Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/472

 460 CHINA Anglo-Chinese college at Malacca. In 1820 Tau-kwang ascended the throne (died Feb. 24, 1850). The most important event of his reign was the first war with Great Britain, known as the opium war. The British, having sent an unsuccessful commercial expedition against China as early as 1596, did not obtain a foot- hold in that country until the end of the 17th century. An embassy which they sent to Pe- king in 1793 under Lord Macartney was kindly received. The embassy of Lord Amherst in 1816 was not admitted into the presence of the emperor. The refusal was probably oc- casioned by Lord Amherst's unwillingness to perform the kotow, and did not result in any interference with the course of trade. Until 1834 commercial intercourse was conducted by the East India company. In that year their charter ended, and Lord Napier was sent out by the British government to superintend the trade. He endeavored to communicate with the viceroy at Canton by letter and on terms of equality. This was refused, and led to the bringing up as far as Whampoa (12 miles be- low Canton) of two frigates, which received and answered the fire of the forts at the Bogue (Sept. 11, 1834). On Sept. 21 Lord Napier re- tired to Macao, where he died three weeks later. After this trade was carried on without the immediate superintendence of the British offi- cials till 1837 (April 12), when Capt. Elliot, the British commissioner, went to Canton un- der an agreement with the viceroy, which was a virtual abandonment of the position taken by Lord Napier, and acknowledgment of Chinese superiority. Capt. Elliot justified his action by a statement that the relations be- tween the Chinese authorities and the mer- chants were in a precarious condition. This condition arose out of a discussion as to whether the trade in opium, which had been carried on in an illicit manner, should be legalized, and there was danger that the government would not only decide the question unfavorably, but take some active measures to put down the traffic. Such a decision was subsequently reached, and in the autumn of 1837 Capt. Elliot was directed by the viceroy to drive away the opium vessels, and to notify his gov- ernment that they must not come again. The trade went on, however, under greater or less restrictions and difficulties, until the early part of the year 1839, when a special commis- sioner named Lin appeared with strenuous orders to thoroughly suppress it. One of his first steps was to demand the surrender of all opium. This order was complied with, and Lin was directed by his government to destroy it. The whole quantity, 20,291 chests, valued at about $10,000,000, was placed in trenches, mixed with lime, and sea water admitted, a procedure by which the desired result was most perfectly accomplished. This measure did not however suppress the trade. More opium arrived and was sold clandestinely. In consequence of the continued irritation and the persistent efforts of the commissioner to suppress the traffic, the British residents were withdrawn from Canton, and afterward from the Portuguese colony of Macao, and on Dec. ' 6 trade with the English was declared at an i end. These circumstances led to the war of ! 1840-'42, known as the opium war. The j British forces appeared off Macao June 22, I 1840. On July 4 the island of Chusan, off the mouth of the Yangtse river, was occupied. Simultaneously the ports of Amoy and Ningpo, and the mouths of the Min and Yang-tse rivers were blockaded. The British plenipo- tentiaries proceeded toward Peking, and on Aug. 11 anchored off the mouth of the Pei-ho river. The Chinese officer Ki-shen met them there, and it was arranged that the discussion of matters at issue should be referred to Can- ton. Negotiations were continued at Canton as arranged for, and a treaty was effected. It was not ratified by the Chinese emperor, and on Feb. 19 hostilities were resumed, and the British fleet moved up to the city of Canton. On the 26th the Chinese paid a ransom of $6,000,000, and the British prepared to leave their investing lines. The evacuation was very soon completed, and trade was reopened and continued throughout the war, which was prosecuted in the north. Amoy was captured on Aug. 27, Chusan was occupied a second time on Sept. 29, and Ningpo on Oct. 13. Des- ultory operations continued throughout the winter. In May, 1842, Chapoo was captured, and on June 16 and 19 Woosung and Shanghai respectively were occupied. In the latter part of July Chinkiang was invested and captured, and the forces moved to Nanking, 40 m. be- yond Chinkiang. The native authorities, an- ticipating the loss of their ancient capital and thoroughly humbled by the events of the war, sued for peace, and a treaty was effected. This treaty provided for : 1, lasting peace between the two empires ; 2, an indemnity from China of $21,000,000 ($12,000,000 being for expenses of the war, $3,000,000 for debts due British subjects, and $6,000,000 for the opium de- stroyed) ; 3, the ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo- chow, Ningpo, and Shanghai to be opened to trade; 4, Hong Kong to be ceded to the queen ; 5, British prisoners to be uncondition- ally released; 6, Chinese who had been in British service to be held guiltless; 7, corre- spondence to be conducted on terms of equal- ity ; 8, the forces of Great Britain to occupy Chusan and Amoy until $6,000,000 should be paid. On Feb. 24, 1844, Mr. Caleb Gushing arrived in China as commissioner of the United States, and without difficulty he negotiated a treaty which was signed July 3, 1844, at Wanghia near Canton. A treaty with France was signed Oct. 23. The relations of foreign states with China moved along for several years with varying phases of friendliness and hostility. At the northern ports the people were generally friendly. At Canton, which had been spared from military occupation by