Event background
Guangzhou's entry into town
The Opium War ended in the failure of China, and the most difficult event after the war was the right of the British to enter Guangzhou. Among the five ports, except Guangzhou, all other ports are open to foreigners for trade, residence and consular posts on schedule: Shanghai opened in June 1843, Ningbo opened in February 1848, and Fuzhou and Xiamen opened in June 1844. However, the residents of Guangzhou stubbornly refused to let the British enter the city and only agreed to live in the original business district. Residents believe that although the treaty stipulates the opening of Guangzhou, it does not clearly stipulate that foreigners can live in this city. The treaty does not explicitly stipulate this, but the residents of the other four open ports have no objection to the right of the British to enter their walls. In fact, foreigners in Shanghai are allowed to enter the city, and when they find that the sanitary conditions and housing conditions are not ideal, they automatically withdraw to settle outside the city. But in Guangzhou, the more British people encounter * * *, the more they insist on the right to enter the city. The local people are unwilling to give in, and regard the British entering the city as an insult to their city, so "Guangzhou entering the city" has become a controversial focus.
Historically, Guangzhou has always been famous for its conflicts with foreigners: it is said that there were killings in the Middle Ages. During the Opium War, people in Guangzhou suffered more humiliation from the British than those in any other city. Guangzhou 184 1 redemption. During the post-war period, Guangzhou encountered the dilemma that part of its foreign trade business was taken away by Shanghai, because Shanghai was closer to the origin of tea silk. Guangzhou's tea exports decreased from 69 million pounds in 1844 to 27 million pounds in 1860; In the same period, Shanghai's export volume increased from 654.38+0,654.38+0 million pounds to 53 million pounds. Guangzhou's raw silk exports decreased from 6787 CTN in 1845 to10.200 CTN in 1847; During the same period, the export of raw silk in Shanghai increased from 6433 to 2 1, 176. The decline of Guangzhou's trade has damaged the livelihood of local people, so they vent their dissatisfaction on the largest number of foreign businessmen and British people. This general discontent was organized and led by local gentry, and was equipped with weapons given to Xiang Yong by Lin Zexu during the Opium War, so it became a considerable force.
As an imperial envoy and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ying was always caught between the rising demand of the British for entering the city and the stubbornness of the gentry in Guangzhou. Old citizens know China's treaty obligations, but locals may not. 1846 65438+ 10, he boldly announced the opening of Guangzhou city. The consequence of his doing this is to make himself a target of public criticism; Countless expositions circulated everywhere, attacking his appeasement policy and satirizing his flattery to the enemy. The mob staged a farce, attacked the Guangzhou magistrate who was said to be pro-British, burned his yamen, and plunged Guangzhou into chaos. In this case of public anger, the English elder had to revise his announcement. Fortunately, Britain * * * doesn't want to have an immediate conflict with China over the issue of "Guangzhou entering the city". 1in April, 846, Davis and senior citizens reached an agreement that the British army would delay entering the city; China, on the other hand, promised not to cede Zhoushan Islands to any other country (putting an end to the widespread French conspiracy at that time) in exchange.
Encouraged by the British Concession, Guangzhou people became bolder than before. They threw stones at British people who often went out. April 1847, Davis retaliated; He led 900 soldiers to take Humen Fort with three armed steamboats and a square sail brig, plugged the muzzle of 827 cannons and occupied the business district of Guangzhou. On April 6, senior citizens quickly negotiated an agreement with him: the Qing court promised to let the British enter the city two years later, punish those China people who offended the British, and give British businessmen and missionaries the right to build warehouses and churches. Due to the compromise with Britain, the public image of the old citizens has been irretrievably damaged. He realized that "Guangzhou entering the city" would trigger a conflict that he could not stop sooner or later, and he also knew that he could not cope with the increasingly serious piracy problem in coastal areas, so he tried to get out of trouble before things got out of control. He asked the court to recall him on the grounds of old age and infirmity. His request was approved,1March, 848, and he returned to Beijing at the request of the senior. The positions of imperial envoys and governors of Guangdong and Guangxi were given to officials who hated foreigners (about 1786- 1858), while the positions of governors of Guangdong and Guangxi were given to Ye (1807- 1859). After recalling the "old citizens", the appointment of these two men marked the revival of China's resistance, which had been suppressed after the defeat. Xu Guangdun and Ye cooperated in Guangzhou, adopted an unyielding attitude towards foreigners, and at the same time encouraged the people to stop the British from entering the city, which led to a sharp deterioration of Sino-British relations.
