 Alexander Sharpeigh was appointed captain of the Companys Ascension, thereafter two ships, Ascension and Union sailed from Woolwich on 14 March 1607–8. Initially, the company struggled in the trade because of the competition from the already well-established Dutch East India Company. The company opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage, the factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time belonging to the company arriving in India docked at Surat. In the next two years, the company established its first factory in south India in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal
6.
Qing dynasty
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It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, in the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Banners, military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into an entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, in 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia, the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign saw the apogee and initial decline in prosperity. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Following the Opium War, European powers imposed unequal treaties, free trade, the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them due to famines caused by war. In spite of disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order. The initial gains in the Self-Strengthening Movement were destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which the Qing lost its influence over Korea, New Armies were organized, but the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi, a conservative leader. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries competed with reformist monarchists such as Kang Youwei, after the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the hardline Manchu court alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on October 11,1911, led to the Xinhai Revolution, General Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12,1912. Nurhaci declared himself the Bright Khan of the Later Jin state in both of the 12–13th century Jurchen Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng. The character Qīng is composed of water and azure, both associated with the water element and this association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water
7.
Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough
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Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCB, GCSI, PC was a British Army officer. Born the son of Lieutenant Colonel George Gough and Letitia Gough, Gough was commissioned into the Limerick Militia on 7 August 1793. After returning to England he was promoted to captain in the 2nd Battalion of his regiment on 25 June 1803 and he also fought at the Battle of Barrosa, where his regiment captured a French Imperial Eagle in March 1811. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on 25 May 1815, appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815. Promoted to colonel on 12 August 1819, Gough became commanding officer of the 22nd Regiment of Foot in County Tipperary where he served as a local magistrate. He was promoted to general on 22 July 1830 and advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 18 September 1831. Gough became General Officer Commanding the Mysore division of the Madras Army in 1837, at the outset of the First Opium War in March 1839 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in China. After the Treaty of Nanking, the British forces were withdrawn and he became a baronet on 1 December 1842 and was promoted to the local rank of full general in India on 3 March 1843. He also commanded the troops at the Battle of Mudki in December 1845, at the Battle of Ferozeshah also in December 1845, Gough was loyally supported by Lord Hardinge, the governor-general, who served under him during these actions. Gough was elevated to the peerage as Baron Gough of Chinkiang in China and of Maharajpore and the Sutlej in the East Indies on 7 April 1846. The Second Anglo-Sikh War started in 1848, and again Gough took to the field commanding in person at the Battle of Ramnagar in November 1848, for this, he became known as the hammer of the Sikhs. He returned to Ireland and was advanced in the peerage as Viscount Gough of Goojerat in the Punjab and he retired from active service later that year and was promoted to the substantive rank of full general on 20 June 1854. Gough also served as colonel of the 99th Regiment of Foot, as colonel of the 87th Regiment of Foot, in Dublin, he was a member of the Kildare Street Club. He was promoted to field marshal on 9 November 1862 and he died at St. Helens, his home in Booterstown, on 2 March 1869 and was buried in Stillorgan. Proposals for a statue to Gough began in 1869 but were rejected by Dublin Corporation, including sites in Carlisle Bridge, Foster Place, the inscription reads, In honour of Field Marshal Hugh Viscount Gough, K. P. An illustrious Irishman, whose achievements in the Peninsular War, in China, and in India, have added lustre to the glory of his country. In June 1807 Gough married Frances Maria Stephens, daughter of General Edward Stephens, as the 1st Viscount Gough he set down a family seat near Gort at Lough Cutra Castle, County Galway, Ireland when purchased by him in 1852. The British Field Marshals, 1736–1997, A Biographical Dictionary, the Life and Campaigns of Hugh, First Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal Volume 1
8.
Battle of Kowloon
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The Battle of Kowloon was a skirmish between British and Chinese vessels off the Kowloon Peninsula, China, on 4 September 1839. Located in present-day Hong Kong, Kowloon was then part of the Guangdong province, the skirmish was the first armed conflict of the First Opium War and occurred when British boats opened fire on Chinese war junks enforcing a food sales embargo on the British community. The embargo was ordered after a local Chinese man died in a brawl with British sailors. The Chinese authorities did not consider the punishment meted out by British officials to be sufficient and as a result, in response, the British summoned nearby warships to force the Chinese to lift the embargo. Upon encountering three Chinese junks, Elliot sent interpreter Karl Gutzlaff with demands to re-allow the supply of provisions, after several hours of unsuccessful correspondence, Elliot delivered an ultimatum that if provisions were not received, the junks would be sunk. When it expired with no results, the British opened fire on the junks, during the engagement, the larger junks pursued the British boats which were sailing away after running low on ammunition. But after replenishing their cartridges, the British re-engaged the ships, on 7 July 1839, seamen from the Carnatic and Mangalore, both owned by Jardine, Matheson & Co. landed in Kowloon where they were joined by colleagues from other British and American ships. After a group of sailors consumed the rice liquor known as samshu and he also gave $1,500 in compensation to Lins family, $400 to protect them against extortion of that money from what he called the lower mandarins, and $100 to be distributed among the villagers. Unlike English common law, Chinese law held the community, rather than the individual, Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu demanded the death of the culprit and was prepared to accept any sailor, whether innocent or guilty, to settle the matter. However, the Act was under review and after arriving in England, Elliot invited Lin to send observers to the trial, but none came. Without the handover of a man to the Chinese, Lin was not satisfied with the proceedings and he viewed the extraterritorial court as an infringement of Chinas sovereignty. On 15 August, Lin issued an edict that prevented the sale of food to the British, Chinese labourers working for the British in Macao were withdrawn the next day. War junks arrived in coves along the Pearl River and notices above the water springs warned that they were poisoned. On 24 August, the Portuguese Governor of Macao, Don Adraio Accacio da Silveira Pinto and he warned Lancelot Dent of the British hong Dent & Co. that the Chinese planned to seize the British dwellings in Macao. On 25 August, former Superintendent John Astell proposed to Elliot that all British boats should evacuate to Hong Kong, by the end of the month,2,000 people in over 60 ships were in Hong Kong harbour without fresh food or water. The ships held European merchants, lascars, and dozens of British families, the 28-gun frigate Volage of Captain Henry Smith sailed to Hong Kong on 30 August. Smith was an old friend of Elliot from their service in the West Indies Station, Elliot warned Kowloon officials of escalating conflict if the embargo continued. On 4 September, Elliot sailed to Kowloon in the cutter Louisa for food supplies, accompanied by the small-armed schooner Pearl, upon arrival, they encountered three anchored Chinese men-of-war junks, whose presence prevented the regular supplies of food
9.
Battle of Chuenpi
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The First Battle of Chuenpi was fought between British and Chinese ships at the entrance of the Humen strait, Guangdong province, China, on 3 November 1839 during the First Opium War. The British Hyacinth and Volage opened fire on Chinese ships they perceived as being hostile, for foreign ships to be allowed to dock in Canton for trade, Chinese authorities required a signed bond agreeing not to trade opium. It also interfered with their free trade goal, in October 1839, the Thomas Coutts cargo ship under Captain Warner arrived in Canton from Singapore. The ship carried cotton from Bombay, and, since Warner was not trading opium and he held a legal view that Elliots ban on the signing was not valid under English law. Before Warner left China, Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu gave him a letter addressed to Queen Victoria in which he disapproved the use of opium and requested the opium trade to stop. After arriving in London, he handed the letter to a co-owner of the Thomas Coutts, after Palmerstons office refused to see him, Warner forwarded the letter to The Times, which published it. Viewing Warners defiance as a threat to his authority, Elliot ordered HMS Hyacinth, after a second British ship, the Royal Saxon, tried to defy Elliots blockade on 3 November 1839, the Volage under Captain Henry Smith fired a warning shot across the Royal Saxons bow. In response, Chinese war junks under Admiral Guan Tianpei moved out to protect the Royal Saxon, after Elliot gave in to Smiths pressure for an attack, the more maneuverable British ships approached the Chinese vessels and fired broadsides at them from starboard. One Chinese fire raft immediately sank, and a war junk exploded after its magazine was struck, after the first run, the Volage and Hyacinth turned and repeated the same maneuver using their port broadsides. The stationary guns on the Chinese vessels could not be aimed effectively, one junk was blown up, three were sunk, and several others were damaged. Faced with superior firepower, the Chinese fleet sailed away except for Kuans 12-cannon flagship, since it posed a minimal threat, Elliot ordered Smith to stop firing, allowing the damaged flagship to sail off. The Volage sustained light damage on its sails and rigging, one British sailor was wounded and 15 Chinese were killed. The Royal Saxon sailed on to Canton and Elliot returned to Macau, the Battle of Chuanbi, perhaps more than any other conflict during the Opium War, vividly revealed the underlying free-trade tensions
10.
