Arrow War

In the mid-1850s, while the Qing government was embroiled in trying to quell the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64), the British, seeking to extend their trading rights in China, found an excuse to renew hostilities. In early October 1856 some Chinese officials boarded the…

…the Chinese in the “Arrow” War. He was present at the occupation of Beijing (October 1860) and personally directed the burning of the Chinese emperor’s summer palace. In May 1862 Gordon’s corps of engineers was assigned to strengthen the bulwarks of the European trading centre of Shanghai, which was…

At the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, China and Britain disagreed as to whether foreigners were allowed to enter the walled city of Guangzhou. Though Guangzhou was declared open in July 1843, the British faced Cantonese opposition. After 1847 trouble rapidly grew,…

…in the second Opium, or Arrow, War of 1856–60, the Hubei cities of Hankou and Yichang were opened to Western nations as commercial ports; a third city, Shashi, was opened to trade in the 1890s. From this time on, European influence in central China steadily increased. Hankou became the head…