Arrow War (1856-1860)

The Opium Wars was the two trade wars fought in 1839-1842 and 1856 – 1860 (also known as Arrow War) between China and the Western powers as the result of China’s attempt to curb opium smuggling.

Although China was forced to concede many of its territorial and sovereign rights in the years following the First Opium War, the Western imperial powers also had to face rising anti-foreign sentiment, as many Chinese believed that uncultured barbarians should be excluded from the Middle Kingdom.

In this tense atmosphere in Guangzhou, Chinese policemen boarded the Arrow, a Chinese ship registered in Hong Kong under a British flag on October 8, 1856, and arrested 12 crewmen. The police accused suspected the crewmen of piracy and smuggling.

In the effort to arrest the crew members, the British flag, flown by the vessel because it was registered in Hong Kong, was torn.

Eager to gain more trading rights, the British used the incident to launch another offensive, precipitating the Second Opium War. The incident was immediately seized upon by Harry Parkes, the British consul in Guangzhou who wanted to legalize the opium and expand trade in China yet was frustrated by Cantonese opposition.

Parkes demanded that the Qing dynasty release the Arrow’s crew and apologize for the insult to the British flag. When Ye Mingchen, the viceroy of Liangguang released the Chinese crewmen but refused to apologize, Parkes had a fleet bombard Guangzhou.

The Chinese responded by burning foreign-owned factories and businesses in Canton. Meanwhile, a French priest was murdered in Canton.

Britain, joined by France, launched two punitive expeditions. The British parliament sent an expedition under James Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, to defend its honor. Meanwhile, France also dispatched it fleet under Baron Gros to China.

The Anglo-French force fought its way to Guangzhou and captured Ye Mingchen by the end of 1857.

Beijing was occupied in 1860, forcing the Imperial Court to stop resistance. The Arrow War ended with the acceptance and ratification of the Convention of Peking by the emperor in 1860. Under the terms of the Convention of Peking, China ceded Kowloon peninsula to the British in Hong Kong. The opium trade continued uninterrupted.
Arrow War (1856-1860)