Conquest of Chusan (1840)
Conquest of Dinghai, the capital of Chusan Island
| date | July 5, 1840 to July 6, 1840 |
|---|---|
| place | Chusan Island , China |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 22 warships 27 transport ships 10 cannons 2 mortars 3600 infantry |
21 junks 2600 infantry 20 cannons |
| losses | |
|
1 wounded |
16 dead |
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During the Battle of Chusan , British troops captured the city of Dinghai on the island of Zhoushan on July 5, 1840 . The British occupied the city and initially kept it as a bargaining chip for negotiations with the Chinese Empire during the First Opium War .
background
During the First Opium War, the British government, represented by its General Representative Charles Elliot , tried to persuade the Qing government to hand over a permanent trading base. The first major target was the city of Dinghai on Zhoushan Island . The city had served as a trading port for Europeans until 1757 and was therefore known to the British. At the beginning of the war, the island's garrison consisted of around 2,600, of which around 1,600 were in Dinghai itself. The first target was determined on the basis of advice from the opium dealer William Jardine to Lord Palmerston . The British attack force against Dinghai consisted of 22 warships and 27 transport ships. The fleet carried 3,600 line infantry from Ireland , Scotland and India .
course
On June 30th, a Chinese naval patrol sighted the British fleet. However, the city commander assumed it would be opium smugglers and not a navy. On July 2nd, the British Fleet Association entered the port of Dinghai. Union commander James Bremer asked the senior official in Dinghai, District Magistrate Yao Huaixiang , to negotiate on his flagship HMS Wellesley . There he called for surrender to compensate for the damage caused by Lin Zexu . After the Chinese refused, the British fleet attacked on July 5, 1839.
Within a few minutes, the British warships destroyed the Chinese ships and coastal batteries with artillery fire. Under the protection of artillery fire, the British landed marines south of the city. The Chinese troops disbanded in the wake of the British attacks. There were no losses to report on the British side. A later investigation by officer Yuqian found 16 dead and 16 wounded among the city's defenders.
consequences
Charles Elliot installed the German missionary Karl Gützlaff, who knew Chinese, as governor in Dinghai. Elliot turned the British fleet north, hoping to get Emperor Daoguang to make concessions by blocking Hai He .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Julia Lovell: The Opium War. 2nd edition, London 2012, pp. 109-113
- ↑ a b Mao Haijian: The Qing Empire and the Opium War - The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty. Cambridge 2016, pp. 131-136
- ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Imperial Twilight - The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age. New York 2019, p. 412