Capture of Chusan
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The first capture of Chusan by British forces in China occurred on 5–6 July 1840 during the First Opium War. The British captured Chusan, the largest island of an archipelago of that name, on 4 July 1840, the Wellesley, Conway, Alligator, and Rattlesnake arrived in the anchorage off Chusan harbour. Part of the stated, If the inhabitants of the said islands do not oppose and resist our forces, it is not the intention of the British Government to do injury to their persons. But if you will not surrender, we, the Commodore and Commander, after an hour, the Chinese admiral and other officials accompanied the British on board the Wellesley. They were informed that hostilities would commence if submission was not made before daylight the next day and their last words before departing at 8,00 pm were, If you do not hear from us before sunrise, the consequences be upon our own heads. Bremer wrote that gongs and other demonstrations were audible throughout the evening. On the morning of 5 July, a number of Chinese troops occupied the hill. British seamen from the masthead of the ships observed the city walls of Tinghai, at about 2,00 pm, the Cruiser and Algerine brigs got into position, and the signal was given to land. The first division comprised the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, Royal Marines, the 26th Regiment, the second division comprised the 49th Regiment, Madras Sappers and Miners, and Bengal Volunteers. At 2,30 pm, the Wellesley fired at the Martello tower, the Chinese immediately returned fire from the shore and junks. The cannonade lasted 7–8 minutes before the Chinese troops fled to the city walls behind the suburbs, the British landed unopposed on a deserted beach, which Viscount Robert Jocelyn described as having a few dead bodies, bows and arrows, broken spears and guns. By 4,00 pm, British troops placed two 9-pounders within 400 yards of the city walls, six more 9-pounders, two howitzers, and two mortars were later added to the arsenal. Burrell waited until the day before ordering a resumption of operations. The next morning, he sent a party to reconnoitre the city, although there were thousands of inhabitants during the evening, the city was now largely abandoned. The gate was found strongly barricaded by large sacks of grain, a company of the 49th regiment took possession of the main gate of the city, where the British flag was hoisted. Viscount Jocelyn described his account of the city, The main street was nearly deserted, except here and there, on 8 July, Rear-Admiral George Elliot issued a proclamation from the Melville. Brigadier George Burrell became governor of Chusan, Karl Gützlaff was made chief magistrate, on 23 January 1841, Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot dispatched the Columbine to Chusan, with instructions to evacuate it for Hong Kong Island. He declared the cession of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom after negotiations with Chinese Imperial Commissioner Qishan a few days earlier, the Annual Register, or a View of the History, and Politics, of the Year 1840
11.
Battle of the Barrier
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The Battle of the Barrier was fought between British and Chinese forces at the boundary separating Macau from the Chinese mainland on 19 August 1840 during the First Opium War. Located in modern-day Portas do Cerco, Macau was connected to China by an isthmus about 100 metres wide and 1.2 kilometres long. A wall called the Barrier was built across the isthmus in 1573, the vessels opened fire on a battery about 600 yards away, which promptly returned fire. In less than an hour, the batteries were silenced and the British forces landed and they consisted of a brigade of 380 men comprising 110 Royal Marines,90 seamen from the Druid, and 180 troops from the Bengal Volunteers. Narrative of the Expedition to China, the Defences of Macau, Forts, Ships and Weapons Over 450 Years. Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press
12.
Second Battle of Chuenpi
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The Second Battle of Chuenpi was fought between British and Chinese forces in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong province, China, on 7 January 1841 during the First Opium War. The British launched an attack at the Humen strait, capturing the forts on the islands of Chuenpi. Subsequent negotiations between British Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot and Chinese Imperial Commissioner Qishan resulted in the Convention of Chuenpi on 20 January. As one of the terms of the agreement, Elliot announced the cession of Hong Kong Island to the British Empire, in September 1840, the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing dynasty fired Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu and replaced him with Qishan. On 1 December, Elliot wrote to Palmerston that these demands would be secured within ten days, three days after the deadline, Elliot wrote to Governor-General of India Lord Auckland that he had failed to get the concessions, but one was still in prospect. He then conceded that any settlement would be far short of the demands of the government, in negotiations with Qishan, Elliot wanted $7 million over a period of six years and the surrender of Amoy and Chusan as permanent British possessions. Qishan offered $5 million over twelve years, so agreed to $6 million. However, Qishan refused Elliots territorial demands, on 17 December, Elliot countered with an offer to abandon Chusan, which the British captured in July 1840, and for another port to be chosen later in its place. After Qishan rejected the offer, Elliot told him, There are very large forces collected here, the year passed with no final settlements. An opium clipper that sailed into Canton brought with it a rumour that the emperor had decided to wage war. On 5 January 1841, Elliot prepared for an attack on Canton and he allowed Commodore James Bremer, commander-in-chief of the British forces, to make offensive operations. British operations began at 8,00 am on 7 January from Sampanchow Island,3 miles below the Humen strait, major Thomas Pratt of the 26th Regiment commanded the land force of about 1,500 men. After advancing 1.5 miles, the British spotted the upper fort, the Chinese cheered when they saw the British, waved their flags in defiance, and opened fire from the batteries. In response, the British cannons on the crest of the hill commenced firing, the Chinese then returned fire for about 20 minutes. The steamers Queen and Nemesis, under Captain Edward Belcher of the Sulphur, fired shells into the fort while the Calliope, Hyacinth. In less than an hour, the combined bombardment silenced the Chinese batteries, by 10,00 am, the upper fort had been captured, and the lower fort surrounded and stormed by Royal Marines. After the capture, the Nemesis attacked a fleet of about 15 war junks under Admiral Guan Tianpei in Ansons Bay, the junks mounted 7 to 11 guns of various calibre from 4- to 12-pounders. The ship fired a Congreve rocket that struck a junk near the admiral, and almost the instant afterwards it blew up with a terrific explosion, launching into eternity every soul on board, and pouring forth its blaze like the mighty rush of fire from a volcano
13.
