#322 - Opium War 7: The Throat of the Empire

The new envoy from London arrives at Qing's doorstep in August 1842 with a simple mandate: stop allowing Britain to be "humbugged" & finish the war Elliot started. What follows is the British Empire at its most efficient & brutal... and a treaty that, somehow, doesn't mention opium once... Time Period Covered: Aug. 1841–Aug. 1842 Major Historical Figures: The Qing Empire: The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850] Yijing, Imperial Commander [1793–1853] Qiying, Imperial Commissioner [1787–1858] Yilibu, Imperial Commissioner [1772–1843] Niu Jian, Governor-General of Liangjiang [1785–1858] Zhang Xi, intermediary [1840s] Yuqian, Zhejiang Imperial Commissioner [1841] The British Empire: Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901] Sir Henry Pottinger, Plenipotentiary to China [1789–1856] Sir Hugh Gough, Commander of British Land Forces [1779–1869] Admiral Sir William Parker, Commander-in-Chief, East India Station [1781–1866] Captain William Hutcheon "Nemesis" Hall, HMS Nemesis [c. 1797–1878] Captain Henry Keppel, HMS Dido [1809–1904] Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff, Prussian missionary & Civil Magistrate of Ningbo [1803–1851] Colonel George Mountain [1789–1863] Harry Smith Parkes, attaché to Pottinger's staff [1828–1885] Major Sources Cited: Fay, Peter Ward. The Opium War, 1840–1842. Wakeman, Frederic Jr. "The Canton Trade and the Opium War" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Lovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom.