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IntroductionWilliam Bentley – His Story The War from 1857 to 1861 The Bombardment and Capture of Canton – December 1857 - in which William Bentley sees his first action in China Attacks on the Taku Forts on the Peiho River – 1858, 1859 & 1860 First Attack on Taku Forts – 1858 - a force of 1200 attack and capture the Forts with very little losses Second Attack on Taku Forts – 1859 - in which William Bentley takes part and is wounded in a serious defeat for the British Navy Third Attack on the Taku Forts – 1860 - William Bentley returns with a force of 20,000 British and French troops and captures the Forts Advance on Pekin (Beijing) – 1861 - William Bentley and the Marines join the regular army and advance on Pekin forcing the Treaty of Pekin which lasted until 1998 Background to the Opium Wars The First Opium War - 1838 to 1842 - How it Started
I became interested in the story of my great grandfather William Bentley only a few years ago. I could vaguely remember a large photograph of him in his Marine uniform on my Aunt Tot’s living room wall. I remember my grandfather John Henry Bentley talking about him with some amount of reverence when I was a small child.
A few years ago, someone sent me a copy of the photo I had remembered from childhood, along with a copy of a newspaper article written in 1914 in which he gave an account of his life in the Royal Marines, and his remembrances of the battles fought. As you will see, his descriptions were remarkably accurate compared to more official accounts, despite the fact that he gave them 54 years after they had occurred at the age of 82.
I then engaged a researcher in England to access and copy me his record in the Royal Marines from the Public Record Office in Kew. These papers provided a lot of the detail of his service, including his Attestation papers on enlistment, the ships he served on, a record of the medals he had won, and the course of his promotions in the Marines.
I then had the good fortune to stumble on two books, which gave more detailed accounts of the actions in China during this period. Despite the fact that the British and French were not proud of these wars, the valour and courage of these men who went to do the duty of their country in far off lands can only be viewed as heroic.
In each section dealing with a particular battle, I have attempted to present the versions from each of the books along with William Bentley's account. The stories are enhanced with personal accounts provided by participants in the battles including one private from William Bentley's battalion as well as several officers of the Marine Brigade.
William Bentley – His StorybackWilliam Bentley was the youngest son of John Bentley and Susannah Turner, born in the small village of Borden, Kent. He joined the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1852 at the age of 20. His occupation at the time of enlistment was a labourer, but he was literate and in good physical condition when he accepted the Bounty of seven pounds, and signed on for 9 years.
William was interviewed for a story in Toronto in 1914, telling about his exploits as a young man in the Royal Marines. At the time he told his story, he was 82 years old, and living at the home of his son Robert in North Toronto.
William Bentley’s Story - As recounted in a 1914 Newspaper Article
He told how he entered the Royal Marine Light Infantry at the age of 20 years, in Chatham, Kent. The columnist commented on his wonderful memory and how he recounted many exciting adventures when engaged in chasing pirates and slavers while on board the "Bermuda". Of how he was wrecked off the northeast coast of Caucasus in 1854, and lay on the sands for ten days and ten nights until finally rescued. He was invalided home and promoted to the rank of corporal in 1857.
He was drafted to China, and sailed on board the "Inoperatrice" (Imperieuse?) in 1857. Shortly after his arrival, William participated in the bombardment of Canton, which was captured on Dec.5, 1857. He came through that fight without a scratch.
A painting of the HMS Imperieuse on China Station. After investigation this must be the ship that William Bentley was taken to China. His story mentioned the "Inoperatrice" but this story was told 57 years after the event. There is no record of a British ship called Inoperatrice, but this one was definitely in China waters for the duration of the conflict. "In 1859, we were drafted to Northern China, to the Tokyo Forts, which we attacked. We made the attack under Admiral Hope with 1,300 men all told. When you realize that there were about 35,000 Chinese in the Forts, you will know what we were up against."
He told of the hardships they had to face, and how they were in the mud and water up to their necks. "Our loss in that fight, totalled 2 gunboats, 1 dispatch boat, and several boats disabled. Admiral Hope wounded, and 468 men killed and wounded. It was in that fight that I received a wound in my right hand from a fire ball and a bullet went clean through my abdomen, fortunately without touching any vital part."
Obtaining reinforcements they returned to Tokyo Forts, 20,000 strong, French and English. On the morning of Sept. 21, 1860, the fort was captured.
When Sir James Parker was taken prisoner, together with a Colonel of the Dragoons and a great many troopers, all under a flag of truce, Bentley was with the battalions, which forced a way through and destroyed the encampment outside Pekin. They never fired a shot at Pekin, for the enemy surrendered and delivered up the prisoners.
William Bentley was awarded the Chinese medal, plus three bars for the various actions in which he participated.
While in China, he became adjutant to the Division's Chaplain, a man curious about China and the Chinese. They apparently travelled a great deal around the countryside. On his return to England, he signed on for another tour, became a sergeant and musketry instructor.
He married Louisa Cooper Funnell in 1868, and immigrated to Canada in 1870.
All together, William spent 16 years in the Marines, of which over 8 years were "afloat".
His first employment in Canada was in Aurora, Ontario, were he worked as a switchman for the railway. He moved his family to King City in 1872, were he bought farm produce and sold it in the City. He himself was a remarkable gardener, and was most proud of his abilities in this field.
The War from 1857 to 1861 - back
What has been called the First Opium War was fought during 1838 and 1842 and all action occured in the area of Canton, the Gulf of Canton and Hong Kong. A treaty had been signed but there continued to be an uneasy truce between Britain and China.
A period of skirmishes between the Chinese and the British continued in the area of Canton, the one port that Chinese allowed for foreign ships to enter and trade. There was a foreign enclave on shore at the north side of Canton, providing trading companies a location to carry out their business. During early 1857, the Chinese harassed the British ships with fire boats, exploded bombs underneath British buildings, offered rewards for the capture of barbarians, executing foreigners who strayed from their quarters or place of business.
The British returned the favour by bombarding the walls surrounding the city, sent parties of marines ashore to blast open the gates allowing armed parties to seek out the commissioner, etc. But the senior British officer, Rear Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, knew they were not strong enough to take and hold the city of over 1,000,000 people.
The Bombardment and Capture of Canton – December, 1857 -backThe arrival of a fresh brigade of Royal Marines in December allowed Seymour to resume hostilities and he carefully organized an assault force of Naval Brigade, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Her Majesty’s 59th Foot, and a brigade of French seaman.
William Bentley, a Corporal in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, arrived from England with this Brigade and his account was as follows:
"After arriving from England, I was at the bombardment of Canton, which was captured on Dec.5th, 1857. I came through that fight without a scratch."In early December, Seymour’s landing forces concentrated on Honan Island, across the river from Canton, comfortably quartered in buildings used to store tea and ginger. They broke open the tea chests and drank the flowery Pekoe ad nauseum:
"becoming the perfect connoisseurs in aroma and flavour, almost qualifying for that sensitive profession, tea taster. I certainly could have had no nerves, for one drank enough tea, free of expense, to keep a fellow awake for the rest of his natural existence."
The Marine officers built snug little rooms with the chests, the scent of tea leaves neutralizing the unsavoury odours wafting across from Canton. They wondered whether the Chinese would really fight, and all thought what hard lines it would be to have come so far for only a ransom and an abject apology.The French commander gives the following position of the allied forces drawn and ready to fight at Canton:
"The task to be performed with the feeble means at our disposal was to strike a blow worthy of the strength of France and England, and, at the same time, of such a nature as to destroy Commissioner Yeh's illusion on the subject of the possibility of resisting the allies. It was one thing to make a way into Canton by main force, and altogether another thing to maintain oneself with a few thousand men, in a city of a million inhabitants. Nor was there any doubt that if order ceased to reign there, part of the Chinese population would give themselves up to pillage, and would commit acts of brigandage which would strike at the very honour of the two nations. In order to avoid such misfortunes, the Admiral and the General (French), after careful study, made the following dispositions.
The gunboats and the lighter vessels, going in as close as their draught of water would permit, were to bombard the south face of the massive walls which surround Canton, so that the resulting breach would prevent the Chinese troops from communicating by way of the walls with the eastern portion. The expeditional corps, landed on the same side of the city, was to make itself along the wall, its aim being the capture of the positions which command Canton on the north."
