Second Opium War

The Second Opium War, also called the Second Anglo-Chinese War or the Arrow War, was a conflict from 1856 to 1860 between the United Kingdom and France on one side and the Qing dynasty of China on the other. It was the second major clash in the Opium Wars, centering on the right to bring opium into China. The Qing suffered another defeat and were forced to make the opium trade legal. Many Chinese officials began to see these clashes with Western powers not as traditional wars but as signs of a deepening national emergency.

The war started on 8 October 1856, when Qing officials seized the *Arrow*, a British-registered cargo ship, and arrested its Chinese crew. British consul Harry Parkes protested, and Viceroy Ye Mingchen returned most of the sailors on 22 October but kept the rest. The next day, British gunboats shelled Canton. The British government decided to demand redress and sent a naval force under Michael Seymour. France joined, citing the murder of a French missionary in China. In December 1857, British and French forces stormed Canton, capturing Ye and forcing the governor of Guangdong to surrender. The allies then moved north to press for a treaty. On 20 May 1858, they took the Taku Forts, stormed Tianjin, and threatened Beijing. The Qing sought peace and signed the Treaty of Tientsin with Britain and France in 1858.

The Xianfeng Emperor refused to ratify the treaty, and Qing general Sengge Rinchen resumed the war that month. Allied reinforcements sailed from Hong Kong and defeated his troops. As the allies advanced on Beijing, Parkes and several British and French officers were taken hostage; some were tortured or killed. In response, Lord Elgin ordered his soldiers to loot and burn the Old Summer Palace after capturing Beijing. The emperor fled to Rehe, while Prince Gong stayed to negotiate. He signed the Convention of Peking with the allies on 24 October 1860, ratifying the Treaty of Tientsin and ending the war.

During and after the conflict, the Qing government also signed treaties with Russia, including the Treaty of Aigun and the Convention of Peking. As a result, China gave up more than 1.5 million square kilometers of territory to Russia in the northeast and northwest. With the war over, the Qing could focus on suppressing the Taiping Rebellion and maintaining control. The Convention of Peking also ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to Britain as part of Hong Kong.

The war is referred to as the “Second Opium War” because one of Britain’s goals was to legalize the opium trade. China’s defeat opened the entire country to British merchants and exempted foreign imports from internal transit duties. The name “Arrow War” comes from the vessel whose seizure sparked the conflict.

The war followed the First Opium War. The 1842 Treaty of Nanking had given Britain an indemnity, extraterritoriality, five treaty ports, and Hong Kong Island. But it did not satisfy British aims for better trade and diplomacy, leading to this second war. In China, the First Opium War is seen as the start of modern Chinese history. Between the wars, repeated attacks on British subjects led to the 1847 Expedition to Canton, which assaulted and captured the Bocca Tigris forts, spiking 879 guns.

In the 1850s, Western imperialism grew rapidly. Shared goals included expanding overseas markets and establishing new ports. The French Treaty of Huangpu and the American Wangxia Treaty both allowed renegotiation after 12 years. Using its most-favored-nation status, Britain demanded renegotiation of the Treaty of Nanjing. British demands included opening all of China to British merchants, legalizing the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppressing piracy, regulating the coolie trade, allowing a British ambassador in Beijing, and making the English version of treaties take precedence over the Chinese one.

To give Chinese merchant ships near treaty ports the same privileges as British vessels, British authorities granted them Hong Kong registration. In October 1856, Chinese marines in Canton seized the *Arrow* on suspicion of piracy, arresting twelve of its fourteen Chinese crew members. The *Arrow* had been used by pirates, captured by the Chinese government, and resold. It was registered as a British ship and flew the British flag at the time of its detention, though its registration had expired. Its captain, Thomas Kennedy, who was on a nearby vessel, reported seeing Chinese marines pull down the British flag. British consul Harry Parkes demanded the crew’s immediate release and an apology for the insult to the flag. Ye Mingchen released nine crew members but kept the rest.