Amherst Mission
The Amherst mission was one in 1816 by Prince Regent Georg (IV.) On behalf of his father, King Georg III. , sent British embassy to the Chinese Empire .
The Amherst Mission, which was highly hoped, was the first attempt by Great Britain since the debacle of the Macartney Mission of 1792/93 to establish regular trade relations with the Empire of China. However, it was already under a bad star because the head of the embassy, William Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst , previously refused to perform the kowtowing in front of a dragon figure (symbol of the emperor) (in return he had demanded that a mandarin kneels down in front of a portrait of George III, which was refused. Amherst's suggestion that every Chinese ambassador should kneel down in the same way before King George III was also rejected as impossible). The mission finally failed because, after his arrival in Beijing, Amherst did not attend an immediate audience with Emperor Jiaqing in traveling clothes, probably out of exhaustion (in fact, he first cited fatigue, then illness as an excuse). Jiaqing then sent his court doctor to Amherst, who then reported to the emperor that Amherst was only simulating. Angry about this, the Emperor refused an audience and had the embassy expelled from the city. Without having achieved anything, Amherst finally returned to England via Guangdong .