Canton sat four-square on the north bank of the Canton River, its thirty foot high walls enclosing a dense labyrinth of streets. Their broad top formed an unbroken means of communication that put troops in possession of the walls in control of the city also. Beyond Canton lay a number of detached hills garnished with forts, in particular Lin’s and Gough’s Forts on the north east. Seymour’s plan was to concentrate naval gunfire on the corners to cut the defenders off from the east side where he intended to land.
A final demand for satisfaction and concession had been sent to the Commissioner Yeh on December 12th, and ten days had been assigned to him wherein to reply. Before opening fire naval officers put up posters in Chinese warning of the impending attack. Joking crowds pressed around to read the proclamation, stuck onto a triumphal arch set up in honour of the British being kept so long outside the city.
The bombardment started on Dec. 28th, the Naval and French Brigade landed on Dec. 29th. Private William Baker, Royal Marine Light Infantry was clearing his rifle, before embarking in one of the gunboats used as landing craft, when the warships opened fire, making the whole island shake. By nightfall Canton was ablaze, "like our own Shropshire iron country at night, a plain of fire". His story continues:
"At first it appeared as though the besiegers were bent upon reducing the place to ashes, but little by little, as I gained some idea of the scene as a whole the destruction was not without a plan. There was a great blaze at the north west angle of the city. The gate there is surmounted by a Chinese guardhouse, with the usual grotesque upward-pointing roof. Shells and rockets were poured in volleys upon this structure, and it became a sheet of flame through which the roof, the rafters, and the walls stood out in dark outline. By constant showers of rockets the flame was led up and down the city wall, and in incredibly short time, the long thin line of fire shot high into the heavens, and then subsided into a smouldering smoke."
Marine assault group at Canton, moving from the gunboat to the smaller skiffs, about 25 men per skiff. Marines are shown with white "havelocks". The troops landed in waves at 7 am on December 29, a total of 5,700 all told. The leading troops pushed northward towards Lin’s Fort near the north-east corner of Canton. At first the only sign of the enemy was the wailing and beating of gongs that echoed strangely across the paddy fields, but soon dead Chinese began to lie about, showing the effects of the ship’s gunfire. Lin’s fort fell easily enough. The troops then settled down for a chilly night in the "Criminals Cemetery", sheltering from the cold wind between the burial mounds.
The 1,500 strong Royal Marine Light Infantry, were supposedly to be in reserve, to bring up ammunition, guard the wounded and protect the open right flank of the advance. However, they were in action before the troops in front, marching off to Lin’s Fort at 3 am after a liquid breakfast of quinine wine and grog. William Baker described the action in breathless prose:
"We had to carry scaling ladders and it was enough to melt anyone, we advanced about one mile and a half where we was at once engaged we went in skirmishing order down a plain and it was pretty sharp for the time, their was some on our left about a mile scaling the walls and they come round the wall Cheering on and then their was three hearty cheers from the whole and it was not long before the union jack and the French eagle was soon flying on the height of Canton and to see the Chinese run and we laughing at them."Under cover of darkness the Naval Brigade had closed up to the city wall, and placed scaling ladders as close to the ditch as possible. One officer fell into a cesspit, swearing and smelling so horribly when he was hauled out that everyone agreed he could drive the Chinese off the walls on his own.
Next morning at 8:30 am the ladder parties rushed forward into the waterlogged ditch under the covering fire of howitzers and marine sharpshooters, followed by assault parties who swarmed up onto the covered way.
"The Chinese came trotting up the hill waving flags etc., we had expended every shot except with the exception of three rounds of canister, with one of which our gun was loaded. After the discharge the rush at the foe was made, Lieutenant Goodenough singling out a big Tartar mandarin. When fighting with him, his field glasses, which was slung around his neck, got in the way, and by sheer strength he broke the leather strap and flung it away."
French and British bluejackets raced north along the top of the wall, covered from the fire of Gough’s Fort by the battlements, rolling up the defences as they went. Although the Chinese on the west wall held out until dusk, reversing their guns to fire into the city, it was clear the defenders had been taken unawares. No doubt they believed the height of the walls would prevent an escalade.
