Singapore and the Opium wars Flashcards
In Britain what Chinese goods were in high demand?
Initially were trading conditions with China good for Britain? (Hongs?) (Canton?)
What was the only way Britain could reach China? What was the issue with this? (Dutch?)
What form of economic policy did the Dutch operate under?
-Tea and Silk.
-NO. Trading conditions in China weren’t good. Trade was only allowed with the guild of merchants called ‘Hongs’ and inside the merchants’ quarter of Canton.
-Reaching China was only possible through the Dutch-controlled Straits of Malacca where British ships were charged high fees for use of Dutch ports and piracy was common.
-Protectionist policy.
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Who was Sir Stamford Ruffles? What did he obtain permission from his superiors to do?
Which port did he locate in 1819 and establish treaties with local rulers at?
What were the issues regarding the legality of his actions?
What secured the future of Singapore ? (% after 5 years?)
What year did Britain negotiate with the Dutch to keep Singapore? What did they forfeit in the process?
-Sir Stamford Raffles was an East India Company official.
-He sought permission to establish a trading base in South East Asia to undermine the Dutch.
-He located the small port of Singapore in 1819 and established a treaty with the local rulers.
-The legal ground for this was shaky: parliament was not aware of its new territory and the Dutch were furious. Britain assured the Dutch that Raffles was acting alone.
-The future of Singapore was secured by its massive growth as trade grew by 2700% in five years.
-Britain negotiated with the Dutch to keep Singapore in the 1824 treaty and ceded other territory.
What type of port was Singapore? What could any ship do because of this?
How did this draw merchants from Malay Archipelago? Why did this further add to the growth?
How did this remove the previous barriers placed on trade from other nations?
Which PM who revolutionised economic policy in the mid 19th century was influenced by this?
What was special about Singapore for the journey’s of individual ships?
What did this enable Chinese ships destined for Britain to do? European ships destined for China?
What was soon created in Singapore as a result of this?
-Singapore was a free trading entrepot where any ship could dock without being taxed.
-Tax-free status drew merchants from the Malay Archipelago and goods all over South-East Asia flooded the city.
-It became important as ships going to Britain could take on Chinese goods without having to deal with China and spices without docking at expensive Dutch ports.
-The boom as a result of free trade was noted by young free traders like Robert Peel.
-A key aspect of Singapore’s growth was that individual ships no longer needed to complete the whole journey to the destination port of their goods.
-Chinese ships destined for Britain could offload goods at Singapore in exchange for textiles, guns and opium. Ships from Europe could take Chinese goods without needing to visit China.
-This new trade led to the creation of merchant houses with their own docks for loading and unloading cargo, and warehouses for storing it.
Did Singapore solve all the problems with trade in China for Britain?
How did Britain initially try to solve the issue?
What was Britain forced to use in order for legal trade with China? What effect did this have on trade?
What did Britain begin trading instead which was illegal but easily grown in India?
When did the Company’s monopoly expire? What impact did this have on trade?
-NO. Singapore didn’t solve all the problems in trade with China as the strict rules continued for traders who still had to go there.
-Diplomatic missions to secure changes had continuously failed.
-British demand for Chinese products kept growing and Britain had to use silver bullion to trade goods
-This caused a negative balance of trade.
-The East India Company began to switch to trading opium which could be grown easily in India. This was illegal but merchants were willing to smuggle it in.
-The Company’s monopoly expired in 1833 so trade increased even further to keep the Company afloat financially.
-By the 1830s how many Chinese citizens were addicted to Opium?
How many Opium chests were smuggled in by 1838?
What did the Chinese Emperor do in an attempt to solve the issue in 1839? What was the result? (How much burned?)
What did Britain send the Chinese Emperor as a result? Traders?
How was PM Lord Palmerston known for settling disputes? What was this called?
What significant port did Britain capture during the forst Opium war?
How many guns did the British use during this capture? Minutes?
What were the casualities for each side?
-12 million Chinese were addicted.
-40,000 opium chests were smuggled by 1838.
-The Emperor sent a commissioner to Canton to enforce a ban on the trade.
-Merchants were blockaded at Canton and over 1,000 tonnes of opium were burned.
-Britain immediately responded with an ultimatum and compensated traders for their loss.
-PM Lord Palmerston was known for his use of the navy to settle disputes- this was ‘gunboat diplomacy’.
-Port Jinhal
-130 guns in 9 minutes.
-2,000 Chinese dead only 3 British.
Subsequent to the First Opium War what treaty was signed? What did it mean?(Hong Kong?)(Shanghai?) (Canton?) (British citizens?)
What was the most important port for the British in China followng the First Opium War? Why?
Although effectively self-governing what was Shanghai still under?
Did the Taipang rebellion (Third Opium war) affect trade in Shanghai?
-Treaty of Nanking. (1842)
-Hong Kong was also ceded as an entrepot.
-Ports like Shanghai was opened to trade.
-Restrictions were lifted at Canton.
-British citizens were given legal protections.
-Shanghai was the most important port, situated at the mouth of Yangtze River which British merchants could then use to trade in China’s interior.
-Shanghai was still Chinese sovereign territory but was effectively self-governing.
-The Taiping Rebellion escalated into a civil war in which up to 30 million Chinese died didn’t affect Shanghai and traders benefitted from selling arms.
After the first Opium war was there still resistance to its trade? What happened in 1856?
How did the British react? (How many warships?)
What did the second Treaty install?
-YES. In 1856, Chinese police seized a British private vessel and arrested the crew suspecting it of Opium trade.
-British reacted severely. The Hong Kong governor sent warships to destroy Chinese forts and bombard Canton, 32 warships battered the forts and neighbourhoods were burnt down.
-The second ‘Unequal treaty’ meant Britain was awarded £1 million indemnity, and opium was legalised.
Was there still issues with the Opium trade following the second Opium War?
Which group?
How many British soldiers did Major Gordon lead against the Chinese? French?
How many Chinese were slaughtered?
What was Gordon known as following this?
-YES. Another Chinese group (Taipang) resistant to the British wanted a compliant gov’t in Beijing and wanted to prohibit opium trade and restore Chinese authority.
-Major Gordon led another army (13,000 British 7,000 French).
-As many as 30,000 were slaughtered giving him the name ‘chinese’ Gordon.
