Second Opium War
15 years after winning the First Opium War, the British were growing antsy. They wanted even more favorable trade conditions, including the definitive legalization of the opium trade, as well as the regulation of the coolie trade. (Coolies were Chinese indentured servants—in effect, legal slaves—shipped off by the British to outlying spots of the British Empire and to Latin America.) The British also believed that the Chinese were not keeping up with the terms of the (rather punitive) Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War. Additionally, there was the matter of the seizure of a British cargo ship in Canton (now known as Guangzhou) by the Chinese under suspicion of piracy, along with the arrest of the crew. The French decided they too wanted to get in on the gripes. They wanted to piggyback off the British in getting more favorable trade terms. They were also pissed about the execution of a French missionary. (The missionary was captured in inland China, which was off-limits to foreigners.) In 1857, the British and the French went to war against China. The US also got into action briefly, despite promises of neutrality. Russia got involved as well, but their support was purely emotional, not military.
Mired in the Taiping Rebellion, which had been going on for about 7 years at this point, the forces of the Qing Dynasty were no match for those of the western alliance. Unlike in the First Opium War, which was mostly fought in southern China, fighting in the Second Opium War reached the imperial north. Eventually, the British and French marched on Beijing, causing the emperor to flee to a nearby province. This was a massive psychological blow to the Chinese and especially to the Manchus of the Qing Dynasty. Things took a nasty turn when members of a British diplomatic party were tortured and executed by Chinese imperial forces. In retaliation, the British and French looted priceless works of art from the Old Summer Palace and the (new) Summer Palace and then destroyed both palaces. (The Old Summer Palace remains in ruins and is now a tourist site. The Summer Palace was reconstructed, and touring it was one of the highlights of my trip.) The British proposed destroying the Forbidden City as well, but the French and the Russians nixed the idea, believing that the international community would look unfavorably on such an act of destruction. The Summer Palaces, on the other hand, were apparently fair game.
The war ended in 1860, formalized by various treaties. As with the Treaty of Nanking that ended the First Opium War, the western powers pretty much rubbed China’s face in it with the new treaties. The 4 Western allies (Britain, France, U.S. and Russia) were given the right to open embassies in Beijing in what became the Legation Quarter. This may not seem like much, but it was an embarrassment for the Chinese because it meant that the Chinese were now considering the countries as equal partners in diplomacy, rather than lesser countries out in the world beyond China. Many more ports were opened for international trade, beyond Canton and the 4 granted in the Treaty of Nanking. Foreign ships could freely sail up the Yangtze into the previously off-limits Chinese interior. Foreigners could travel throughout the interior of China. Huge payments were to be paid to Britain and France. Russia was awarded an area in Manchuria, where they founded what would become their great Pacific port city, Vladivostok. The opium trade was fully legalized, as was the British coolie trade. Full civil rights for Christians were established. And Britain got Kowloon, across the harbor from Hong Kong.
China’s humiliation deepened. This time, the Qing Dynasty resolved to modernize and reform. Nevertheless, the humiliation was far from over. The next time, instead of coming from the west, the humiliation came from the east.
[Historical information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]
Ah, Vladivostok! Very interesting to hear that it used to be part of Manchuria. I really want to visit that Russian port city as I hear it is supposed to be like their “San Francisco.” Plus, it was more or less closed off to the rest of the world until 1992 after the USSR collapsed.
Plus, that’s where Yul Brenner is from.