Battle for Beijing, 1858--1860 : Franco-British Conflict in China

The 'battle for Beijing' is universally - and quite wrongly - believed to have been about opium. This book argues that it was about freedom to trade, Britain's demands for diplomatic equality, and French demands for religious freedom in China. Both countries agreed that their armies, which repeatedly prevailed over Chinese ones that were numerically superior, would stay out of Beijing itself, but were infuriated by China's imprisonment, torture and death of British, French and Indian negotiators. At the same time, the British and French also helped the empire to battle rebels and to pocket port and harbour dues. They steered carefully between their political and trading demands, and navigated the danger that undue stress would make China's fragile government and empire fall apart. If it did, there would be no one to make any kind of agreement with; much of East Asia would be in chaos and Russian power would soon expand. Battle for Beijing, 1858-1860 offers fresh insights into the reasons behind the actions and strategies of British authorities, both at home and in China, and the British and French military commanders. It goes against the widely accepted views surrounding the Franco-British conflict, proposing a bold new argument and perspective.-- Provided by publisher The 'battle for Beijing' is universally - and quite wrongly - believed to have been about opium. This book argues that it was about freedom to trade, Britain's demands for diplomatic equality, and French demands for religious freedom in China. The b̀attle for Beijing' is universally - and quite wrongly - believed to have been about opium. This book argues that it was about freedom to trade, Britain's demands for diplomatic equality, and French demands for religious freedom in China. Both countries agreed that their armies, which repeatedly prevailed over Chinese ones that were numerically superior, would stay out of Beijing itself, but were infuriated by China's imprisonment, torture and death of British, French and Indian negotiators. At the same time, the British and French also helped the empire to battle rebels and to pocket port and harbour dues. They steered carefully between their political and trading demands, and navigated the danger that undue stress would make China's fragile government and empire fall apart. If it did, there would be no one to make any kind of agreement with; much of East Asia would be in chaos and Russian power would soon expand.Battle for Beijing, 1858-1860 offers fresh insights into the reasons behind the actions and strategies of British authorities, both at home and in China, and the British and French military commanders. It goes against the widely accepted views surrounding the Franco-British conflict, proposing a bold new argument and perspective Dedication 6 Preface 8 Battle for Beijing 8 Contents 12 About the Author 14 Chapter 1: Prologue 15 Chapter 2: The Opium Issue 36 Chapter 3: Canton 43 Chapter 4: Tianjin 60 Chapter 5: Recovery 82 Chapter 6: Interlude in Shanghai 105 chapter 7: Dagu and Tianjin Again 115 Chapter 8: Final Battles 140 Chapter 9: Beijing, and Triumph 164 Chapter 10: Departures 189 Chapter 11: Hindsight: And Aftermath 197 Part 1: Britain 197 Part 2: China 203 Behind the Military and Strategic Failings Lay Even Larger Problems. The first and most obvious was the Taiping Rebellion, which threatened the entire structure of the Chinese state and the Manchu dynasty. Chinese official nomenclature made the differ 204 Notes 217 Chapter 1 Prologue 217 Chapter 2 The Opium Issue 220 Chapter 3 Canton 221 Chapter 4 Tianjin 222 Chapter 5 Recovery 223 Chapter 6 Interlude in Shanghai 224 chapter 7 Dagu and Tianjin Again 225 Chapter 8 Final Battles 227 Chapter 9 Beijing, and Triumph 228 Chapter 10 Departures 229 Chapter 11 Hindsight: And Aftermath 230 Index 243 Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Prologue....Pages 1-21 The Opium Issue....Pages 23-29 Canton....Pages 31-47 Tianjin....Pages 49-70 Recovery....Pages 71-93 Interlude in Shanghai....Pages 95-104 Dagu and Tianjin Again....Pages 105-129 Final Battles....Pages 131-154 Beijing, and Triumph....Pages 155-179 Departures....Pages 181-188 Hindsight: And Aftermath....Pages 189-208 Back Matter....Pages 209-244 Harry Gelber. Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-235) and index.