They must also have been thoroughly shaken by the twenty-four hour bombardment. A pond near the escalade was literally one mass of arms and legs, while surrounding villages were full of wounded Chinese, who had crawled there to die.
During this battle, the Marine Battalion lost 5 men killed, 34 wounded.
Following the battle, Canton was garrisoned to a degree by the Marines, but it was impossible for the small numbers to control the City. Popular terrorism took place against the Marine garrison:
"their was several of our men lost by going about they was very Barbarous People for they beheaded several of our men that was when their was one by it self for they are great Cowards".Marines trying to maintain order in Canton after the capture. However, there followed a period of relative peace, trade resumed and the City "seemed to have settled down very quietly".
William Bentley participated in this assault and was awarded the Canton Clasp to go with his China Medal.
The Chinese remained obdurate, and refused to concede any of the demands placed on them by the allies. The British took into custody the Governor of the City, a tartar general who lead some of the brigands of the area, and the Commissioner himself. Order was maintained, but the Chinese leadership in Pekin remained defiant.
Attacks on the Taku Forts on the Peiho River – 1858, 1859 & 1860 -back
As resentment built between the Chinese and the British, the British started looking north to the Peiho River, (now the Hai River) which accessed the major city of Pekin (now Beijing). This river was not penetrable by major ships of the navy, and its mouth was protected by sand bars at low tide and a series of forts and battlements situated at its mouth. The fortifications stretched for a mile on each side of the river as it closed to a width of a few hundred yards, and were known as the Taku Forts (now city of Tanggu)
First Attack on Taku Forts - 1858 - back
On May 20, 1858 the situation was reconnoitred by a Lieutenant Goodenough, and despite the fact that many felt while the British were superior at sea, it was believed they could not handle Chinese forces on land, although they were poorly armed. An attack was launched, the gunboats forcing the single boom across the river and bombarding the forts and battlements. A landing party of 1,200 marines, naval brigade and French sailors attacked and captured the forts with very few casualties. The Chinese were poorly organized and poorly armed and fled as the marines launched their land attack.
The Force then moved up river and captured Tientsin (now Tinajin) and forced a Treaty with the Chinese. Relations between the Chinese and the foreigners did not improve following the Treaty, and once again the British felt they had to force the issue.
Second Attack on Taku Forts – 1859 - back
A new officer was now in charge of British forces in Chinese waters, Rear Admiral Sir James Hope. In June 1859 he moved immediately against the Taku Forts on the Peiho River once again. The forts had been much strengthened since the attack the previous year, the garrison increased dramatically, and three sets of booms had been constructed in the narrow channel of the river in front of the forts.
Following is William Bentley's account of what occurred.
"In 1859, we were drafted to Northern China to the Tokyo Forts, which we attacked. We made the attack under Admiral Hope with 1,300 men all told. When you realize that there were about 35,000 Chinese in the Forts, you will know what we were up against."
He told of the hardships they had to face and how they were in the mud and water up to their necks. "Our losses in that fight totalled 2 gunboats, 1 dispatch boat, several boats disabled, Admiral Hope wounded and 468 men killed and wounded. It was in that fight that I received a wound in my right hand from a fire ball and a bullet went clean through my abdomen, fortunately without touching any vital part."
The British suffered major casualties in the bombardment and in the attempt to force the blockaded channel, losing 3 gunboats and over 100 men. Despite this, they were unable to get past the first set of booms. However, they believed that the bombardment had softened the Chinese in the south fort and battlements, and launched an assault with 350 marines.
Situation at Taku Forts as 350 Marines attempted to capture fortified positions with thousands of defenders.The attacking force had to walk through 200 yards of water and mud flats while under heavy fire from the forts, just to get to knee deep water. They estimated that 100 men were hit in the first 100 yards. The marine officers in their red jackets were particular targets and suffered heavily. After an hour of struggling through this mud and water, the leading attackers reached the first of 3 ditches. Expecting knee deep water in the ditches they found water over their heads. It was necessary to use their storming ladders to cross this ditch.