Guangzhou's Tough Policy (1848- 1856)
China's personnel changes in Guangzhou occurred at the same time as those in Britain. Sir S.Gee Bonham (1803- 1863) succeeded Davis as Governor-General of Hong Kong, Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Commercial Supervisor in China. Wen Han, the son of a captain of the East India Company, was very successful in his teens. In his twenties, he was appointed as the Permanent Counsellor of Singapore, and in 1837, he became the Governor of Prince of Wales Island, Singapore and Malacca. Wen Han is very good at Chinese, has a little knowledge of China's customs and habits, and has a reputation for being pragmatic, so he was appointed as the governor by Bamaizun in 1848.
I first met with an imperial envoy on1April 29, 848. Although he was satisfied with the etiquette of the meeting, he found Xu very "quiet". On June 7, he wrote to Xu, suggesting that preliminary arrangements should be made to honor the Senior Citizen-Davis Agreement, which allowed British people to enter Guangzhou City at 1849. Xu replied that in view of the strong opposition of local public opinion, "former Governor Jianying (1847) allowed him to enter the city for two years, knowing that it would not be peaceful to enter the city, so it was a temporary expedient measure." Although Bamazun didn't want to give up the right to enter the city, he also doubted that entering a hostile city would have much practical value. Therefore, he suggested that this right should be limited to the British plenipotentiary or consul who accompanied China officials to the city to pay an official visit to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. In fact, he authorized Wen Han to avoid disputes on1848 65438+February 30th.
In April 1849, 1, Xu Xiang conveyed the will of the emperor, saying that the emperor could not ignore the spontaneous and unanimous public opinion of the people of Guangzhou. After all the efforts to meet with the imperial envoys failed, Wen Han sent a letter to inform * * * on April 9, saying that "controversial issues have been shelved for the time being, but they must be solved". Guangzhou people think that their terrible large-scale public * * * (involving about 65438+ ten thousand people and rural brave people) shocked the British and made them give up their demands. When the victorious Xu Guangdi and Ye claimed in the imperial court that they had agreed to "never discuss entering the city again", they were greatly gratified to award the Viscount Xu Guangdi and Baron Ye hereditary titles to reward the loyalty and patriotism of the people of Guangzhou. Bamazun's anger towards China is beyond words. He instructed Wen Han to send a letter to Beijing, reminding China senior officials of "the mistakes made by former officials in 1839" and warning: "So far, the patience shown by Britain is not out of weakness, but out of self-confidence and strong strength. The British people know that if the situation requires, the British army can destroy the whole city of Guangzhou, so that the people of the whole city will be punished the most. " The imperial court dismissed this warning and thought that such a rude letter was not worth replying to, so as not to spoil these barbarians more arrogantly. Wen Han then personally submitted a formal * * note on August 24th (1849), in which he outlined the whole process of the incident related to "Guangzhou entering the city" and warned: "No matter what happens in China between the two countries in the future, the fault will fall on China."
1850, the stubborn Daoguang died, and his 20-year-old son, Xian Fengdi, succeeded to the throne and implemented a more uncompromising foreign policy. Some advocates, such as Zhang Mu and Yingjie, were fired, demoted or replaced by some officials who advocated excluding foreigners. An official hostile to foreign countries suggested that the emperor recall Lin Zexu, a hero of the Opium War, to work in Beijing as a warning to the British: "Westernization in eastern Guangdong began in Lin and ended in Xu; Both ministers are in awe of Britain and Iraq. " However, Lin Zexu had been in poor health since the summer of 1849, and died on the way to Guangxi as a new governor and an imperial envoy on October 22nd of the following year/kloc-0. 1852 When Xu Guangdi was sent to suppress the Taiping Army, Ye, who was more exclusive, stubborn and arrogant, took over Xu Guangdi's position. Ye openly despised foreigners, refused to reply or meet them, and said that China officials should not demean themselves to meet foreigners, but should avoid them to safeguard national dignity. The French minister hasn't had an interview for 15 months.
