First Opium War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| First Opium War | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Opium Wars | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Combatants | |||||||||||
| Qing China | British East India Company | ||||||||||
| Commanders | |||||||||||
| Daoguang Emperor | Charles Elliot, Anthony Blaxland Stransham | ||||||||||
The First Opium War or the First Anglo-Chinese War was fought between Great Britain and the Qing Empire in China from 1839 to 1842 with the aim of forcing China to import British opium. It is often seen as the beginning of European imperial hegemony toward China. The conflict began a long history of Chinese suspicion of Western society, which still lingers today in East Asia.
However, in July 1839 rioting British sailors destroyed a temple near Kowloon and murdered a Chinese man Jin how, who tried to stop them. Because China did not have a jury trial system or evidentiary process (the magistrate was the prosecutor, judge, jury and would-be executioner), the British government and community in China wanted "extraterritoriality", which meant that British subjects would only be tried by British judges. When the Qing authorities demanded the guilty men be handed over for trial, the British refused. Six sailors were tried by the British authorities in Guangzhou (Canton), but as the court had no legal authority they were immediately released. Charles Elliott had been told by the British government that without authority from the Qing government he had no legal right to try anyone.
The Qing authorities also insisted that British merchants not be allowed to trade unless they signed a bond, under penalty of death, promising not to smuggle opium, agreeing to follow Chinese laws, and acknowledging Qing legal jurisdiction. Refusing to hand over any suspects or agree to the bonds, Charles Elliot ordered the British community to withdraw from Guangzhou and prohibited trade with the Chinese. Some merchants who didn't deal in opium were willing to sign the bond, thereby weakening the British trading position.
Contents |
[edit] War
Preparing for war, the British seized Hong Kong (then a minor outpost) as a base on August 23, 1839. In late October the Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Guangzhou. This ship was owned by Quakers who refused to deal in opium, and its captain believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority by banning trade. In order to prevent other British ships from following the Thomas Coutts, Elliot ordered a blockade of the Pearl River (China). Fighting began on the 3rd of November, when a second British ship, the Royal Saxon, attempted to sail to Guangzhou. Then the Volage and Hyacinth fired a warning shot at the Royal Saxon. The official Qing navy's report claimed that the navy attempted to protect the British merchant vessel and also reported a great victory for that day. In reality, they were out-classed by the Royal Naval vessels and many Chinese ships were sunk. The next year, the British captured the Bogue forts which guarded the mouth of the Pearl River — the waterway between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. By January 1841, British forces commanded the high ground around Guangzhou and defeated the Chinese at Ningbo and at the military post of Chinghai.
By the middle of 1842, the British had defeated the Chinese at the mouth of their other great riverine trade route, the Yangtze, and were occupying Shanghai. The Qing government proved incapable of dealing with Western Powers on an equal basis, either politically or militarily. The First Opium War signalled the beginning of the end of the Manchu monopoly on the human resources of China, marking the beginning of modern Chinese history. The war finally ended in August 1842, with the signing of China's first Unequal Treaty, the Treaty of Nanjing. Gen. Sir Anthony Blaxland Stransham led the Royal Marines during the Opium War as a young officer, and as the 'Grand Old Man of the Army', was awarded two knighthoods by Queen Victoria.
[edit] Settlement
The Treaty of Nanjing committed the Qing government to nominal tariffs on British goods as well as granted the right of extraterritoriality. Hong Kong Island was ceded to the UK, and the Treaty Ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou (Foochow), Shanghai, and Ningbo were opened to all traders. The Qing government was forced to pay reparations for the British opium and war costs. There was also a most-favoured nation clause, stating that Britain would automatically be entitled to any rights the Qing government granted to another nation.
[edit] Legacy of the War
The ease with which the British East India Company's forces had defeated the Chinese armies seriously affected the Qing Dynasty's prestige. This almost certainly contributed to the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). The success of the First Opium War allowed the British to resume the opium trade with China. It also paved the way for the opening of the lucrative Chinese market and Chinese society to missionary endeavors. The First Opium War was a war that some Chinese political historians feel was initiated by the British in order to make a great profit from the trade of opium. The British government still refuses to apologize to China; rather, this kind of invasion was encouraged by Queen Victoria in the following conflicts in China and the rest of Asia. Such teachings remain a major factor in Asian resentment toward Western countries today.
[edit] See also
- Lin Zexu
- David Sassoon
- Anglo-Chinese relations
- Second Opium War (1856–1860)
- William Jardine
- General Sir Anthony Blaxland Stransham
- William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier
- History of China
- History of Hong Kong
- British military history
- UK topics
- Treaty Ports
- Forbes family
- Opium wars