After getting past that ditch, it took another hour to get to a second ditch filled with mud, another hour taken and more casualties. A surviving marine officer gave the following report:
"Now came the tug of war. We had crossed two ditches, and the third lay before us, not fifty yards from the wall. We had only three ladders left, and if we broke any of these it was all up with us, as none of our rifles would go off, ammunition was wet, and the rifles also, besides being choked with mud. Unless we could put three men at a time on the wall (about 30 feet high) we should stand no chance, as we had nothing but cold steel to fight with.
When I got on the bank, there was a nice spectacle before me, the walls covered with men (Chinese) not more than 35 yards distance. When they saw me they gave a volley. I don’t know how it was I escaped. My clothes were cut to pieces, and yet with the exception of a few scrapes here and there, I was alright. Was it not a pity all the ladders were broken? And he we were looking on while the enemy stood on the walls picking us off one at a time."
The British began a retreat to the boats, the last one off of the beach at 1:30 am in the morning, six and a half hours after the landing. Narrow escapes were common. One man had no less than twelve arrow wounds, although none proved fatal. Walter White was among those who got away and gives this account:
"As we lay huddled up around the funnel for warmth, covered with mud and being completely exhausted and disheartened by our defeat, I, and I daresay others as well, utterly broke down and had a silent though none the less bitter weep for nearly an hour. All around lay the wounded, whose cries and groans were terrible to hear, the doctors working by lantern light, gave the appearance of a slaughter house."
Once the British had gone, the Chinese went down into the mud to pull out anyone left behind, sticking their heads up on the Fort walls.
William Bentley participated in this action, was wounded in the right hand by a fireball, and a musket ball went clean through his abdomen. Despite this terrible ordeal, none of the participants received any recognition for their valour, except of course for the Admiral who had sent them to their fates, he was promoted.
A Second Account of this Battle, from "The Royal Navy, William Laird Clowes"
The naval account tells how the gunboats were unable to get upstream to the forts because of obstructions in the river, coupled with heavy fire from the forts on each side of the narrow river. Therefore they were unable to bombard the main forts prior to the land assault intended to capture the forts.
Despite this problem, a landing force of about 350 Marines and a few bluejackets, were brought from the vessels below the bar. At 7:20 pm a landing was effected opposite the outer bastion of the south fort, the spot being selected because it seemed to have suffered the most, and because an attack there could be best supported by the guns of the squadron.
The force consisted of a detachment of Sappers and Miners, under Major Fisher, Royal Engineers, a brigade of Marines under Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Lemon, a division of seamen under Captain Vassittart, assisted by John Edmund Commerell, V.C. and William Andrew James Heath, and as small body of French seamen under Commander Tricault; the whole being under Captain Shadwell.
The party was met by a heavy fire from guns, gingals, and rifles, and in addition, had terrible obstacles to contend with in the shape of stakes planted in the shallows and mud, and two if not three ditches. In the advance, Shadwell, Vansittart and Lemon with many others, were disabled and the Command evolved upon Commerell. About 150 officers and men struggled as far as the second ditch, and about 50 men even got close under the wall of the fort, but, although those positions might have been held for a time, further advance or a storm was impossible without reinforcements.
Such was Commerell's unwilling conclusion after he had consulted with Fisher, Tricault, and Captain Richard Parke, R.M. and he reported it to Shadwell who ordered a retirement. This was effected in the darkness with the utmost deliberation and coolness , the force proceeding to the boats in detachments, and bringing off its wounded. It was accomplished by 1:30 am on June 26 th, the last to leave the shore being Commerell and Heath.
The landing cost the British 64 officers and men killed, 162 badly wounded and 90 slightly wounded, and the French lost 4 killed and 10 wounded. This meant that of the 350 men who landed, 330 were either killed or wounded.
The total losses including the naval losses during the battle were 448 killed or wounded.
This action was considered the Royal Navy’s worse defeat of the 19th Century, with a casualty list exceeding that of the Battle of St.Vincent in 1797. Over 44 percent of the Royal Marine Battalion suffered casualties.As this hotly contested action resulted in a defeat, those who participated in it were never directly rewarded by the issue of medals or clasps, the granting of honours or promotions: yet it must be admitted that as indeed, the heavy loss indicates, officers and men behaved in a manner which added distinctly to the glories of the Navy, and could have been scarcely more creditable had victory rewarded their efforts.
