Creating the Opium War: British imperial attitudes towards China, 1792–1840 (Studies in Imperialism, 175)

"Creating the Opium War examines British imperial attitudes towards China during their early encounters from the Macartney embassy to the outbreak of the Opium War - a deeply consequential event which arguably reshaped relations between China and the West in the next century. It makes the first attempt to bring together the political history of Sino-western relations and the cultural studies of British representations of China, as a new way of explaining the origins of the conflict. The book focuses on a crucial period (1792-1840), which scholars such as Kitson and Markley have recently compared in importance to that of American and French Revolutions. By examining a wealth of primary materials, some in more detail than ever before, this study reveals how the idea of war against China was created out of changing British perceptions of the country."-- Provided by publisher Examines British imperial attitudes towards China during their early encounters. It brings together the political history of Sino-western relations and cultural studies of British representations of China, as a new way of understanding the origins of the Opium War. The book shows that throughout this period, Britain harboured increasingly hostile feelings towards China, but at the same time, British opinion-formers and decision-makers disagreed with each other on fundamental matters such as whether to adopt a pacific or aggressive policy towards the Qing and the disposition of the Chinese emperor Front matter 1 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 12 PART I: The embassies 30 The Macartney embassy 32 The Amherst embassy 62 PART II: Prelude to the Opium War 104 The EIC versus free traders 106 ‘Show of force’ 133 Justifying the Opium War 156 Conclusion 191 Bibliography 196 Index 215 This book explores British imperial attitudes towards China during their early encounters from 1792 to 1840. -- .