The Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China was a

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

from 1831 to 1865. Its naval area of responsibility was the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

and the coasts of China and its navigable rivers. The Commander-in-Chief was appointed in 1831; the appointment ceased to exist when it was separated into the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

and the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

in 1865. At the age of 67,

Charles Austen Rear Admiral Charles John Austen CB (23 June 1779 – 7 October 1852) was an officer in the Royal Navy and the youngest brother of novelist Jane Austen. He served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and beyond, eventually ...

was advanced to rear-admiral on 9 November 1846, and was appointed commander-in-chief for the East Indies and China on 14 January 1850, hoisting his flag the following day. He commanded the British expedition during the

Second Anglo-Burmese War The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( my, ဒုတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် မြန်မာ စစ် ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese Empire and British Em ...

but died of cholera at

Prome Pyay (, ; mnw, ပြန် , ; also known as Prome and Pyè) is principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Aye ...

on 7 October 1852, at the age of 73. On 30 April 1852 Austen had been thanked for his services in Burma by the

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

, The Marquess of Dalhousie, who subsequently also formally recorded his regret for Austen's death. In December 1852 Fleetwood Pellew returned to active service with his appointment as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China. His appointment caused some concern, with questions raised over the suitability of sending Pellew, considering his age and past background, and the unhealthy climate and tense diplomatic situation following the outbreak of the

. Pellew raised his flag aboard in April 1853, and by September 1854 he was off

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. Here he seems to have decided that he would not allow shore leave until the dangerous season for fevers and infections had passed, but neglected to make his reasoning known to his men. The crew were apparently in a mutinous mood, so Pellew ordered them to beat to quarters. When they refused, he sent the officers onto the lower deck to force them up at sword point. Several of the crew were wounded and the nascent mutiny was quashed. The news of these events was poorly received in Britain, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' included several leading articles drawing attention to the mutiny on the ''Winchester'', and the one on the ''Resistance'' many years before. Pellew was duly recalled by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

, never to serve at sea again. James Stirling's final command was as Commander-in-Chief, China and the East Indies, and his flag, as Rear Admiral of the White, was hoisted aboard ''Winchester'' on 11 May 1854. Shortly afterwards news arrived that war had been declared on Russia (the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

). Stirling was anxious to prevent Russian ships from sheltering in Japanese ports and menacing allied shipping and, after lengthy negotiations through the Nagasaki Magistrate, concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Japanese. In November 1854, with Hong Kong Governor

John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...

, Stirling led a fleet up the

Pearl River 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-a ...

to Canton to support the

Viceroy of Liangguang The Viceroy of Liangguang or Viceroy of the Two Guangs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The two ''Guang'' referred to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. The areas under the Viceroy's jurisdiction included pre ...

(modern day

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

and Guangxi)

Ye Mingchen Ye Mingchen (21 December 1807 – 9 April 1859) was a high-ranking Chinese official during the Qing dynasty, known for his resistance to British influence in Canton (Guangzhou) in the aftermath of the First Opium War and his role in the beginni ...

and his forces besieged by the

Tiandihui The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ...

army. The fleet carried weapons and ammunition, food and Qing reinforcements. In August 1855, during the

, ''Winchester'' and entered and first charted the waters of

Peter the Great Gulf The Peter the Great Gulf (Russian: Залив Петра Великого) is a gulf on the southern coast of Primorsky Krai, Russia, and the largest gulf of the Sea of Japan. The gulf extends for from the Russian-North Korean border at the mout ...

, while searching for the Russian squadron commanded by

Vasily Zavoyko Vasily Stepanovich Zavoyko (russian: link=no, Василий Степанович Завойко; 5 July 1809 – 16 February 1898) was an admiral in the Russian navy.tirlingwas recalled because he had failed in the primary naval duty of finding and destroying the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n squadron - partly, perhaps, because of his preoccupation with the self-imposed task of negotiating with Japan." For the Russian squadrons, see The First Pacific War: Britain and Russia, 1854-1856, John D. Grainger. Under Rear Admiral Michael Seymour's command after 1856, his ships were involved in operations arising from the attack on the British coaster ''Arrow''.Laughton, J. K. "Seymour, Sir Michael (1802–1887)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. . During the Second Opium War or "Arrow War," in China, Seymour commanded the Battle of the Bogue in November 1856, helped destroy the Chinese fleet in the

Battle of Fatshan Creek The Battle of Fatshan Creek (佛山水道之戰) was a naval engagement fought between the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and the Cantonese fleet of Qing China on 1 June 1857. Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equ ...

in June 1857, captured Canton in December, and in 1858 he captured the forts on the Baihe (Hai River), compelling the Chinese government to consent to the

Treaty of Tientsin The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin (then romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Second French Empire, United Kingdom, and t ...

Commanders-in-Chief

Commanders-in-Chief included:
= died in post *Vice Admiral John Gore (1831-1834) *Rear Admiral Thomas Capel (1834-1837) *Rear Admiral

Frederick Maitland General Frederick Maitland (3 September 1763 – 27 January 1848) was a British Army officer who fought during the American War of Independence, the Peninsular War and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Dominica. Life The youngest son ...

(1837-1839) *Rear Admiral

James Bremer Sir James John Gordon Bremer (26 September 1786 – 14 February 1850) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, First Anglo-Burmese War, and First Anglo-Chinese War. In China, he served twice as commander-in-chief of British ...

(January 1840-July 1840) *Rear Admiral George Elliot (July 1840-November 1840) *Rear Admiral

(November 1840-October 1841) *Rear Admiral William Parker (1841-1844) *Rear Admiral Thomas Cochrane (1844-1846) *Rear Admiral

Samuel Inglefield Rear Admiral Samuel Hood Inglefield CB (1783 – 24 February 1848) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander in-Chief, East Indies and China Station. Naval career The son of John Nicholson Inglefield, Inglefield joined the Royal Navy ...

(1846-1848) *Rear Admiral Francis Collier (1848-1849) *Rear Admiral

(1850-1852) *Rear Admiral Fleetwood Pellew (1852-1854) *Rear Admiral James Stirling (1854-1856) *Rear Admiral Michael Seymour (1856-1859) *Rear Admiral James Hope (1859-1862) *Rear Admiral Augustus Kuper (1862-1864) *Rear Admiral

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (18 ...

(1864-1865)

References

{{Royal Navy fleets Commanders-in-chief of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1831