However, China's tough attitude did not arouse the reaction of the British people. The New Liberal Party adopted a moderate attitude, and the fact that Wen Han was taken over by Ling Bao (John John Bowring, 1792- 1872) because he was allowed to take a vacation further strengthened Britain's moderate tendency. Ling Bao, a tall man, is a learned man and an active advocate of free trade. He was the editor-in-chief of Westminster Review, the private secretary of Jeremy Bentham, and a close friend of the future foreign secretary of Clarin, Ji Villier (Lord clarendon). Ling Bao found himself in financial difficulties, so he applied for the post of consul in Guangzhou. He was appointed in 1849 and was fascinated by the Chinese civilization he saw in Guangzhou. When he succeeded Wen Han as commercial supervisor and plenipotentiary in 1852, he was warned by Lord glanville not to start provocative negotiations with * * and not to use force before obtaining domestic consent in advance. After his request to meet Ye really hit a hard nail, London instructed him "don't ask any questions about allowing British subjects to enter Guangzhou, even if you don't have to try to enter Guangzhou yourself." .
The strong demand of big countries for amending the treaty
In addition to "Guangzhou entering the city", there are other issues that also make Sino-Western relations tense: foreigners always want to expand the scope of trade from five ports to the whole of China, set up permanent envoys in Beijing to bypass the stubborn Guangzhou authorities, and lower the tariff requirements due to the general decline in commodity prices after the war. These problems have come together, which has triggered a strong impulse of foreigners to modify the contract. According to the Sino-American and Sino-French treaties of 1844, the treaty should be revised after 12 years, that is, 1856. The treaty of nanking of 1842 doesn't contain any clauses about amending the treaty, but the British claim that MFN treatment gives them the same right to amend the treaty after 12 years, that is, 1854. Based on common interests, the ministers of the United States and France supported the British request. 1854 the ministers of the three countries suggested discussing the revision of the treaty; Ye Chenming flatly refused, saying it was unnecessary. British and American representatives could not persuade Ye in Guangzhou or start negotiations in Shanghai, so they went north on June 1854+00 to seek a satisfactory answer. In Dagu, they were not received by the governor of Zhili (the imperial court ordered officials not to meet foreigners), but only by a second-class official, Lu Yan Zheng Chonglun. The two ministers proposed to revise the tax rate, set up an envoy in Beijing, open Tianjin, obtain the right to buy real estate in the mainland, legalize opium imports and abolish lijin in the mainland. The court accused these demands of being unreasonable and ordered the minister to return to Guangzhou.
1856, the ministers of the three countries once again requested to amend the treaty. The court informed that some reasonable minor changes could be allowed, but the main clauses were not considered, so as not to lose the meaning of the 10,000-year Peace Treaty (treaty of nanking). However, Ye in Guangzhou stubbornly refused to negotiate, and even minor changes were not allowed, insisting that if foreigners were given an inch, they might get an extra foot. Unwilling to give in, American special envoy peter parker tried to go to Beijing alone. In Shanghai, China people stopped their efforts to continue northward. In this case, foreign countries, especially Britain, are getting impatient. Even peaceful Ling Bao was forced to report to London that warships were needed to expand and improve British-Chinese relations.
event
What triggered Britain's anger was the arrow incident of 1856. 1856 10 At the beginning of this year, a China merchant ship "Arrow" with a tonnage of 100 sailed from Xiamen to Guangzhou and called at Huangpu. Arrow is a three-masted sailboat with a European hull and China sails. All the sailors on board are from China, and the owner is a Hong Kong Chinese. The ship was robbed by pirates. The ship has been registered in the British Royal Colony in order to prevent the coastal pirates that the China government is unable to exterminate. 654381October 8th, between 8: 00 am and 8: 30 am, when the Arrow docked outside Guangzhou with the British flag, four China officers and 60 soldiers boarded the ship, claiming to search for a notorious pirate, who was said to be on board. They detained 12 China crew members, and the British flag was torn down in the chaos. Parkes, the British consul in Guangzhou, was instructed by Ling Bao, the British ambassador and plenipotentiary in China, to insult the British flag in China in June +65438 10+February, 5438, and arrested the crew without the permission of the British consul. He demanded that the British flag should be respected in the future, and all 12 sailors should be released, and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi should issue a written apology within 48 hours. Ye, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, denied that there was any national flag on board, and asked the consul why he had to intervene in a case in which China patrolled a China-owned ship moored in China port to arrest China people. Ye didn't know at the time that the registration of "Arroyo" had expired before the incident, otherwise he would definitely add this item. Ye's reply was not satisfactory, so he ordered the seizure of a China division ship as a threat of compensation. After a long stalemate, Ye released 12 crew members on 22nd, but flatly refused to apologize. On 23rd, the British navy in China brazenly attacked Guangzhou, and the second Opium War broke out. This "Yarrow Incident" became an excuse for Britain to deliberately provoke a war of aggression against China. And became the fuse of the second opium war.
