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Battle Of Canton (May 1841)
The Second Battle of Canton () was fought between British and Chinese forces in Canton (Guangzhou), Guangdong province, China, in May 1841 during the First Opium War. Background Canton was the only port in China open to foreign countries, mostly European, for trade under the Canton System. In the early stages of this commerce the demand in foreign countries for commodities including tea, silk and porcelain greatly outweighed Chinese needs for foreign products, and thus a significant trade imbalance developed. This unequal situation ended in the late 18th century when opium was shipped into China from plantations in India owned by the British East India Company. The number of people using the drug in China grew rapidly, to the point that the trade imbalance shifted in the foreign countries' favor. In 1839 matters came to a head when Chinese official Lin Zexu tried to end the opium trade altogether by destroying a large amount of opium in Canton, thereby triggering the First Op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from merchants at Canton and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite the opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China. Opium was Britain's single most profitable commodity trade of the 19th century. After months of tensions between the two nations, the British navy launched an expedition in June 1840, which ultimately defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons by August 1842. The British then imposed the Treaty of Nanking, which forced China to increase foreign trade, give compensat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearl River (China)
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Xi ("West"), Bei ("North"), and Dong ("East") rivers of Guangdong. These rivers are all considered tributaries of the Pearl River because they share a common delta, the Pearl River Delta. Measured from the farthest reaches of the Xi River, the Pearl River system is China's third-longest river, after the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and second largest by volume, after the Yangtze. The Pearl River Basin () drains the majority of Liangguang (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces), as well as parts of Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi in China; it also drains northern parts of Vietnam's Northeast Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn provinces. As well as referring to the system as a whole, the Pearl River (Zhu J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States), killing most of the occupants inside. Santa Anna's refusal to take prisoners during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. Motivated by a desire for revenge, as well as their written desire to preserve a border open to immigration and the importation and practice of slavery, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the rebellion in favor of the newly formed Republic of Texas. Several months previously, Texians, who were primarily recent immigrants from USA, had killed or driven all Mexican troops out of Mexican Texas. About 100 Texians were then garrisoned at the Alamo. The Texian force grew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in the battle. It was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the majority of combat took place on the adjacent hill which later became known as Breed's Hill. On June 13, 1775, the leaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British were planning to send troops out from the city to fortify the unoccupied hills surrounding the city, which would give them control of Boston Harbor. In response, 1,200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. During the night, the colonists constructed a strong redoubt on Breed's Hill, as well as smaller fortified lines across the Charlestown Peninsula. By daybreak of June 17, the British became aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bocca Tigris
The Humen, also Bocca Tigris or Bogue, is a narrow strait in the Pearl River Delta that separates Shiziyang in the north and Lingdingyang in the south near Humen Town in China's Guangdong Province. It is the site of the Pearl River's discharge into the South China Sea. It contains the Port of Humen at Humen Town. The strait is formed by the islands of Chuenpi (, p ''Chuanbi'') and Anunghoy (, p ''Aniangxie''; also called , p ''Weiyuan'') on the eastern side, and Taikoktow (大角头, p ''Dajiaotou'') on the western side. Since 1997, the strait has been traversed by the Humen Pearl River Bridge. Bocca Tigris was the entry to China's only trading city, Kanton. Name The Latinate ' is derived from the Portuguese ', which is a calque of the Chinese and Cantonese name , literally meaning "The Tiger Gate".Taylor 1898, p. 70 The name ''Bogue'' is also a corruption of the Portuguese ''Boca''. The name comes from the impression given by Tiger Island, situat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scholar-official
The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and government officials appointed by the emperor of China to perform day-to-day political duties from the Han dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912, China's last imperial dynasty. After the Sui dynasty these officials mostly came from the scholar-gentry (紳士 ''shēnshì'') who had earned academic degrees (such as ''xiucai'', ''juren'', or ''jinshi'') by passing the imperial examinations. Scholar-officials were the elite class of imperial China. They were highly educated, especially in literature and the arts, including calligraphy and Confucian texts. They dominated the government administration and local life of China until the early 20th century. Origins and formations Origins of ''Shi'' (士) and ''Da fu'' (大夫) as a concept and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Elliot
Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China. He was a key founder in the establishment of Hong Kong as a British colony.Endacott 2005, p. 1 Born in Dresden, Saxony, Elliot joined the Royal Navy in 1815 and served as a midshipman in the bombardment of Algiers against Barbary pirates the following year. After serving in the East Indies Station for four years, he joined the Home Station in 1820. He joined the West Africa Squadron and became a lieutenant in 1822. After serving in the West Indies Station, he was promoted to captain in 1828. He met Clara Windsor in Haiti and they married in 1828. After retiring from active naval service, Elliot followed a career in the Foreign Office. From 1830 to 1833, he was Protector of Slaves in Guiana. In 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Perring Thoms
Peter Perring Thoms (1791 – December 1855) was an English printer and Chinese language translator based in Canton (Guangzhou) and Macau, China. Biography Thomas was born in Exeter, Devon, around 1791. ''Morrison's Chinese Dictionary'' Thoms arrived in Macau on 2 September 1814. He brought with him a European press, movable type, blanks and other printing requisites from London at the East India Company's expense to assist in the printing of Robert Morrison's ''A Dictionary of the Chinese Language'', which contained the largest number of Chinese characters printed to date alongside extensive English text. p. 36 For the task, Thoms employed Chinese assistants to cut partial Chinese fonts using tin alloy. Volume I of the dictionary went to print in 1815, 1822 and 1823 followed by Volumes II and III in 1820 and 1822 respectively. According to Morrison writing in the preface to Volume I of the dictionary, Thoms had to work largely alone, serving as compositor, pressman, reader ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Fang (General)
Yang Fang (17701846) was a Han Chinese general and diplomat during the Qing dynasty (16441911). Born in Songtao, Guizhou Province (modern day Songtao Miao Autonomous County), he joined the military as a young man and became a secretary, where he came to the attention of General Yang Yuchun (/ 17601837), who recommended him for military school. Career After completing his military training, Yang was involved in the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion (17941804). In 1826, the sixth year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, Yang joined an army that marched north to Xinjiang to suppress a rebellion led by Altishahri warlord Jahangir Khoja. For his outstanding service during the mission he was rewarded with the title of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent (''Tàizǐ Tàifù'', ). Promotions piled up and by 1839 Yang had held titles including Military Commander of Guangdong and Guangxi as well as Governor-general of Gansu, Zhili, Hunan and Sichuan. When the First Opium War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eight Banners
The Eight Banners (in Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of all of Manchu society. Created in the early 17th century by Nurhaci, the banner armies played an instrumental role in his unification of the fragmented Jurchen people (who would later be renamed the "Manchu" under Nurhaci's son Hong Taiji) and in the Qing dynasty's conquest of the Ming dynasty. As Mongol and Han forces were incorporated into the growing Qing military establishment, the Mongol Eight Banners and Han Eight Banners were created alongside the original Manchu banners. The banner armies were considered the elite forces of the Qing military, while the remainder of imperial troops were incorporated into the vast Green Standard Army. Membership in the banners became he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments. History Formation to 1799 Artillery was used by the English army as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, while Henry VIII established it as a semi-permanent function in the 16th century. Until the early 18th century, the majority of British regiments were raised for specific campaigns and disbanded on completion. An exception were gunners based at the Tower of London, Portsmouth and other forts around Britain, who were controlled by the Ordnance Office and stored and maintained equipment and provided personnel for field artillery 'traynes' that were organised as needed. These personnel, responsible in peacetime for maintaining the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