Battle of the Bogue
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The Battle of the Bogue was fought between British and Chinese forces in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong province, China, on 23–26 February 1841 during the First Opium War. The British launched an attack at the Humen strait, capturing the forts on the islands of Anunghoy. This allowed the fleet to proceed further up the Pearl River towards the city of Canton, however, no proclamation for the opening of the port appeared. On 11–12 February, Elliot and Qishan met again at the Bogue, Elliot acceded to a further delay for the treaty to be fairly prepared. Suspecting warlike intentions on the part of the Chinese, Bremer sailed to the Macao Roads on 13 February to confer with Elliot. He found that the Nemesis was en route to Canton to demand ratification of the convention and had orders to wait until the night of 18 February for an answer. On the morning of 19 February, the Nemesis returned without a reply, later that evening, Qishan and Elliots intermediary Paoupang arrived in Macao in a chop-boat, announcing Qishans refusal to sign the treaty and demanding ten more days to consider it. However, Elliot replied that fair means have been exhausted, Bremer detached the Calliope, Samarang, Herald, Alligator, Modeste, and Sulphur under Captain Thomas Herbert to prevent further defensive preparations. On 23 February, Capt. Thomas Herbert, accompanied by Charles Elliot, sailed to the passage of Anunghoy Island aboard the Nemesis, with the Calliope, Samarang, Herald. They unexpectedly encountered a battery, which immediately opened fire on the British ships. The Chinese fled after a resistance, whereupon their magazines, a few junks. The British captured 60 unmounted guns and 20 mounted guns, which they disabled by breaking the trunnions, Herbert reported 20 to 30 Chinese dead. Shortly after midday on 25 February, the Nemesis embarked 130 troops of the 37th Madras Native Infantry to assist in erecting a battery on the island. In the evening, Capt. W. J, two 8-inch iron and one 24-pounder brass howitzer were put in position. During construction, the North Wangtong batteries fired during much of the night but their shots passed mostly above the site, at daylight on 26 February, the three howitzers fired shells and rockets into North Wangtong and occasionally into Anunghoy. British troops were ordered to be ready at 7,00 am, but due to weather, the operation was delayed until 11,00 am. The fleet began moving into position against the forts on Anunghoy, in the attack on Anunghoy, Capt. The Melville approached five minutes later off the portside of the Blenheim, sailed within 400 yards of the fort, a British officer wrote, The firing of these ships was most splendid, nothing could withstand their deadly aim
14.
Battle of First Bar
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On 21 February 1841, former Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu wrote that 1,000 regular troops from Hunan and the same number from Yunnan arrived in batches at Canton. Lin met General Hsiang-fu of the Hunan troops in the afternoon, on 24 February, Lin, Imperial Commissioner Qishan, and other officials inspected the defences of the Pearl River, and spent the night at Lieh-te,7 miles east of Canton. The inspection continued the day and ended early on 26 February at Ta-huang-chiao,8 miles south of Canton. On the morning of 27 February, the Calliope, Herald, Alligator, Sulphur, Modeste, commodore James Bremer placed Captain Thomas Herbert of the Calliope in command of the fleet. After sailing past Tiger Island and Second Bar, they reached near First Bar Island by noon, there, the British spotted the Cambridge, a former East Indiaman, hoisting the red flag of a Chinese admiral. The long Chinese field fortifications facing the river mounted 47 guns, over 40 war junks were further up the river. As the steamers advanced, the Chinese batteries opened fire, which was returned with shells. The Modeste sailed within 300 yards of the shore and fired broadsides before the ships joined the cannonade. The Chinese forces made a resistance, but could not withstand the broadsides. The shells and rockets from the Madagascar and Nemesis had a destructive effect, the Cambridge opened fire, but was soon overwhelmed by artillery from the British ships. Her crew jumped overboard to make way for the shore, although the junks made a large amount of noise, they kept out of range from the British fleet. After an hour, the Chinese batteries were silenced. Herbert reported, I landed with the seamen and marines, and stormed the works, driving before us upwards of two thousand of their best troops, and killing nearly three hundred. Bingham wrote, As the enemy fled before Lieutenant Stranshams party, they attempted to cross a branch of the river, in which numbers of them perished. The British captured the forts about half an hour after landing, during the land operations, Lieutenant Watson of the Calliope and other officers boarded the Cambridge, and soon captured it after a resistance from the few Chinese crew that remained. The ship was found mounting 34 guns, orders were sent to the officer to set it on fire. Shortly after dark, the fire exploded its magazine, hurling the masts, Herbert wrote that the explosion was so loud that it must have been heard at Canton. A total of 98 Chinese guns were captured during the day, the British casualties were one seaman killed, six seamen wounded, and two marines wounded
15.
Battle of Whampoa
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The Battle of Whampoa was fought between British and Chinese forces at Whampoa Island on the Pearl River near the city of Canton, Guangdong, China, on 2 March 1841 during the First Opium War. On 2 March 1841, Commodore James Bremer, commander-in-chief of British forces, the ship was towed by three of the Wellesleys boats under Lt. Richard Symonds. As they approached the northeast end of Whampoa Island, a Chinese battery of about 25 guns, Lt. Symonds immediately cut the tow line, the boats sailed towards the shore and the boat crews landed. The battery was defended by 250 Manchu Tartar troops and they fled for shelter in the neighbouring jungle, but were dislodged by artillery from the Sulphur. After the British captured the forts, the guns were destroyed, Bremer reported 15 or 20 Tartars killed. One British seaman from the Wellesley died from wounds after being shot through the lungs with grapeshot, Bremer resigned the command of the land forces to Maj. Gen. Hugh Gough, who joined the fleet on board the Cruizer. Former Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu wrote in his entry for 2 March. Early in the morning I went to talk things over at the General Office in the Monastery of the Giant Buddha
16.
Broadway expedition
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The Broadway expedition was a British military expedition that explored the Broadway River in Guangdong province, China, on 13–15 March 1841 during the First Opium War. The river was called the Inner Passage or Macao Passage as it served as an intricate channel from the Portuguese colony of Macao to the Chinese city of Canton. The iron steamship Nemesis had a draught of 6 feet. Despite being over 600 tons burden, the ship was able to navigate through a river that frequently had less than 6 feet of water, operations began on the morning of 13 March in Macao. Captain James Scott commanded the fleet, which consisted of HMS Samarang, a further three boats accompanied the Nemesis, two from the Samarang and one from the Atlanta. The Nemesis was in chase of the two junks, which had escaped and were followed by several mandarin boats. One junk was captured, it carried four guns, sheongchap –8 On 14 March, Kong-how –9 On 15 March, One war junk –7 Bernard, William Dallas, Hall, William Hutcheon. Narrative of the Expedition to China
17.
Battle of Canton (March 1841)
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The First Battle of Canton was fought between British and Chinese forces in Canton, Kwangtung Province, China, on 18 March 1841 during the First Opium War. The capture led to the hoisting of the Union Jack on the British factory in Canton, following the Convention of Chuenpi in January 1841, which among other clauses ceded the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain, the furious Qing Daoguang Emperor fired Imperial Commissioner Qishan. In his place the emperor appointed his nephew Yishan as General-pacifier of the Rebellious, with Lungwan, on 20 March, British Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot announced the re-opening of trade after negotiations with Yang Fang as Lungwan and Yishan did not arrive in Canton until 14 April. Bibliography Hall, William Hutcheon, Bernard, William Dallas, the Nemesis in China, Comprising a History of the Late War in that Country, with an Account of the Colony of Hong-Kong. The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes, compiled and arranged from the official documents published in the London Gazette. Bridgman, Elijah Coleman, Williams, Samuel Wells, eds
18.
Battle of Amoy
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The Battle of Amoy or Xiamen was fought between British and Qing forces at Xiamen on Xiamen Island, Fujian, in the Qing Empire on 26 August 1841 during the First Opium War. The British captured the forts at Xiamen and on nearby Gulangyu Island, before the engagement, Qing forces prepared defenses along the shores of Xiamen and built batteries on Gulangyu Island. The British began the battle by bombarding the batteries for two to four hours, with little effect. Land forces then disembarked their transports and took the batteries with little resistance, the day was noted as being very hot and fatiguing to the men. Qing forces withdrew and the city fell the next day, a garrison force of 550 men, mostly from the 18th, and three ships—the Druid, Pylades, and the Algerine—was left moored at Gulangyu to defend Xiamen. Rosa Luxemburg provides an account of the battle in her magnum opus The Accumulation of Capital. On August 25,1841, the British approached the town of Amoy and these guns being almost useless, and the commanders lacking in resource, the capture of the harbour was child’s play. Under cover of a barrage, British ships drew near the walls of Kulangau, landed their marines. The twenty-six battle-junks with 128 guns in the harbour were also captured, one battery, manned by Tartars, heroically held out against the combined fire of three British ships, but a British landing was effected in their rear and the post wiped out. Commander John Elliot Bingham wrote a detailed account of the battle from a British perspective. Narrative of the Expedition to China from the Commencement of the War to Its Termination in 1842, frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India. Hall, William Hutcheon, Bernard, William Dallas, Luxemburg, Rosa The Accumulation of Capital
19.