Event follow-up
The Second Opium War (1856- 1860)
1856 ~ 1860 (Xianfeng six to ten years), the war of aggression against China jointly launched by Britain and France with the support of Russia and the United States. It was named because its essence was the continuation and expansion of the Opium War, also known as the war between Britain and France.
After the Opium War, western capitalist powers invaded China one after another. However, they were not satisfied with the privileges and interests they had obtained, and deliberately stepped up their aggression against China and plundered the economy. 1854, the 12th anniversary of the signing of treaty of nanking. Britain misinterpreted the provisions of the Wang Xia Treaty between China and the United States on trade and sea areas 12 years later, invoked the most-favoured-nation clause, and demanded a comprehensive revision of the treaty of nanking. The main contents are as follows: trade throughout China, legalization of opium trade, exemption of import and export goods from customs duties, and the presence of foreign minister in Beijing. France and the United States also requested to amend the treaty respectively. Qing * * * refused, and the negotiations were fruitless. 1856, the Wang Xia treaty expired for 12 years. With the support of Britain and France, the United States once again asked for a comprehensive revision of the treaty, but it was still rejected by the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, the western powers are determined to launch a new war of aggression against China. It was the spring of 2008, and the Crimean War was over. With the victory of Britain and France, more troops were transferred to China. Russia was defeated and tried to make up for the loss by invading China. The United States actively expanded outward and adopted the policy of collaborating with Britain and France to invade China.
1856, 10 year 10 8 October, the British invaders created the Yarrow Incident. Since then, on 10/23 October, British ships suddenly broke into the Humen estuary and attacked the battery along the Pearl River, flagrantly provoking a war of aggression. Then, the British army shelled Guangzhou and once invaded the inner city. The local soldiers and civilians bravely resisted. Due to the shortage of troops, the British army was forced to withdraw from the Pearl River inland river in June 1857+ 10, waiting for reinforcements.
In order to expand the war of aggression, Britain appointed Elgin, the former governor of Canada, as the plenipotentiary in March 1857 to lead a navy and army to China. At the same time, a request for joint invasion was made to France. Earlier, France was negotiating with China on the basis of "Father Ma incident" (also known as "Xilin religious case"). The so-called "Father Ma incident" refers to a case in which a French Catholic priest, Male, illegally entered the mainland of China, and was executed in Xilin County, Guangxi in February 1856. This case is not closed yet. 1857, the French * * * used this as an excuse to invade China, appointed Gero as the plenipotentiary, and led troops to China to coordinate with the British.
1857 65438+in February, more than 5,600 British and French troops (including French troops 1000) gathered at the mouth of the Pearl River to prepare for a massive attack. American envoy Li Weilian and Russian envoy Pu Yating also arrived in Hongkong, conspiring with Britain and France to invade China. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was trying its best to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army Uprising, and it was "difficult to pay" to adopt a policy of "focusing on soldiers" against foreign invaders. Ye faithfully carried out the policy of * * * and did not fight for it. 12 On February 28th, the British and French allied forces shelled Guangzhou and landed to attack the city. Du Tonglai Village, Qian Zong Deng Anbang and others led the troops to resist tenaciously and fell the next day. Bai Gui, the governor of Guangdong Province, and General Guangzhou surrendered in Fengtian. Driven by the enemy, they continued to hold their original posts under the supervision of the "Coalition Committee" headed by Parkes. Ye Chenming was captured by the invading army and then transferred to Kolkata, British India, where he died a year later. During the occupation of Guangzhou by the invading army, the local people waged an indomitable struggle. Yimin set up a Yong Ying Yong Bureau in Foshan town near Guangzhou to resist and destroy the enemy with tens of thousands of people. Patriotic compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao have also * * * to show * *.
After the fall of Guangzhou, the invaders of the four countries plotted to continue northward in order to pose a direct threat to the Qing Dynasty. 1in April, 858, envoys from Britain, France, Russia and the United States led ships to Dagukou one after another, demanding that plenipotentiaries be appointed to negotiate. Russia and the United States also expressed their willingness to act as mediators. Emperor Xianfeng ordered the Qing army to fortify Tianjin and Dagu, and sent Tan Tingxiang, governor of Zhili, as an imperial envoy to Dagu for negotiations, hoping for the "mediation" of Russian and American envoys. The British and French aggressors did not have the sincerity to negotiate, but only used it to delay time and step up military preparations. On May 20th, British and French warships shelled Dagu Fort. The Qing army stationed in each battery fought back and launched a fierce battle with the enemy. However, Tan Ting and others had no fighting spirit, followed the wind, the battery facilities were rudimentary, and Otani fell. On the 26th, British and French forces invaded the suburbs of Tianjin and threatened to attack Beijing. Qing * * * hurriedly sent Gui Liang, a university student, and Hua Shanna, a minister in the official department, as imperial envoys, and rushed to Tianjin to make peace. Under the intimidation of the British and French aggressors, Gui Liang and others concluded the Tianjin Treaty with Britain and France on June 26th and 27th respectively.
