1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910254784603321

Autore

Gelber Harry

Titolo

Battle for Beijing, 1858–1860 [[electronic resource] ] : Franco-British Conflict in China / / by Harry Gelber

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2016

ISBN

3-319-30584-0

Edizione

[1st ed. 2016.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XIII, 244 p. 1 illus. in color.)

Disciplina

951

Soggetti

China—History

Great Britain—History

France—History

Military history

History of China

History of Britain and Ireland

History of France

History of Military

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Prologue -- 2. The Opium Issue -- 3. The Canton problem -- 4. Tianjin -- 5. Recovery -- 6. Interlude in Shanghai -- 7. Dagu and Tianjin again. - 8. Final Battles -- 9. Beijing, and triumph -- 10. Departures -- 11. Hindsight – and Aftermath.

Sommario/riassunto

The ‘battle for Beijing’ is universally – and quite wrongly – believed to have been about opium. This book argues that it was about freedom to trade, Britain’s demands for diplomatic equality, and French demands for religious freedom in China. Both countries agreed that their armies, which repeatedly prevailed over Chinese ones that were numerically superior, would stay out of Beijing itself, but were infuriated by China’s imprisonment, torture and death of British, French and Indian negotiators. At the same time, the British and French also helped the empire to battle rebels and to pocket port and harbour dues. They steered carefully between their political and trading demands, and navigated the danger that undue stress would make China’s fragile



government and empire fall apart. If it did, there would be no one to make any kind of agreement with; much of East Asia would be in chaos and Russian power would soon expand. Battle for Beijing, 1858–1860 offers fresh insights into the reasons behind the actions and strategies of British authorities, both at home and in China, and the British and French military commanders. It goes against the widely accepted views surrounding the Franco-British conflict, proposing a bold new argument and perspective. .