Capture of Chusan (1841)
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The second capture of Chusan occurred on 1 October 1841 during the First Opium War when British forces captured the city of Tinghai, capital of the Chusan islands off the north east Chinese coast. The fortified city of Tinghai, with a population of 30,000, was defended by the Chinese under the command of Keo, london, Saunders and Otley Murray, Alexander
20.
Battle of Chinhai
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The Battle of Chinhai was fought between British and Chinese forces in Chinhai, Zhejiang province, China, on 10 October 1841 during the First Opium War. The Chinese force consisted of a garrison of Manchu and Mongol Bannermen, the British capture of this city allowed them to seize Ningpo unopposed on 13 October. Hall, William Hutcheon, Bernard, William Dallas, london, Saunders and Otley The Chinese Repository
21.
Battle of Ningpo
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The Battle of Ningpo was fought between British and Chinese Manchu forces in Ningpo, Zhejiang province, China, on 10 March 1842 during the First Opium War. After the British captured Chinhai on 10 October 1841, three days later captured the nearby city of Ningpo unopposed. On 10 March, the Chinese dispatched Manchu Prince Yijing to muster forces and recapture the city, the Chinese forces consisted of Manchu Bannermen. Tricked into thinking the British had abandoned the city, the Chinese rushed in only to find mines laid in the streets, the Chinese retreated but were ambushed by the British, and were repelled from the city. Hall, William Hutcheon, Bernard, William Dallas, the Opium War Through Chinese Eyes
22.
Battle of Chapu
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The Battle of Chapu, Chapoo, or Zhapu was fought between British and Qing forces at Zhapu on the northern shore of Hangzhou Bay during the First Opium War. Before the attack, the British commander, Major General Hugh Gough divided his forces into three, a column of infantry on the left and right, with artillery in the centre, Gough accompanied the right column, which landed first on May 16. The remaining troops moved round to the rear of the enemy thereby cutting their communications with Zhapu, meanwhile, the accompanying steamers began a bombardment of the citys defences. In Goughs own words, The enemy were taken by surprise, as usual. They gave way on all sides and took to flight, with the exception of a body of some 300 Tartar troops who seized a small joss-house, and held it with indomitable pluck and perseverance. Multiple assaults proved necessary to capture the joss-house with casualties suffered on both sides, eventually it fell and after each of the gates had been captured, the city fell to the British, the British did not remain in Zhapu long. They captured the citys ordnance and destroyed its arsenals before moving on to attack Wusong, hailing, the Manchu commander at Zhenjiang, received the report of Zhapus surrender on June 18. Mass suicide was committed by the Manchus while the Han Chinese discussed the situation with the British, when hostilities ceased, Chinese official Yilibu returned sixteen kidnapped British soldiers to Gough in recognition of his courtesy in releasing the Chinese captured at Chapoo. The Life and Campaigns of Hugh, First Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal
23.
Battle of Woosung
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The Battle of Woosung was fought between British and Chinese forces at the entrance of the Woosung River, Jiangsu province, China, on 16 June 1842 during the First Opium War. The British capture of the towns of Woosung and Baoshan opened the way to Shanghai, hall, William Hutcheon, Bernard, William Dallas. The Life and Campaigns of Hugh, First Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal
24.
Battle of Chinkiang
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The Battle of Chinkiang was fought between British and Chinese forces in Chinkiang, Jiangsu province, China, on 21 July 1842 during the First Opium War. It was the last major battle of the war, the Chinese force consisted of a garrison of Manchu and Mongol Bannermen. In command of the British forces was Sir Hugh Gough, leading one brigade was future British field marshal Sir Colin Campbell. The British capture of this allowed them to proceed to Nanking. As a result, the Daoguang Emperor decided to sue for peace and agreed to sign the Treaty of Nanking, mass suicide was committed by the Manchu Bannermen who were defending the city. Narrative of the Expedition to China, from the Commencement of the War to Its Termination in 1842, victorias Scottish Lion, The Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde. Hall, William Hutcheon Hall, Bernard, William Dallas, narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis, from 1840 to 1843. The Life and Campaigns of Hugh, First Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal, the Opium War Through Chinese Eyes. Woking, Surrey, George Allen & Unwin
25.
Canton System
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The Canton System served as a means for China to control trade with the west within its own country by focusing all trade on the southern port of Canton. Known in Chinese as the Yī kǒu tōng shāng the policy arose in 1757 as a response to a political and commercial threat from abroad on the part of successive Chinese emperors. From the late seventeenth century onwards, Chinese merchants known as Hongs managed all trade in the port, thereafter Chinese merchants dealing with foreign trade Foreign barbarians coming to the city must reside in the foreign factories under the supervision and control of the Cohong. 3) Chinese citizens are barred from borrowing capital from foreign barbarians, a seemingly insatiable western demand for tea from China towards the end of the 18th century caused a significant deficit in the British balance of trade. The Chinese had little interest in Western goods and would accept silver in payment. This spurred the East India Company to sell opium grown on its plantations in India to independent traders who shipped it on to China for sale for payment in silver, China prohibited the importation of this opium, but the traders persisted, which led to the First Opium War. The traders/British Empire won this war, following the signature of the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, Shanghai, Amoy, Ningpo and Foochow all opened to foreign trade thereby eliminating Cantons former monopoly advantage. In 1859 Cantons trade moved to a new site on the sandbank of Shaming Island. By the time Hong Kong became a full-fledged British Colony, many of the merchants would be led by a generation of western hong merchants. Many of these companies would become the back bone of the young Hong Kong economy, flint Affair Economic history of China Old China Trade Hongs Howqua Thirteen Factories Notes Bibliography Dennys, N. B. The Treaty Ports of China and Japan, A Complete Guide to the Open Ports of Those Countries, Together with Peking, Yedo, Hongkong, new York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Inc. Law and Politics in Chinas Foreign Trade, the East Asian Maritime World 1400–1800, Its Fabrics of Power and Dynamics of Exchanges. East Asian economic and socio-cultural studies, trading networks in early modern East Asia. The language of students of the East India Companys Canton factory, journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Comparative Outline of Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy, Central Trade Policy in the Final Years of the Imperial Era, qinghua University Chinese Economic Historiography Series. Louis Dermigny, La Chine et lOccident, le commerce à Canton au XVIIIe siècle, 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, liu Yong, The Dutch East India Companys Tea Trade with China, 1757–1781. ISBN 90-04-15599-6 Hoh-cheung Mui and H. Lorna Mui, The Management of Monopoly, A Study of the East India Companys Conduct of Its Tea Trade, vancouver, University of British Columbia Press,1984
26.
Opium
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Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, the word meconium historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies. The production of opium has not changed since ancient times, through selective breeding of the Papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine has been greatly increased. For the illegal trade, the morphine is extracted from the opium. It is then converted to heroin which is two to four times as potent, and increases the value by two to four times, the reduced weight and bulk make it easier to smuggle. Evidence from ancient Greece indicate that opium was consumed in several ways, including inhalation of vapors, suppositories, medical poultices, Opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient world, including the Ebers Papyrus and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the American Civil War before giving way to morphine and its successors, Opium has been actively collected since prehistoric times. Though western scholars typically estimate this to be around 1500 BCE, Indian scholars maintain that the verses and the history contained in them have been orally transmitted thousands of years before. A common name for males in Afghanistan is Redey, which in Pashto means poppy and this term may be derived from the Sanskrit words rddhi and hrdya, which mean magical, a type of medicinal plant, and heart-pleasing, respectively. The upper Asian belt of Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, numerous finds of P. somniferum or P. setigerum from Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have also been reported. The first known cultivation of poppies was in Mesopotamia, approximately 3400 BCE, by Sumerians, who called the plant hul gil. Tablets found at Nippur, a Sumerian spiritual center south of Baghdad, described the collection of juice in the morning. Opium production continued under the Babylonians and Egyptians, Opium was used with poison hemlock to put people quickly and painlessly to death, but it was also used in medicine. The Ebers Papyrus, c. 1500 BCE, describes a way to stop a child using grains of the poppy plant strained to a pulp. Spongia somnifera, sponges soaked in opium, were used during surgery, the Egyptians cultivated opium thebaicum in famous poppy fields around 1300 BCE. Opium was traded from Egypt by the Phoenicians and Minoans to destinations around the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Carthage, and Europe. By 1100 BCE, opium was cultivated on Cyprus, where surgical-quality knives were used to score the poppy pods, and opium was cultivated, traded, Opium was also mentioned after the Persian conquest of Assyria and Babylonian lands in the 6th century BCE. From the earliest finds, opium has appeared to have ritual significance, and anthropologists have speculated ancient priests may have used the drug as a proof of healing power
27.
Lin Zexu
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Lin Zexu, courtesy name Yuanfu, was a Chinese scholar-official of the Qing dynasty best known for his role in the First Opium War of 1839–42. He was from Fuzhou, Fujian Province, Lins forceful opposition to the opium trade was a primary catalyst for the First Opium War. The Daoguang Emperor endorsed the hardline policies advocated by Lin, Lin was born in Houguan towards the end of the Qianlong Emperors reign. His father, Lin Binri, served as an official under the Qing government and he was the second son in the family. As a child, he was already unusually brilliant, in 1811, he obtained the position of a jinshi in the imperial examination, and in the same year he gained admission to the Hanlin Academy. He rose rapidly through various grades of provincial service and he opposed the opening of China but felt the need of a better knowledge of foreigners, which drove him to collect material for a geography of the world. He later gave this material to Wei Yuan, who published the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms in 1843 and he became Governor-General of Hunan and Hubei in 1837, where he launched a suppression campaign against the trading of opium. In March 1839, Lin arrived in Guangdong Province to take measures that would eliminate the opium trade and he was a formidable bureaucrat known for his competence and high moral standards, with an imperial commission from the Daoguang Emperor to halt the illegal importation of opium by the British. Upon arrival, he made changes within a matter of months and he arrested more than 1,700 Chinese opium dealers and confiscated over 70,000 opium pipes. He initially attempted to get companies to forfeit their opium stores in exchange for tea. Lin resorted to using force in the western merchants enclave, a month and a half later, the merchants gave up nearly 1.2 million kg of opium. Beginning 3 June 1839,500 workers laboured for 23 days to destroy it, mixing the opium with lime and salt, Lin composed an elegy apologising to the gods of the sea for polluting their realm. 26 June is now the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in honour of Lins work, in 1839, Lin also wrote an extraordinary memorial to Queen Victoria in the form of an open letter published in Canton, urging her to end the opium trade. He argued that China was providing Britain with valuable commodities such as tea, porcelain, spices and silk, with Britain sending only poison in return. Lin appears to have been unaware that opium was not banned in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas and he accused the barbarians of coveting profit and lacking morality. His memorial expressed a desire that the Queen would act in accordance with decent feeling and he wrote, We find that your country is sixty or seventy thousand li from China. Yet there are ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians and that is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China
28.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
29.
26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot
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The 26th Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as The Earl of Anguss Regiment, it became known as The Cameronians until 1751. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 90th Regiment of Foot to form the Cameronians in 1881, the Cameronians were themselves disbanded in 1968, meaning that no Army unit today perpetuates the lineage of the 26th Foot. This conflict culminated with the Glorious Revolution leading to a Convention of the Estates of Scotland meeting on 14 March 1689. On 11 April, the day of the English coronation, the Convention finally declared that James was no longer King of Scotland, in March 1689, three Scottish regiments in the service of William arrived in Edinburgh, and the ad-hoc forces raised to protect the Convention were dismissed. However, the month, a regiment was raised near Douglas by James, Earl of Angus, drawn from among the Cameronians. 1200 men are said to have enlisted in a single day. The regiment also took part in the Battle of Landen in July 1693 during the Nine Years War. William responded to this by taking a number of regiments, including the Cameronians, onto the strength of the Dutch establishment and they were returned to the English establishment in 1700. On the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701, a second force followed in early 1702, which included the Cameronians, and both groups joined a large allied army under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, when war was declared in May. They assembled for the 1704 campaign at Bedburg in the middle of May, of the hundred and thirty men involved, nineteen were killed and sixty-two wounded. The regiment then fought at the Battle of Blenheim in July, the British force was withdrawn to the Netherlands in October, where it went into winter quarters. In 1705, they fought at the Battle of Elixheim, though the rest of the campaign was mostly uneventful. On General Fergusons death, the colonelcy of the regiment passed to John Borthwick, however, Borthwick chose to exchange his colonelcy for that of a Dutch regiment under Lord John Dalrymple, who became the regiments colonel as of 1 January 1706. The Cameronians left winter quarters at the end of April,1706, the regiment did not take part in the main attack, but were exposed to heavy cannon fire during the battle, and took a large number of casualties. In August, the colonel – now the Earl of Stair – was appointed to command the Scots Greys, and the lieutenant-colonel, George Preston, succeeded him in the colonelcy. The regiment fought at a number of sieges during the part of the year, including at Ath. The 1707 campaign was uneventful, but the regiment suffered extensively from fatigue and illness, in 1708 the regiment was briefly placed on notice to return to Great Britain, which was threatened with invasion, but was stood down after the French fleet was dispersed without making a landing
30.
Royal Engineers
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The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers, and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. It is highly regarded throughout the military, and especially the Army and it provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, the corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world. In Woolwich in 1716, the Board formed the Royal Regiment of Artillery and established a Corps of Engineers, the manual work was done by the Artificer Companies, made up of contracted civilian artisans and labourers. In 1782, a Soldier Artificer Company was established for service in Gibraltar, ten years later the Gibraltar company, which had remained separate, was absorbed and in 1812 the name was changed to the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners. The Corps has no battle honours, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the Corps had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. In 1911 the Corps formed its Air Battalion, the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces, the Air Battalion was the forerunner of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. In 1915, in response to German mining of British trenches under the then static siege conditions of the First World War, before the Second World War, Royal Engineers recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches tall. They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a six years with the reserve or four years. Unlike most corps and regiments, in which the age limit was 25. They trained at the Royal Engineers Depot in Chatham or the RE Mounted Depot at Aldershot, the Royal Engineers Museum is in Gillingham in Kent. Britain having acquired an Empire, it fell to the Royal Engineers to conduct some of the most significant civil engineering schemes around the world, some examples of great works of the era of empire can be found in A. J. Smitherss book Honourable Conquests. The Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, commanded by Richard Clement Moody, was responsible for the foundation, the Royal Albert Hall is one of the UKs most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world over. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage. The Hall was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers, the designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Much of the British colonial era infrastructure of India, of which survive today, was created by engineers of the three presidencies armies and the Royal Engineers. In 1838 he designed and built sea defences for Vizagapatam and he masterminded the Godavery Delta project where 720,000 acres of land were irrigated and 500 miles of land to the port of Cocanada was made navigable in the 1840s
31.
