2nd China War

2nd China War
1856-60
Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns
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Location: China
Combatants:
East India Company	China
Result: British and French victory
Medals: 2nd China War Medal Clasps: Fatshan 1857, Canton 1857, Taku Forts 1858, Taku Forts 1860, Pekin 1860
Links:
Category: 2nd China War
Phases: First Campaign 1856
Second Campaign 1860

	See our interactive map of 2nd China War First Campaign 1856 locations and routes on Google Maps

	See our interactive map of 2nd China War Second Campaign 1860 locations and routes on Google Maps

Also known as the 2nd Opium War, the 2nd Anglo-Chinese War and The Arrow War.

Summary

In the 1850s the Western Powers sought to renegotiate their commercial treaties with China. The British wanted the opening of all China to merchants, legalization of the opium trade and exemption of import tariffs. The Qing Government refused and relations deteriorated when a Hong Kong vessel was boarded by the Chinese and there was an attempt to poison Europeans in Hong Kong. The French were drawn in following the execution of a missionary and the Russians and Americans also made representations. In the First Campaign British and French forces captured Canton and then took the Taku Forts outside Tianjin. There was a temporary end to hostilities in June 1858 with the Treaty of Tianjin which gave extensive rights to the Western Powers.

The Qing Government rejected the treaty and this led to a Second Campaign. In June 1859 Anglo-French forces tried unsuccessfully to take the Taku Forts. In the summer of 1860 a larger Anglo-French force from Shanghai landed north of Tianjin which they captured. The Battle of Pa-li-chao in September defeated the Chinese finally and the Summer Palace in Peking was destroyed. The Convention of Peking ratified the Treaty of Tianjin, the opium trade was legalized, China was opened to western merchants and Britain and France were paid a huge indemnity.

Biographies

Entries in the Dictionary of Indian Biography 1906:
Lord Elgin (1811-1863)
James Hope Grant (1808-1875)
Robert Napier (1810-1890)

Medals

Also see Medals and Medal Rolls

• The Second China War Medal northeastmedals.co.uk
• Details of the 3 volume China Medal Roll 1856-60 by K.J. Asplin Savannah Publications London 2004 from The Asplin Military History Resources. Includes Royal Navy including Indian Marine (Volume 1), British Army (Volume 2), and selected despatches of the Royal Navy and British Army during their presence in China during the years 1856-60 (Volume 3). Royal Navy (Volume 1) is described in this link.
  Available to buy through Amazon.co.uk from the FIBIS Shop: Royal Navy including Indian Marine, British Army, Despatches.
  It appears that these volumes should be available at the British Library (legal deposit requirement) but they do not appear in the British Library catalogue.

External Links

Opium Wars Wikipedia
2nd Opium War 1856-60 Wikipedia
Queen's Dragoon Guards in China 1860 www.qdg.org.uk

Historical Books on-line

Incidents in the China War of 1860 Henry Knollys 1875 (archive.org)
The Arrow War with China Charles Leavenworth 1901 (archive.org)
China War 1860 Letters and Journal by Maj-Gen G Allgood 1901 (archive.org)
Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India Vol VI Intelligence Branch Army HQ India 1911 Events in China from 1842-60 archive.org
Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India Vol VI Intelligence Branch Army HQ India 1911 Scene of Operations 1860 archive.org
Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution Volume 2 1861 The Royal Artillery at Canton 1857 Google Books
History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I by Maj-Gen Whitworth Porter 1889 The China War 1857-60 archive.org
China despatches page 2656 Bulletins and other State Intelligence, 1860 Part 2 (published 1864), originally from The London Gazette 1860 Google Books
The Second China War page 91, The Royal Navy: a History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Volume VII by Wm. Laird Clowes 1903 Archive.org
The Indian Navy and the Expedition to China in 1860, page 528 History of the Indian Navy (1613-1863) Volume 2 by Charles Rathbone Low 1877 Archive.org