During this action, an American naval captain placed his boat at the services of the Allies in an effort to remove casualties from the area of conflict. The U.S. was not a participant in this war. This man Commodore Josiah Tatnall joined the wrong side in the American Civil war and had to retreat in poverty to Nova Scotia. An amount of money was put together by Royal Naval Officers and men who served in China, to contribute to his retirement and saved him from absolute penury.
Third Attack on the Taku Forts - 1860 - back
This setback convinced the British and French governments to provide more substantial forces for this Chinese campaign, and within one year they had a combined force of over 20,000 soldiers available to pursue their objectives. The objective once again was the Forts at Taku, at the mouth of the Peiho River. The armies essentially invaded the entire area surrounding the forts, and when in position the navy returned up the river to provide bombardment for the attack on the Forts.
William Bentley's account was as follows - "Obtaining reinforcements, we returned to the Tokyu Forts 20,000 strong, French and English. On the morning of September 21, 1860, the forts were captured."
The British and French returned to the Peiho River and the Taku Forts the following year in overwhelming strength, with an army of over 20,000. The Royal Marine Battalion participated in this action.
Walter White recounted how they met a Tartar cavalry charge as they approached the fort, the destruction of some junks under the guns of the Fort, a pig chase along the beach, the gingal balls cutting up the ground rather closer than was pleasant. At the storming of the northern fort on August 21, the Royal Marine Battalion accompanied the 44th and 67th Regiments of the army.
"The ground all around was littered with crowsfeet, so constructed that however they lay, two spikes pointed upwards. The marines carried ladders down to the right angle of the Fort, were the fire was less intense, and put them across the ditch like bridges, men standing up to their armpits in water to support them while their comrades rushed across. The Chinese stood to the last, the gunners bayoneted around their guns. Others were impaled on punji stakes when they were thrown over the wall, or fell into their own traps as they retired."
Marines landing at the Peiho River Forts - 1859
A Second Account of this Battle, from "The Royal Navy, William Laird Clowes"
A battalion of Royal Marines under Lieutenant Colonel John Hawkins Gascoigne, and a battalion of French seamen joined the army, which, on August 12th marched to and occupied Sin-ho, driving back a considerable body of the enemy, and taking two entrenched positions; and on the 14th, attacked and captured Ton-ku, the Chinese then retiring into the northern forts across the river. These were attacked jointly by the armies and the naval forces, which had considerable trouble once again getting through the blockaded channel of the river to provide support.
On the 21st of August, all forts had been captured despite a brave Chinese effort at defence, their losses being extremely high. The Royal Marines losses totalled only 1 killed and 29 wounded.
There is very little account of the armies work in either book, however it should be noted that 6 Victory Cross medals were issued on August 21 during the storming of these forts, indicating the severity of the fight.
William Bentley received a clasp for the Taku Fort battle of 1860, to go with his China Medal.
The Forts at Taku at the Mouth of the Peiho River following their capture in 1860. The British and French attacked this fort 3 times over a 3 year period. Advance on Pekin (Beijing) - back
William Bentley wrote of this advance. "When Sir James Parker was taken prisoner together with the Colonel of the Dragoons and a great many troopers, all under a flag of truce, I was with the battalions which forced a way through and destroyed the encampment outside Pekin. We never fired a shot at Pekin for the enemy surrendered and delivered up the prisoners."
Despite some indication for negotiation from the Chinese, none actually materialized, so the allies pursued them fighting several battles and ending up on the outskirts of Pekin.
According to the account in the book, "Not until Pekin had been taken and the palace burnt did the enemy agree to the terms demanded, and the Treaty of Pekin was concluded on October 21, 1860." This gave the British and French expanded trading routes, as well as giving Britain control of Hong Kong, which lasted until a few years ago.
William Bentley received a clasp to go with his China Medal for his participation in the advance to Pekin.
This is HMS Cruiser
This ship participated in all of the battles in which William Bentley was involved
Sloop - Launched 1852, 160ft long, 1073 tons Armament - 17x32 pdr guns - later removed
Built at Royal Dockyard, Deptford.