Thirteen Factories
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The Thirteen Factories also known as the Canton Factories, was a neighborhood along the Pearl River in southwestern Guangzhou in the Qing Empire from c. 1684 to 1856. These warehouses and stores were the principal and sole legal site of most Western trade with China from 1757 to 1842. The factories were destroyed by fire in 1822 by accident, in 1841 amid the First Opium War, the factories importance diminished after the opening of the treaty ports and the end of the Canton System under the terms of the 1842 Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanking. Their former site is now part of Guangzhou Cultural Park, the foreign agents were known at the time as supercargos in English and as daban in Chinese. This terms Cantonese pronunciation, taipan, only came into common English use after the rise of private trading from 1834 on. A private captain might be his own supercargo, a large East Indiamen might have five or more, which were ranked chief supercargo, 2nd supercargo, a team of supercargos divided their work, some overseeing sales, others tea purchases, silk purchases, and so forth. Permanent supercargos might divide their work by the ships arrived. The bookkeepers who attended them were called writers, those serving with the ship, Hong is the Cantonese pronunciation of 行, the Chinese term for a properly-licensed business. By analogy, it was applied to its chief, the Hong merchant, and its property, Hoppo, or fully the Canton Sea Customs Minister, was the imperial official responsible for imperial customs and supervised the other officials. The word is Chinese Pidgin English, and some speculated that it derived from Hu Bu, the Hoppo was responsible for fixing the charges levied as a ship entered the port, a responsibility that allowed him to become quite rich. Since the Ming dynasty, a series of sea bans restricted Chinas foreign commerce, in 1684, the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty allowed foreigners to trade with China in the four cities of Guangzhou, Xiamen, Songjiang, and Ningpo. In the case of Guangzhou, early traders were obliged to follow the monsoon winds, the foreign ships were anchored downstream at Pazhou, with business conducted in the citys western suburbs. Typically, cargo was ferried from the ships by its own crew, to avoid theft or piracy, foreign traders began assigning a few of their own seamen to these ships as guards. In 1686, Westerners were allowed to rent accommodations in the quarter to avoid the necessity of shuttling back to Pazhou each night. A Chinese comprador hired each factorys staff of Chinese servants and bought its provisions from local vendors, another comprador dealt with the ships provisions at Pazhou, where sampan ladies crowded around the ships to do laundry and odd jobs for the sailors. A few weeks before departure, the crew came to the factories in shifts of a few days each for shore leave, chaperoned by some of the ships officers. Hog Lane was lined with open-fronted booths and shops catering to them, selling food, drink, clothing, and chowchows, and was policed by Chinese guards stationed at both ends of the alley. At first the supercargos came and left with the ships, by the 1760s, every East India company had permanent supercargos and rooms were being rented in Macao year-round as well
32.
Pearl River (China)
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The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang and formerly often known as the Canton River, is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Xi, Bei. These rivers are all considered tributaries of the Pearl River because they share a common delta, as well as referring to the system as a whole, the Pearl River name is also applied to a specific branch within the system. This Pearl River is the widest distributary within the delta, although considerably short, the waters that converge east of the Bei Jiang are first referred to as the Pearl River just north of Guangzhou. The Pearl River is famed as the river flows through Guangzhou. The Pearl Rivers estuary, Bocca Tigris, is dredged so as to keep it open for ocean vessels. This bay separates Macau and Zhuhai from Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Pearl River is so named because of the pearl-colored shells that lie at the bottom of the river in the section that flows through the city of Guangzhou. A500 kV-power line, suspended from three of the tallest pylons in the world, the Pylons of Pearl River Crossing, crosses the river near its mouth. Zhujiang Brewery, one of the three largest domestic breweries in China, is located on the Pearl River Delta within the city of Guangzhou
33.
Nemesis (1839)
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Nemesis was the first British ocean-going iron warship. Launched in 1839, she was used to effect in the First Opium War under Captain Richard Collinson. The Chinese referred to her as the devil ship, if so, it can only be against the Chinese, and for the purpose of smuggling opium she is admirably adapted. Nemesis was built by British shipbuilding company Birkenhead Iron Works in three months and she had a length of 184 feet, a beam of 29 feet, a draught of 6 feet, and a burthen of 660 tons. She was powered by two sixty horsepower Forrester engines and she was armed with two pivot-mounted 32-pounder and four 6-pounder guns, and a rocket launcher. The steam- and sail-powered ship was particularly effective in China because her shallow draught allowed her to travel into rivers to pursue and engage other vessels and her watertight bulkheads were the first to be used in a warship. They enabled her to survive the damage she sustained during sea trials. The adjustments werent done very well, with the result that the ships compass performed poorly throughout its career. Nemesis arrived off the coast of China in late 1840, although when she set sail from Liverpool it was intimated that she was bound for Odessa to keep the voyage a secret. A British officer wrote that the outbreak of the First Opium War was considered an extremely favourable opportunity for testing the advantages or otherwise of iron steam-vessels and she first saw action in the Second Battle of Chuenpi on 7 January 1841 against the Chinese fleet at the Bocca Tigris forts. In the Battle of First Bar, Nemesis sank Cambridge, an American merchantman that the Chinese had purchased. Due to the draught of the Nemesis, she was able to move through shallow water during the Broadway expedition on 13–15 March. Based in Chusan, she saw action at Taisam in February 1842. After the First Opium War, Nemesis was tasked with the suppression of pirates in Indonesia, james Clavells novel Tai-Pan refers to a groundbreaking iron ship called Nemesis taking part in the First Opium War. However, the vessel is a Royal Navy ship that arrived to assist in the shallow Chinese rivers that would be traversed to gain access to inland China. Flood of Fire, by Amitav Ghosh, contains an account of Nemesis in her role during the early battles of the First Opium War. The Nemesis — Great Britains Secret Weapon in the Opium Wars, 1839-60 Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843 by W. D
34.
Congreve rocket
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The Congreve rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804, based directly on Mysorean rockets. The Kingdom of Mysore in India used Mysorean rockets as a weapon against the British in the wars that they fought against the British East India Company, several Mysore rockets were sent to Woolwich for studying and reverse-engineering following the Second, Third, and Fourth Mysore wars. Even so, Congreve had to start his project in 1804 with his own funds, the first demonstration of his solid fuel rockets was in September 1805. The rockets were used effectively during the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812, Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali developed the military tactic of using mass attacks with rocket artillery brigades on infantry formations. In 1792, Tipu Sultan wrote a manual called Fathul Mujahidin in which 200 rocket men were prescribed to each Mysorean rocket artillery brigade known as cushoons. Mysore had 16 to 24 cushoons of infantry, the areas of town where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as taramandal pet. The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder, in addition, wheeled rocket launchers were used in war that were capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously. The iron tube acted as a chamber and contained well-packed black powder propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards, in contrast, rockets in Europe were not iron cased and could not take large chamber pressures, and as a consequence they were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great. Hyder Alis father was the naik or chief constable at Budikote, there was a regular rocket corps in the Mysore Army, beginning with about 1,200 men in Hyder Alis time. Hyder Ali introduced the first iron cased rockets in warfare, in the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792, there is mention of two rocket units fielded by Tipu Sultan,120 men and 131 men respectively. Lieutenant Colonel Knox was attacked by rockets near Srirangapatna on the night of 6 February 1792, the rocket corps ultimately reached a strength of about 5,000 in Tipu Sultans army. Mysore rockets were used for ceremonial purposes. The Jacobin Club of Mysore sent a delegation to Tipu Sultan, during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, rockets were again used on several occasions. One of these involved Colonel Arthur Wellesley, later famous as the First Duke of Wellington, the rockets had a range of about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells, others, called ground rockets, on striking the ground, would rise again and bound along in a serpentine motion until their force was spent. According to one British observer, a young English officer named Bayly and he continued, the rockets and musketry from 20,000 of the enemy were incessant. Baird led the attack on the fort on the afternoon of 4 May
35.
