First Opium War
- Period
- September 1839 – August 1842
- Sides
- Britain vs Qing China
- Battles
- 19
The First Opium War, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and Qing China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from mainly British merchants at Guangzhou and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite the opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China.
Sources: Wikipedia — First Opium War · CC BY-SA 4.0
Battles 19
September 1839
Battle of Kowloon
The Battle of Kowloon was a skirmish between British and Chinese vessels off the Kowloon Peninsula, China, on 4 September 1839, located in Hong Kong, although Kowloon was then part of Guangdong province. The skirmish was the first armed conflict of the First Opium War and occurred when British boats opened fire on Chinese war junks enforcing a food sales embargo on the British community. The ban was ordered after a Chinese man died in a brawl with drunk British sailors at Tsim Sha Tsui. The Chinese authorities did not consider the punishment that was meted out by British officials to be sufficient, so they suspended food supplies in an attempt to force the British to turn over the culprit.
November 1839
Battle of Chuenpi
The First Battle of Chuenpi was a relatively minor naval engagement fought between British and Chinese ships at the entrance of the Humen strait (Bogue), Guangdong province, China, on 3 November 1839 near the beginning of the First Opium War. The battle began when the British frigates HMS Hyacinth and HMS Volage opened fire on Chinese ships they perceived as being hostile.
July 1840
Capture of Chusan
The First Capture of Chusan by British forces in China occurred on 5–6 July 1840 during the First Opium War. The British captured Chusan (Zhoushan), the largest island of an archipelago of that name.
August 1840
Battle of the Barrier
The Battle of the Barrier was fought between British and Chinese forces at the boundary separating Macao from mainland China on 19 August 1840 during the First Opium War. Located in modern-day Portas do Cerco, the Macao Peninsula was connected to Xiangshan Island by a narrow isthmus about 100 m (330 ft) wide and 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long. A wall called the Barrier was built across the isthmus in 1573, and it served as Macao's border.
January 1841
Second Battle of Chuenpi
The Second Battle of Chuenpi was fought between British and Chinese forces in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong, China, on 7 January 1841 during the First Opium War. The British launched an amphibious attack at the Humen strait (Bogue), capturing the forts on the islands of Chuenpi and Taikoktow. Subsequent negotiations between British Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot and Chinese Imperial Commissioner Qishan resulted in the Convention of Chuenpi on 20 January. As one of the terms of the agreement, Elliot announced the cession of Hong Kong Island to the British Empire, after which the British took formal possession of the island on 26 January, which lasted for over 156 years of British colonial rule in Hong Kong until it was handed over back to China in 1997 by midnight.
February 1841
Battle of the Bogue
The Battle of the Bogue was fought between British and Chinese forces in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong province, China, on 23–26 February 1841 during the First Opium War. The British launched an amphibious attack at the Humen strait (Bogue), capturing the forts on the islands of Anunghoy and North Wangtong. This allowed the fleet to proceed further up the Pearl River towards the city of Canton (Guangzhou), which they captured the following month.
February 1841
Battle of First Bar
The Battle of First Bar was fought between British and Chinese forces at First Bar Island and its surrounding area in the Pearl River, Guangdong province, China, on 27 February 1841 during the First Opium War.
March 1841
Battle of Canton (March 1841)
The First Battle of Canton was fought between British and Chinese forces in Canton, Guangdong Province, China, on 18 March 1841 during the First Opium War. The capture led to the hoisting of the Union Jack on the British factory in Canton and the resumption of trade between the British and the Chinese.
March 1841
Battle of Whampoa
The Battle of Whampoa was fought between British and Chinese forces at Whampoa Island on the Pearl River near the city of Canton (Guangzhou), Guangdong, China, on 2 March 1841 during the First Opium War.
May 1841
Battle of Canton (May 1841)
The Second Battle of Canton was fought between British and Chinese forces in Canton (Guangzhou), Guangdong province, China, in May 1841 during the First Opium War.