Wooden screw sloop with an auxiliary horizontal-geared engine by J & G Rennie. Began life as CRUIZER and had her name changed to CRUISER in 1857. Her first few years were spent in Chinese waters, and a party of her men in boats took part in the Battle of Fatsham Creek (now Foshan), in 1857. Her commander, Charles Fellowes, was the first man over the walls of Canton when the city was taken, and the ship took part in further engagements up the Yangtse River in 1858, including the attack on the Peiho Forts in 1859. In 1860, under the command of John Bythesea her crew surveyed the Gulf of Pechill to prepare the moorings of the allied fleet to disembark troops for the advance to Peking.
Background to the Opium Warsback
From 1839 to 1842, China fought what we now call the "Opium Wars" with Britain. There are many ways to look at a problem. Here are two views of the situation from the perspective of the Chinese and the British.
China is a very old country with ideals that have lasted more than two thousand years. The Chinese people were satisfied with their way of life and had little interest in the nations of the Western Hemisphere. Tea, grown in China, had become a very popular drink in Great Britain. China would have rather not traded with the British at all, but they were willing to sell the British tea if they used only the port in Canton. They were willing to trade but not allow western ideas in their society.
The British decided they needed to "balance their trade." That means that they must buy and sell to China, not just buy. They decided to sell Opium, which was not an illegal drug in Britain or Europe at that time. Opium was grown in India and used to make morphine and heroin. The Chinese government outlawed the import of Opium because of the debilitating effects of the drug and because of the silver leaving China to pay for it.
In 1838, China ruled that anyone dealing in Opium would be put to death. Shortly after that, government officials began to destroy any opium coming into their land.
The First Opium War - 1838 to 1842 - How it Started - back
Lin Tse-Hsu, the governor of the Chinese province of Hu-Huang, was an accomplished administrator and bureaucrat who wrote stylized Confucian poetry in his spare time. In October 1838, Lin Tse-Hsu was summoned to the Imperial Palace in Peking, where the Emperor personally assigned him to stamp out opium addiction in China.
Lin accepted the assignment, knowing that it represented one of the most difficult problems faced by the Chinese empire. The sale of opium had been made illegal in China in 1800, but the black-market narcotics trade flourished in defiance of the law, and there were an estimated two million Chinese opium addicts. Addiction was especially common around the port city of Canton, (now Guangzhou), where foreign merchants smuggled large quantities of the narcotic drug into China.
Commissioner Lin launched his anti-drug campaign in Canton, where he set up headquarters and took command of the local naval forces. On March 10, 1839, Lin proclaimed that the opium trade would no longer be tolerated in Canton, and he began arresting known opium dealers in the local schools and naval barracks. Those found guilty of purchasing, possessing or selling opium were sentenced to public execution by strangulation, "Let no one think, Lin proclaimed, that this is only a temporary effort on behalf of the Emperor. We will persist until the job is finished".
Lin knew that the opium was brought to China in large British clipper ships, which also carried legal trade items. The cargo masters of these ships sold their opium to clandestine Chinese buyers at Lintin Island in Canton Bay. After the foreign merchants unloaded their contraband cargo, they proceeded peacefully up the Pearl River (now Zhu River) to Canton, where they held permits to buy tea and silk, and to sell a variety of legal trade goods.
On the morning of March 25, 1839, Commissioner Lin gave the opium smugglers a demonstration of the seriousness of his intent. He ordered the suspension of all trade with the western merchants, who lived together in a small neighbourhood of waterfront homes, offices, and trading docks in Canton.
Lin's action was protested by the ranking British naval officer in the Chinese port, Captain Charles Elliot. The merchants, Elliot asserted, had the full support of the British government, and were not bound to obey the laws of China.
On July 12, a Chinese villager was killed by a rampaging gang of drunken British seamen who had come ashore at Kowloon, a mainland village near Hong Kong. Lin demanded that the men responsible for the murder be turned over to him for punishment. Captain Elliot responded that the seamen could only be tried under British jurisdiction.