Royal Artillery
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The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name Royal Regiment of Artillery it actually consists of 13 Regular Regiments and 5 Reserve Regiments, the introduction of artillery into the English army came as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Henry VIII made the armys artillery semi-permanent in the sixteenth century, before the 18th century, artillery traynes were raised by royal warrant for specific campaigns and disbanded again when they were over. On 26 May 1716, however, by warrant of George I two regular companies of field artillery, each 100 men strong, were raised at Woolwich. The title Royal Artillery was first used in 1720, in 1741 the Royal Military Academy was formed in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich to provide training for RA and Royal Engineers officers. The regiment expanded rapidly and, by 1757, had 24 companies divided into two battalions, as well as a company formed in 1741. During 1748, the presidential artilleries of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were formed,1756 saw the creation of the Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. In 1762 the Royal Artillery Band was formed at Minden, by 1771 there were 32 companies in four battalions, as well as two invalid companies comprising older and unfit men employed in garrison duties. During 1782, the regiment moved to the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common, in January 1793, two troops of Royal Horse Artillery were raised to provide fire support for the cavalry, augmented by two more in November 1793. The Royal Irish Artillery was absorbed into the RA in 1801, during 1805, the Royal Military Academy moved to Woolwich Common. In 1819, the Rotunda was given to the regiment by the Prince Regent to celebrate end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the regiment had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. The regiment was under the control of the Board of Ordnance until the board was abolished in 1855, thereafter the regiment came under the War Office along with the rest of the army. The School of Gunnery established at Shoeburyness, Essex in 1859, the third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery, and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply. Which branch a gunner belonged to was indicated by metal shoulder titles, the RFA and RHA also dressed as mounted men, whereas the RGA dressed like foot soldiers. In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was instituted in the Royal Artillery, the three sections effectively functioned as separate corps. This arrangement lasted until 1924, when the three amalgamated once more to one regiment. In 1938, RA Brigades were renamed Regiments, during the World War II there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments
36.
Eight Banners
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The Eight Banners were administrative/military divisions under the Qing dynasty into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the system was also the basic organizational framework of all of Manchu society. Created in the early 17th century by Nurhaci, the banner armies played a role in his unification of the fragmented Jurchen people. As Mongol and Han forces were incorporated into the growing Qing military establishment, the banner armies were considered the elite forces of the Qing military, while the remainder of imperial troops were incorporated into the vast Green Standard Army. Membership in the banners became hereditary, and bannermen were granted land, after the defeat of the Ming dynasty, Qing emperors continued to rely on the Eight Banners in their subsequent military campaigns. Over time, the Eight Banners became synonymous with Manchu identity even as their military strength vanished. Initially, Nurhacis forces were organized into small hunting parties of about a dozen men related by blood, marriage, clan, or place of residence, in 1601, with the number of men under his command growing, Nurhaci reorganized his troops into companies of 300 households. Five companies made up a battalion, and ten battalions a banner, four banners were originally created, Yellow, White, Red, and Blue, each named after the color of its flag. By 1614, the number of companies had grown to around 400, in 1615, the number of banners was doubled through the creation of bordered banners. The troops of each of the four banners would be split between a plain and a bordered banner. The bordered variant of each flag was to have a red border, except for the Bordered Red Banner, the banner armies expanded rapidly after a string of military victories under Nurhaci and his successors. Beginning in the late 1620s, the Jurchens incorporated allied and conquered Mongol tribes into the Eight Banner system, in 1635, Hong Taiji, son of Nurhaci, renamed his people from Jurchen to Manchu. That same year the Mongols were separated into the Mongol Eight Banners, under Hong Taiji, the banner armies participated in two invasions of Korea under the Joseon dynasty, first in 1627 and again in 1636. As a consequence, Korea was forced to end its relationship with the Ming dynasty. Initially, Chinese troops were incorporated into the existing Manchu Banners, when Hong Taiji captured Yongping in 1629, a contingent of artillerymen surrendered to him. In 1631, these troops were organized into the so-called Old Han Army under the Chinese commander Tong Yangxing and these artillery units were used decisively to defeat Ming general Zu Dashous forces at the siege of Dalinghe that same year. In 1636, Hong Taiji proclaimed the creation of the Qing dynasty, between 1637 and 1642, the Old Han Army, mostly made up of Liaodong natives who had surrendered at Yongping, Fushun, Dalinghe, etc. were organized into the Chinese Eight Banners. The original Eight Banners were thereafter referred to as the Manchu Eight Banners, although still called the Eight Banners in name, there were now effectively twenty-four banner armies, eight for each of the three main ethnic groups
37.
Peter Perring Thoms
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Peter Perring Thoms was an English nineteenth century printer and Chinese language translator based in Canton and Macau, China. Thoms arrived in Macau on 2 September 1814, for the task, Thoms employed Chinese assistants to cut partial Chinese fonts using tin alloy. Volume I of the went to print in 1815,1822 and 1823 followed by Volumes II and III in 1820 and 1822 respectively. Thoms received a salary of 1,250 dollars per annum from the East India Company, in the 1830s he had his own printing shop at 12 Warwick Square, London. Sometime later Thoms met a native of Canton named A-lae, which enabled him to produce a work on vases of the Shang Dynasty dating from 1743 to 1496 BC. The illustrations and descriptions in the book followed an ancient Chinese work entitled the Bógǔ Tú, woodcut engravings from the book produced by A-lae were exhibited at The Great Exhibition of 1851 held at Hyde Park, London. Thom also translated Chinese poetry and contributed to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, a Dissertation on the ancient Chinese Vases of the Shang Dynasty, from B. C.1743 to 1496
38.
Charles Elliot
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Sir Charles Elliot, KCB, was a British naval officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China and he was a key founder in the establishment of Hong Kong as a British colony. Born in Dresden, Saxony, Elliot joined the Royal Navy in 1815, after serving in the East Indies Station for four years, he joined the Home Station in 1820. He joined the West Africa Squadron and became a lieutenant in 1822, after serving in the West Indies Station, he was promoted to captain in 1828. He met Clara Windsor in Haiti and they married in 1828, after retiring from active military service, Elliot followed a career in the Foreign Office. From 1830 to 1833, he was Protector of Slaves in Guiana, in 1834, he went to China as Master Attendant to the staff of Chief Superintendent Lord Napier. He became Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent from 1836 to 1841, from 1842 to 1846, Elliot was chargé daffaires and consul general in the Republic of Texas. He served as Governor of Bermuda, Governor of Trinidad, and he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1856. Elliot was born in Dresden, Saxony, on 15 August 1801 to Margaret and he was one of nine children. His uncle was Scottish diplomat Gilbert Elliott, 1st Earl of Minto and he was educated in Reading, Berkshire, England. On 26 March 1815, Elliot joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer on board HMS Leviathan. In July 1816, he became a midshipman on board HMS Minden and he then served in the East Indies Station for four years under Sir Richard King. In 1820, he joined the cutter Starling under Lieutenant-Commander John Reeve in the Home Station, in 1821, Elliot joined HMS Iphigenia under Sir Robert Mends in the West Africa Squadron. On 11 June 1822, he became a lieutenant while serving in HMS Myrmidon under Captain Henry John Leeke and he again served in the Iphigenia on 19 June, and in HMS Hussar under Captain George Harris in the West Indies Station. There, he was appointed to the schooners Union on 19 June 1825, on 1 January 1826, he was nominated acting-commander of the convalescentship Serapis in Port Royal, Jamaica, where on 14 April, he served in the hospital ship Magnificent. After further employment on board HMS Bustard and HMS Harlequin, he was promoted to captain on 28 August 1828, after retiring from active military service, Elliot followed a career in the Foreign Office. In 1830, the Colonial Office sent Elliot to Demerara in British Guiana to be Protector of Slaves and he was brought home to advise the government of administrative problems relating to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Elliot has contributed far beyond what the functions of his office required of him
39.