Article 56 of Sino-British Tianjin Treaty, with annex; The Sino-French Tianjin Treaty consists of 42 articles, with about 6 articles attached. The main contents are as follows: ① the minister is stationed in Beijing; Niuzhuang (later renamed Yingkou), Dengzhou (later renamed Yantai), Taiwan Province Province (later renamed Tainan), Danshui, Chaozhou (later renamed Shantou), Qiongzhou, Hankou, Jiujiang, Nanjing and Zhenjiang were turned into trading ports; (3) allowing foreign missionaries to enter the mainland to preach freely; (4) Foreigners should travel and trade in the Mainland; ⑤ Foreign merchant ships can sail in the Yangtze River port; ⑥ Revise the tariff and reduce the tonnage tax of merchant ships; All landowners to Britain four million and two thousand silver, two million and two thousand silver to France.
Prior to this, Russian and American envoys used the status of "assignors" to sign 12 Sino-Russian Tianjin Treaties and 30 Sino-American Tianjin Treaties with Qing * * * in June 13 and June 18, respectively, and seized almost the same aggression privileges as Britain and France except compensation. Paragraph 9 of the Sino-Russian Tianjin Treaty also specifically stipulates that the two countries will send personnel to explore the "previously undefined border" and "make sure to bring the border clearing into this peace treaty" so as to solve it in the future, thus laying the groundwork for China to be further plundered by Russia.
After the Tianjin Treaty was signed, the British and French allied forces withdrew from Tianjin, and the coastal roads went south one after another. Emperor Xianfeng was worried about the content of the treaty at this time, which made Gui Liang and others negotiate with the representatives of Britain and France to amend the Tianjin Treaty, cancel the terms of envoys' stay in Beijing, inland travel and Neijiang trade, and tried to prevent Britain and France from changing the treaty in Beijing. 165438+ 10, Gui Liang and other representatives of Britain, France and the United States signed the Treaty on the Restoration of Trade Regulations, stipulating that the opium trade should be legalized; Customs levies 100% tax on the hourly value of import and export goods; Foreign goods are transported and sold in the mainland, only paying 2.5% sub-tax, and all domestic taxes are exempted; Hire an Englishman to help with customs and taxes. However, Britain and France cannot change the terms of the Tianjin Treaty, but insist on changing the contract in Beijing.
Britain and France were far from satisfied with the privileges seized from the Tianjin Treaty, and deliberately used the opportunity of exchanging contracts to provoke war again. 1in June, 859, after British envoy Proust, French envoy Brun and American envoy John Eliott Ward rejected Gui Liang's proposal to exchange contracts in Shanghai, they led their respective fleets to Dagukou in an attempt to deter Qing * * * from exchanging the instruments of ratification of the Tianjin Treaty by force. Qing * * * fortified with Dagu, and ordered the governor of Zhili, Hengfu, to inform the British and French envoys and appoint them to land in Beitang. After Tianjin changed the contract in Beijing, there were no more than 20 people attached and no weapons. The British and French envoys flatly rejected the arrangement of the Qing Dynasty and insisted on returning to Beijing by boat through Dagukou. The defense in Dagu area, 1858 After the British and French fleets retreated, Prince Horqin was put in charge of the Qing Dynasty. On June 25, the British and French allied forces suddenly attacked Dagu Fort. Under the command of monk Qin, the defenders fought bravely and the battle was extremely fierce. Shi Rongchun, the magistrate of Zhili, and Ruyuan, the deputy commander of the Drum Club, took the lead and were killed successively. As a result of fierce fighting, the British and French allied forces were defeated, losing many ships, killing more than 400 people, and the commander of the British fleet, Herb, was also seriously injured. In the battle, the American fleet helped the British and French troops retreat. In August, American special envoy John Eliott Ward went to Beijing from Beitang in disguise. After returning to Beitang, he exchanged the ratification of Tianjin Treaty with Hengfu, governor of Zhili. Prior to this, the Russian representative had changed the contract in Beijing.