May 1841
Sanyuanli incident
The Sanyuanli incident was a military conflict between British troops and an irregular force made up of Chinese militia and local citizens that took place around Sanyuanli village on the outskirts of Canton on the 29 May 1841 after the Second Battle of Canton at the time of the First Opium War (1839–1842). Though it was a minor skirmish, in the centuries that followed the incident took on legendary proportions among the Chinese public. The Chinese government has erected several monuments to commemorate the legacy of the incident.
August 1841
Battle of Amoy
The Battle of Amoy was fought between British and Qing forces at Amoy on Xiamen Island, Fujian, in the Qing Empire on 26 August 1841 during the First Opium War. The British captured the forts at Xiamen and on nearby Gulangyu Island.
September 1841 – October 1841
Capture of Chusan (1841)
The second capture of Chusan occurred on 1 October 1841 during the First Opium War when British forces captured the city of Dinghai, capital of the Chusan (Zhoushan) islands off the east Chinese coast.
October 1841
Battle of Chinhai
The Battle of Chinhai was fought between British and Chinese forces in Chinhai (Zhenhai), Zhejiang province, China, on the 10 October 1841 during the First Opium War. The Chinese force consisted of a garrison of Manchu and Mongol Bannermen. The British capture of this city allowed them to seize Ningbo unopposed on 13 October.
March 1842
Battle of Ningpo
The Battle of Ningpo was an unsuccessful Chinese attempt to recapture the British-occupied city of Ningbo (Ningpo) during the First Opium War. British forces had bloodlessly captured the city after their victory at Chinhai, and a Chinese force under the command of Prince Yijing was sent to recapture the city but was repulsed, suffering heavy casualties. The British eventually withdrew from the city the following spring.
March 1842
Battle of Tzeki
The Battle of Tzeki, Cixi, or Tsz'kí was fought between British and Chinese forces in Tzeki (Cixi), Zhejiang province, China on 15 March 1842 during the First Opium War.
May 1842
Battle of Chapu
The Battle of Chapu was fought between British and Qing forces at Chapu on the northern shore of Hangzhou Bay during the First Opium War.
June 1842
Battle of Woosung
The Battle of Wusong (Woosung) (Chinese: 吳淞戰役) was fought between British and Chinese forces at the entrance of the Wusong River (present-day Huangpu River), Jiangsu province, China, on 16 June 1842, during the First Opium War. The British capture of the towns of Woosung (now Wusong) and Baoshan opened the way to Shanghai, which was captured with little resistance on 19 June.
July 1842
Battle of Chinkiang
The Battle of Chinkiang was fought between British and Chinese forces in Zhenjiang (Chinkiang), Jiangsu province, China, on 21 July 1842 during the First Opium War. It was the last major battle of the war. The Chinese force consisted of a garrison of Manchu and Mongol Bannermen. In command of the British forces was Sir Hugh Gough. Leading one brigade was future British field marshal Sir Colin Campbell. The British capture of this stronghold allowed them to proceed to Nanjing. Fought near the confluence of the Grand Canal and Yangtze River, the battle effectively blocked operation of the Caoyun system, a transport network vital for the movement of grain throughout the empire. As a result, the Daoguang Emperor decided to sue for peace and agreed to sign the Treaty of Nanking, which brought hostilities to an end. Mass suicide was committed by the Manchu Bannermen who were defending the city.
Earlier and later events nearby
- 1279Battle of Yamen
- 1757Qing restricts Western trade to Canton
- September 1839 – August 1842First Opium WarThis page
- 1934–1935Long March
- 1997Handover of Hong Kong
Who ruled this land
States that held this place in the historical borders data (Cliopatria). Years are approximate, as fine as the data's snapshots (every few years to a century). Tap to open the map for that year.
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- 300–250 BCMinyue
- 200–150 BCNanyue
- 100 BC – AD 1Han dynasty
- AD 25Xin dynasty
- AD 50–225Han dynasty
- AD 250–275Eastern Wu
- AD 300–425Jin dynasty
- AD 450–475Liu Song dynasty
- AD 500Southern Qi
- AD 525–550Liang dynasty
- AD 575Chen dynasty
- AD 600–625Sui dynasty
- AD 650–900Tang dynasty
- AD 925–975Southern Han
- 1000–1260Song dynasty
- 1280Mongol Empire
- 1300–1360Yuan dynasty