Lord Palmerston and the Opium War
Channel: The Chinese Revolution
Date: 2024-01-06

Lin Zexu destroys over 20,000 chests of British opium.  Lord Palmerston makes demands of China and sends warships in spite of reluctance at home. Opposition to a war with China is debated in Parliament and Lord Palmerston hides his plans from Parliament.

 The British attack Xiamen and seize Zhoushan Island. 

The Daoguang Emperor of the Qing Dynasty receives Lord Palmerston's letter and replaces Lin Zexu.  The Qing Empire would respond diplomatically to the British and receive Lord Palmerston's letter of demands.

The opium merchants Jardine and Matheson lobby Lord Palmerston for intervention, which became the Opium War.  Lord Palmerston is not yet British Prime Minster.

This is a key moment in the history of China and was part of the decline of China which accelerated from 1830-1840.  This is the first Opium War.

British frigates, including early steam powered vessels, faced off against Chinese junks.  This was the British - China opium war.

This is episode 6 of the Chinese Revolution series and Part II of the Opium War series.  It is associated with the Chinese Revolution podcast.

For the text of Lord Palmerston's letter to the Daoguang Emperor, see: 
https://open.substack.com/pub/chineserevolution/p/lord-palmerston-and-the-opium-war?r=37jasi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true 

A zoomable map of the key sites of the Opium War can be found here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1avTI5eEAq5yBQoW4ZFg7FnUmEM6Og_c&ll=30.592153493823577%2C113.64500974999999&z=4