Battle of Canton (1857) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Canton (1857) |
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| Part of Second Opium War | |||||||
 The English army enters a yamun |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom France |
.svg){kind=small} Qing Dynasty |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Michael Seymour Charles Thomas van Straubenzee Charles Rigault de Genouilly |
Ye Mingchen | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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900 |
30,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 115 killed, 113 wounded |
200 killed (est.) | ||||||
The Battle of Canton happened from December 28, 1857, to January 1, 1858. It was an important fight during the Second Opium War. In this battle, the armies of France and the United Kingdom attacked the Chinese city of Canton. The city was taken over by the Europeans on January 1, 1858.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
The Second Opium War was a big fight between England and China. Other countries like Russia, the United States, and France also helped England. The war started because of an event called the "Arrow incident." England used this event as a reason to begin the war. Sometimes, the Second Opium War is also called the "Arrow War."
England had several main goals for this war. They wanted to:
- Make trading opium legal.
- Make the "coolie" trade bigger. (Coolies were workers from China who went to other countries.)
- Open all of China for merchants (people who buy and sell goods).
- Stop taxes on goods like tea and silk.
In 1856, the Qing dynasty (China's ruling family at the time) only allowed foreign merchants to trade in certain cities. Goods like tea and silk had to be sent to these trade cities. They were taxed along the way. England did not want to pay these extra taxes for shipping things across China.
Another reason for the war was that a French missionary (a religious person) named August Chapdelaine was killed in China. This made France very angry. So, France decided to join England in fighting China.
On October 8, 1856, Chinese officials arrested 12 sailors from a ship called the Arrow. The Chinese thought the Arrow was illegally moving salt. The Arrow was owned by Chinese people, but it was registered with the British. Harry Smith Parkes was the British leader in Canton. He sent a letter to the Chinese governor, Ye Mingchen. Ye said the Arrow was a Chinese ship. He believed Parkes and the British had no right to get involved.
Ye offered to give back the arrested sailors. But Parkes said no. Parkes demanded an apology for what he saw as an insult. Ye replied that no apology was needed because there was no insult. The British then decided that a past agreement, the Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, had been broken. On October 27, 1856, the British Royal Navy attacked Canton.
First Battle of Canton (1856)
The first battle of Canton began on October 23, 1856. Three English warships sailed into the Bocca Tigris. This was the waterway leading to Canton. The English captured the forts that protected the city. Ye Mingchen saw the warships. But he did not want to fight them. He moved his navy away from the English ships.
On October 25, the English navy surrounded the city. Ye ordered that all trade with the English must stop.
Admiral Michael Seymour, the leader of the British navy, sent Ye a message on October 27. Seymour demanded that the English be allowed to enter Canton. Before this, foreigners could not go into the city itself. They had to do business in the areas outside the city or in the harbor. Ye did not answer. Seymour then ordered his ships to shoot at the government offices. Ye announced that he would pay 30 pieces of silver for every English person killed.
Ye still had not answered by October 28. The English cannons attacked and destroyed the southern wall of Canton. English soldiers then entered Ye's office, called a yamun. The soldiers wanted to capture Ye, but they could not find him. The English stayed in Canton for a short time. But they had to leave because they did not have enough soldiers or supplies to control the city for long.
The Main Battle of Canton
When the news reached London, the English government had a big debate. They argued about whether to go to war against China. A vote was held, and the idea to go to war was rejected. But the English prime minister, Palmerston, ended the House of Commons and started a new election. His political party won the election. So, the plan to go to war was approved. The English government told Lord Elgin to be a new diplomat (a person who talks for their country) with China.
At the same time, the French government said that their church members had been killed by the Chinese government. The French leader had often been refused by China. So, France joined the English government and sent armies. The English and French armies decided to work together. They formed an alliance.
In the middle of October 1857, the English army leaders made a plan to invade China. They decided to attack Canton in the south of China first. Then, they would move north and keep going towards Beijing.
Before they left, the Russian diplomat told them that just taking Canton would not make the Qing dynasty give up. He said the best way to make them surrender was to go straight to Beijing. However, the English and French armies stuck with their first plan to attack Canton. Lord Elgin talked with Seymour and the other generals about their plan. They were sure they could take Canton.
In November, the English successfully stopped a rebellion in India. This meant they had enough soldiers to send to China. The combined English and French army prepared 10,000 soldiers. For their navy, the English had 43 warships, and the French had 10 ships.
On December 10, 1857, Canton was blocked. On December 12, the combined army gave their final warning to Ye Mingchen. They made several demands:
- They wanted permission to enter the city of Canton.
- They wanted money to make up for the Arrow incident and the killing of the French missionary.
- They wanted the Qing government to send a new diplomat to talk about a new agreement.
On December 14, Ye refused all their demands. After 12 days, the English and French leaders said their army was now free to do what they wanted. At the same time, the English naval leader sent messages to Ye. This time, he demanded that the Qing army move 90 miles away from Canton within two days. In the end, Ye still refused. Over those two days, nothing happened.
On December 27, the day before the battle, Ye sent messages to his king, the Xianfeng Emperor. He did not tell the emperor the truth about what was happening. In his letter, he said that the English had started to ask for peace. He also said they only wanted to trade with China. Ye wrote:
英夷現已求和，計日準可通商
Translation: The English foreigners are now begging us for peace, trading should be allowed to start again soon.
On December 28, the war began. The combined army sent about 5,500 English soldiers, 700 French soldiers, and 20 warships. They landed near Canton and moved towards the city. The combined army started shooting at the governor's office (Ye's workplace). The Qing army moved back. But Ye was still sitting in his office, reading a newspaper.
Canton Falls
On December 29, the government office was finally destroyed by gunfire. The wall of Canton was also broken during the war. Around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, the battle ended. The English and French armies won and took over Canton. Only 15 soldiers from their side were hurt or killed.
On January 5, after Canton was taken, Ye Mingchen did not want to leave. He was caught in his office by the English army. The English took Ye on their ship to Kolkata, India.
Images for kids
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Plan of the attack and bombardment of Canton
See also
In Spanish: Batalla de Cantón (1857) para niños
