Opium Wars
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Were two wars between Qing China and the Western powers. The first war was caused by the Chinese prohibition against opium trafficking by British merchants, and the conflicts took their name from this fact.
Chronology
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Was a war between Qing China and the British Empire whose immediate cause was the Chinese prohibition against opium trafficking by British merchants. At the end of the war Hong Kong Island (part of modern-day Hong Kong) was ceded to Britain.
October 1841: A British naval force bombarded and captured a fort on the outskirts of Ningbo.
July 1840: British forces captured Chusan.
June 1842: The mouth of the Huangpu River was captured by the British fleet.
May 1841: In 1841, during the First Opium War, British forces led by Captain Charles Elliot occupied Canton after the fighting subsided. This marked a significant moment in the conflict between Britain and China over trade and opium.
March 1842: When pursuing the retreating Chinese army after the Battle of Ningpo, the British captured the nearby city of Cixi on 15 March.
September 1841: The Qing army retook the city of Xiamen and restored order.
July 1842: Battle of Chinkiang.
May 1841: Following the capture of Canton, the British command and the governor-general of Canton agreed to a cease-fire in the region. Under the terms of the limited peace (later widely referred to as "The Ransom of Canton"), the British were paid to withdraw beyond the Bogue forts, an action they completed by 31 May.
March 1841: Battle of Whampoa.
October 1841: Chusan had been exchanged for Hong Kong on the authority of Qishan in January 1841, after which the island had been re-garrisoned by the Qing. Fearing that the Chinese would improve the island's defences, the British began a military invasion. The British attacked the Qing on 1 October. The battle of the Second Capture of Chusan ensued. The British forces killed 1500 Qing soldiers and captured Chusan.
May 1842: During the First Opium War, British forces led by Captain Charles Elliot captured the strategic port of Zhapu in 1842. This victory allowed Great Britain to establish military occupation in the area.
May 1841: On 25 May, and the British counter-attacked, taking the last four Qing forts above Canton and bombarding the city. The Qing army fled in panic when the city heights were taken, and the British pursued them into the countryside.
March 1841: British attacked Canton, taking the Thirteen Factories (the sole warehouses of Western trade in China at the time).
January 1841: In 1841, during the First Opium War, British forces led by Admiral Sir Hugh Gough and Captain Charles Elliot achieved a significant victory in the Second Battle of Chuenpi. The British fleet destroyed 11 Chinese junks and captured the Humen forts, solidifying their military occupation of the territory.
February 1841: Battle of First Bar.
October 1841: During the First Opium War, British forces led by Captain Charles Elliot captured Zhenhai in 1841, enabling them to take control of Ningpo without facing resistance. This military occupation was part of Britain's efforts to secure trading rights and expand their influence in China.
June 1842: After the Battle of Woosung, the British captured the towns of Wusong and Baoshan.
June 1842: During the First Opium War, British forces led by Captain Charles Elliot occupied the outskirts of Shanghai in 1842. This military occupation was part of the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded the territory to Great Britain.
August 1841: Battle of Amoy.
1.1.Convention of Chuenpi
Was an agreement between the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty during the First Opium War.
January 1841: In 1841, during the First Opium War, the forts in Chusan were restored to the Qing Dynasty on 21 January. The ceremony was conducted by Captain James Scott, who was serving as the temporary governor of the fort at Chuenpi.
January 1841: British Commodore Bremer took formal possession of Hong Kong.
1.2.Treaty of Nanking
Was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War.
June 1843: The Treaty of Nanking was a peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (Great Britain left the territories occupied in Qing China).
Was a war that saw the Qing Dynasty fighting against the French and British Empires.
August 1860: With 173 ships from Hong Kong, Anglo-French forces captured the port cities of Yantai and Dalian to seal the Bohai Gulf.
September 1860: Battle of Palikao.
November 1856: Humen conquered by great britain.
January 1857: In 1857, during the Second Opium War, the British forces returned to Hong Kong after the territory of Canton was ceded to the Qing Dynasty. This marked a significant event in the ongoing conflict between the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty over trade and territorial control in China.
November 1856: In Canton, China, a force of 287 sailors and marines under Commander Andrew H. Foote attacks and captures the barrier forts
May 1850: During the First Battle of Taku Forts on 20 May 1850, British forces led by Admiral Sir James Stirling successfully captured the forts in China. This was part of the larger conflict known as the Second Opium War, where Britain and France sought to expand their influence in the region.
October 1856: In 1856, during the Second Opium War, British forces led by Admiral Sir Michael Seymour bombarded Canton (now Guangzhou) in China. The city walls were breached, allowing British troops to enter and occupy the territory.
August 1860: Third Battle of Taku Forts.
December 1857: In 1857, during the Second Opium War, the British army under Lord Elgin and the French army under Jean-Baptiste Louis Gros jointly attacked and occupied Canton. This military action was part of the efforts by the two Western powers to exert pressure on the Qing Dynasty in China.
August 1860: French General Charles Cousin-Montauban and British Admiral Sir James Hope led their respective forces to capture Tianjin on 23 August as part of the Second Opium War.
November 1856: British forces captured the French Folly Fort.
September 1860: Battle of Zhangjiawan.
January 1857: Battle of Macao Fort.
2.1.Treaty of Aigun
On 28 May 1858, the treaty of Aigun was signed between China and Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River.
May 1858: On 28 May 1858, the Treaty of Aigun was signed by China and Russia to revise the border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River.
2.2.Four Treaties of Tientsin
In June 1858, the first part of the Second Opium War was ended with the four Treaties of Tientsin, which opened several Chinese ports to foreign trade.
July 1858: In June 1858, the first part of the Second Opium War ended with the four Treaties of Tientsin. The European powers and the U.S. evacuated most of the territories they had occupied in China.
2.3.Convention of Peking
Was an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire. It was signed at the end of the Second Opium War.
October 1860: In 1860, with the Treaty of Beijing, the Russians annexed the Pacific coast down to Vladivostok.
October 1860: After the Convention of Peking, France and Great Britain left most of the territories militarly occupied in China.
Selected Sources
Fredriksen, J.C. (2010): Chronology of American Military History - Volume 1, Facts On File, p.400
The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia, 1839–1844. Office of the Historian. Retrieved on 30 march 2024 on https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/china-1