Scholar-official
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After the Sui dynasty these officials mostly came from the scholar-gentry who had earned academic degrees by passing the imperial examinations. The scholar-officials were schooled in calligraphy and Confucian texts and they dominated the government and local life of China until the middle of the 20th century. Historian Charles Moore concludes that, Generally speaking, the record of these scholar-gentlemen has been a worthy one and it was good enough to be praised and imitated in 18th century Europe. Nevertheless, it has given China a tremendous handicap in their transition from government by men to government by law, since only a few could become court or local officials, the majority of the scholar-gentry stayed in villages or cities as social leaders. As a class, these claimed to represent morality and virtue. Four arts Junzi Yangban Kuge Bildungsbürgertum Elman, Benjamin A, civil Service Examinations, Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, Great Barrington, MA, Berkshire, pp. 405–410 Esherick, Joseph and Mary Backus Rankin. Chinese Local Elites and Patterns of Dominance, max Weber, The Religion of China, Confucianism and Taoism Jerry Bentley and Herb Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters - A Global Perspective on the Past, the Chinese Gentry, Studies on Their Role in Nineteenth-Century Chinese Society
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Humen
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It is the site of the Pearl Rivers discharge into the South China Sea. It contains the Port of Humen at Humen Town, the strait is formed by the islands of Chuenpi and Anunghoy on the eastern side, and Taikoktow on the western side. Since 1997, the strait has been traversed by the Humen Pearl River Bridge, the Latinate Bocca Tigris is derived from the Portuguese Boca do Tigre, which is a calque of the Chinese and Cantonese name 虎門, literally meaning The Tiger Gate. The name Bogue is also a corruption of the Portuguese Boca, the name comes from the hill-tops or a rock said to resemble a tigers head on the eastern side of Tiger Island, about 3.2 km above the Hengdang Islands in the middle of the strait. Because of its location as the naval gateway to the city of Guangzhou. It was defended by eight forts, Shakok, Taikok, Wantung, Yung-an, Kung-ku, Chen-yuan, Ching-yuan, and Wei-yuan. The first major battle of the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and China occurred at the entrance of the Humen in the First Battle of Chuenpi on 3 November 1839. The British captured the Bogue forts in the Second Battle of Chuenpi on 7 January 1841, the forts were recaptured on 2 April 1847 during the British Expedition to Canton. It extends on the east shore of the delta beyond the all the way to the Dongjiang River. It is divided into five areas, Shatian Port Area, focuses on containers, chemicals, yard logistics, shoreline industry. Mayong Port Area, focuses on grain, vegetable oil, coal, construction materials, shajiao Port Area, focuses on passenger transport, leisure boating, and coastal transport and cabotage. Changan Port Area, focuses on large-scale deep-water berths and waterfront industry, neihe Port Area, focuses on traditional waterborne transport services for the Dongguan industries. The port has 72 km2 of territorial waters and 32 km2 of jurisdictional area, the main navigation channel is 13.5 m deep, enough for vessels of 100,000 DWT. Originally called Taiping port, the State Council approved it as a port in 1983. It was merged with the Shatian port in June 1997 and renamed Humen port, treaty of the Bogue Taylor, Isaac. Names and Their Histories, A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature, satellite view of Bocca Tigris on Google maps
41.
Sanyuanli Incident
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On 25 May 1841, British forces under Major-general Hugh Gough left their transports at Qìnhăi some 5 miles north west of Canton and prepared to storm the city. By the evening of the day they had captured four Chinese forts. Instead, word arrived that the Qing authorities had agreed to British demands for compensation, postponement of the attack left nearly 5,000 British and Indian troops milling around in the sultry heat and moist atmosphere of the paddy fields north of Canton. Nevertheless, according to Chinese sources, the rape of villager Wei Shaoguangs wife by a British soldier triggered the incident, thereafter the incensed local populace, swelled by arrivals from nearby villages, grew into a crowd of 10,000 who besieged the British on all sides. Four British soldiers fell dead with a twenty or more wounded. The British dispatched two units of marines, armed with percussion muskets, to reinforce the Sepoys. After a two-hour siege British forces withdrew to the Western Fort, yu, well aware that this was no empty threat given the size of the enemy forces, urged the crowd to disperse, which only led to him being branded a traitor to the people. Today, on the mainland, every childs history book contains an account of the battle, every tablet, every shrine to the Sanyuanli dead, has been carefully tabulated by the local history bureau of the province, a Bunker Hill and an Alamo rolled into one. The First Opium War, The Anglo Chinese War of 1839-1842, Visualizing Cultures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, retrieved 10 February 2014 Ouchterlony, the Chinese War, An Account of All the Operations of the British Forces from the Commencement to the Treaty of Nanking. Wakeman, Frederic E. Strangers at the Gate, Social Disorder in South China, the Nautical Magazine, A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs,10, London, Brown, Son and Ferguson,1841
42.
Taiping Rebellion
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The war was mostly fought in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei, but over 14 years of war the Taiping Army had marched through every province of China proper except Gansu. Hostilities began on January 1,1851, when the Qing Green Standard Army launched an attack against the God Worshipping Society at the town of Jintian, Guangxi. Hong declared himself the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace, the Taipings began marching north in September 1851 to escape Qing forces closing in on them. On March 19,1853, the Taipings captured the city of Nanjing and Hong declared it the Heavenly Capital of his kingdom. For a decade the Taiping occupied and fought much of the mid and lower Yangzi valley. Qing imperial troops proved to be ineffective in halting Taiping advances. In Hunan Province a local irregular army called the Xiang Army or Hunan Army, under the leadership of Zeng Guofan. Zengs Xiang Army proved effective in turning back the Taiping advance in the western theater of the war. In 1856 the Taiping were weakened after infighting following a coup led by the East King, Yang Xiuqing. During this time the Xiang Army managed to retake much of Hubei. While Taiping forces were preoccupied in Jiangsu, Zengs forces moved down the Yangzi River, in May 1862 the Xiang Army began directly besieging Nanjing and managed to hold firm despite numerous attempts by the numerically superior Taiping Army to dislodge them. Hong died on June 1,1864, and Nanjing fell shortly after, the terms used for the movement often reflect the viewpoint of the writer. The Qing referred to the Taiping as Yue Bandits in official sources, in the 19th century Western observers, depending on their ideological position, referred to the Taiping as the revolutionaries, insurgents or rebels. The conflict in general has been called the Taiping Rebellion by many Western historians and they argue, instead, that the conflict should be called a civil war. The government, led by ethnic Manchus, was seen by many Han Chinese as ineffective, anti-Manchu sentiments were strongest in southern China among the Hakka community, a Han Chinese subgroup. In 1837 Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka from a mountain village, once again failed the imperial examination. He returned home, fell sick and was bedridden for several days and it was his duty to spread his message and overthrow the Qing dynasty. One of Hongs associates, Yang Xiuqing--a firewood merchant from Guangxi--also declared that he heard the voice of God
43.
Boxer Rebellion
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The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihequan Movement a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence, Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers as well as Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were placed under siege by the Imperial Army of China, Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu, the Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14, lifting the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the execution of those suspected of being Boxers. The Empress Dowager then sponsored a set of institutional and fiscal changes in an attempt to save the dynasty by reforming it. The Righteous and Harmonious Fists arose in the sections of the northern coastal province of Shandong long known for social unrest, religious sects. American Christian missionaries were probably the first to refer to the well-trained, athletic men as Boxers, because of the martial arts. Their primary practice was a type of possession which involved the whirling of swords, violent prostrations. The opportunities to fight back Western encroachment and colonization were especially attractive to unemployed village men, the tradition of possession and invulnerability went back several hundred years but took on special meaning against the powerful new weapons of the West. The Boxers, armed with rifles and swords, claimed supernatural invulnerability towards blows of cannon, rifle shots, furthermore, the Boxer groups popularly claimed that millions of soldiers of Heaven would descend to assist them in purifying China of foreign oppression. The Big Swords, emboldened by this support, also attacked their local Catholic village rivals. The Big Swords responded by attacking Catholic churches and burning them, the line between Christians and bandits, remarks one recent historian, became increasingly indistinct. As a result of pressure in the capital, Yuxian executed several Big Sword leaders. More martial secret societies started emerging after this, the early years saw a variety of village activities, not a broad movement or a united purpose. Martial folk religious societies such as the Baguadao prepared the way for the Boxers, like the Red Boxing school or the Plum Flower Boxers, the Boxers of Shandong were more concerned with traditional social and moral values, such as filial piety, than with foreign influences. One leader, for instance, Zhu Hongdeng, started as a healer, specializing in skin ulcers. Zhu claimed descent from Ming dynasty emperors, since his surname was the surname of the Ming imperial family and he announced that his goal was to Revive the Qing and destroy the foreigners