When Lin again demanded that the guilty men be delivered to Canton for justice, Elliot sent word that the men would all be appropriately punished when they returned to England. To force Elliot to submit to his demands, Lin ordered that delivery of all rice, tea, meat and fresh vegetables to the anchored ships at Macao to be intercepted and cut off. Freshwater springs that were known to be used by the British at various points along the coast were poisoned. Large banners were posted to warn Chinese villagers not to drink from the streams. Lin then pressured the Portuguese authorities at Macao to evict the British from their harbour, under penalty of severe trade restrictions. These drastic measures forced all of the British ships to retreat from Macao to Hong Kong by the middle of August.
On August 31, Commissioner Lin learned that the merchant ships anchored off Hong Kong had been joined by a twenty-eight gun British frigate. Although this news was not good, Lin, who had the use of a fleet of Chinese war junks at his disposal, was not frightened by the arrival of a single British warship.
Lin assumed that his Chinese warships were superior to the ships of the British navy. He thought that Europeans were primitive barbarians. British fabrics were inferior to Chinese silk, British earthenware was inferior to Chinese ceramics, and the general behaviour of British seamen seemed uncivilized, so Lin assumed that the British navy must be inferior to the Chinese navy.
On September 4, two British merchant ships and a launch from the newly arrived warship attacked three Chinese junks that tried to prevent them from landing at Kowloon to obtain water and supplies. Although the Chinese warships returned the British fire, they did no damage to the British ships, and were forced to retreat after being badly shot up by cannonballs.
The captains of the defeated Chinese junks feared that their failure would be viewed by higher authorities as a disgraceful act of cowardice. The captains therefore reported to Commissioner Lin that they had won a victory and had sunk a British ship.
Lin informed the Emperor of this and also that he was preparing to permanently drive the merchants away from Hong Kong. By September 22, Lin had assembled a fleet of eighty junks and fire ships at the mouth of the Pearl River.
In early November, Lin learned that a second British warship, an eighteen-gun frigate, had joined the British merchant fleet at Hong Kong. On November 3, the two British warships approached the Chinese fleet with a sealed letter, demanding supplies and the immediate resumption of trade.
The admiral of the Chinese fleet returned the merchants letter unopened, at which point the frigates attacked the anchored Chinese fleet. The British immediately sank five of the largest Chinese war junks and severely damaged many others in an attack that lasted just under 45 minutes.
Lin was afraid to report this to the Emperor and wrote a letter informing him that severe damage had been done to six British ships. When queried, he told the Emperor that everything was under control and that the opium trade was drying up.
In the beginning of June 1840, Lin suddenly found himself confronting a large British expeditionary force that had come from Singapore, which included steam-powered gunboats and thousands of British marines. In a report to the Emperor, Lin wrote, "English warships are now arriving at Canton. Although it is certain that they will not venture to create a disturbance here, I am certain that they will, like great rats, attempt to shelter the vile sellers of opium". Still confident that the Chinese coast guard could prevail in the event of trouble, Lin concluded, "People say that our junks and guns are no match for the British.... But they do not know"!
Commissioner Lin's forces, however, proved to be no match for the invaders, who immediately imposed a blockade on the Canton estuary, then attacked and took control of strategically important sites along the China coast. The British commander sent a sobering message to Emperor Tao-kuang in Peking, (now Beijing) demanding satisfaction and redress for Commissioner Lin's actions at Canton. On August 21, 1840, the Emperor dismissed Lin Tse from his post as Imperial Commissioner. "You have caused this war by your excessive zeal, the Emperor wrote, you have lied to us, disguising in your dispatches the true color of affairs. Instead of helping us, you have only caused confusion to arise. Now, one thousand unending problems are sprouting. You have behaved as if your arms are tied. You are no better than a wooden dummy. As we think about your grievous failings, we become furious, and then melancholy".
Stripped of his title, Lin Tse was exiled to the isolated northern frontier province of Ili, where he was given the task of supervising large scale irrigation and flood control projects. The successive Imperial Commissioners who replaced Lin Tse in Canton were unable to stop the opium traffic. In conflicts known as the First and Second Opium Wars, British naval and marine forces seized control of Hong Kong, ravaged the Chinese coastline and briefly occupied the capital city of Peking.
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