News of the disastrous attack on Dagu by the British and French allied forces spread to Europe, and the ruling class in Britain and France set off an uproar of war, clamoring for "massive revenge" and "occupation of the capital" against China. 1February 860, Britain and France * * * re-appointed Erkin and Gro as plenipotentiaries respectively, leading15,000 British troops and 7,000 French troops to expand the war of aggression against China. In April, the British and French allied forces occupied Zhoushan. In May and June, the British army occupied Dalian Bay, while the French army occupied Yantai and blocked the Bohai Bay as a forward base for attacking Dagukou. Russian special envoy ignatieff and American special envoy John Eliott Ward also arrived in Bohai Bay in July, and once again cooperated with Britain and France in the name of "mediators". After the victory of the Battle of Dagu, the fantasy of Qing Dynasty and the peace between Britain and France. When the British and French warships approached Dagu Haikou, Emperor Xianfeng also instructed Sengqin and Hengfu not to "make peace after the war first" in order to avoid "the war will last until the end" and "the care bureau is always important", and sent Hengfu to negotiate with the British and French envoys. Former enemy commander-in-chief monk Lin Qinqin thought that the enemy was not good at land warfare, so he devoted himself to Dagu and gave up Beitang defense, giving the enemy an opportunity. Ignatieff provided Britain and France with unsuspecting information about Beitang.
1 In August, the British and French allied forces landed in Beitang without any resistance. 14, Tanggu was captured. Then the land and water cooperated to attack the fortress on the north bank of Dagu. Under the command of Le Shan, the governor of Zhili, the Qing army guarding Taiwan fought bravely. But Qing * * * had no anti-Japanese determination, and Emperor Xianfeng ordered Senggelinqin to retreat from the camp. The Qing army fled Dagu and retreated to Tongzhou (now Tongxian County, Beijing) via Tianjin. Otani fell. The invading army entered and occupied Tianjin on the 24th. Qing * * * sent Gui Liang to Tianjin to make peace. Britain and France proposed that in addition to fully accepting the Tianjin Treaty, Tianjin should be opened as a trading port, compensation should be increased, and thousands of troops from various countries should be sent to Beijing to exchange contracts. Qing * * * refused and the negotiations broke down. The invading army invaded Beijing from Tianjin.
Zai Yuan, Prince of Yong, and Yin Mu, Minister of War, were sent to make peace in Tongzhou instead of Gui Liang. The negotiations broke down again because of the dispute between the two sides. /kloc-in September of 0/8, the British and French allied forces captured Tongzhou. On 2 1 day, the Qing army fought fiercely with the British and French allied forces at Baliqiao, and the commander-in-chief monk Qin took the lead in escaping, which led to the whole army shaking and defeat. The next day, Emperor Xianfeng led his empresses and a group of officials to flee to Jehol (now Chengde, Hebei Province) in a hurry, and made his brother Prince Gong go to war? Stay in Beijing and take charge of the peace talks. When the British and French allied forces attacked Beijing, Russian Ambassador ignatieff provided Britain and France with information on Beijing's defense. 10 10 13, the British and French forces invaded Andingmen and took control of Beijing. The invading army burned and looted all the way, plundered the precious cultural relics, gold and silver jewelry and set fire to the buildings in the Yuanmingyuan, which the Qing court had long operated. 65438+1October 24th 25th, huh? The ratification documents of Tianjin Treaty were exchanged with Elgin and Gro respectively, and China, Britain and France concluded the Beijing Treaty.
The main contents of the Beijing Treaty between China, Britain and France include: ① opening Tianjin as a commercial port; (2) Allow Britain and France to recruit Chinese workers to go abroad; (3) ceding Kowloon to Britain; (4) Return the previously confiscated Catholic assets. The French side also added to the Chinese contract without authorization: "and served as a French missionary, renting and buying fields in various provinces and building their own houses"; (5) British and French military compensation increased to eight million and two thousand each, with a pension of five hundred and two thousand for Britain and two hundred and two thousand for France.
Russia made great contributions to the "mediation", forcing it to conclude the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty on June 1 14 of that year, occupying about 400,000 square kilometers of China territory east of the Wusuli River, creating a treaty basis for further plundering the western territory of China. 1864, Russia forced the Qing Dynasty to sign the Sino-Russian Northwest Border Treaty. It also occupied more than 440,000 square kilometers of China territory east of Balkhash Pool (see Map of Russian Occupation of Northeast China on page 5 and Map of Russian Occupation of Northwest China on page 1538).
After the Second Opium War, the aggressive forces of foreign capitalism entered Chinese mainland from the southeast coast and expanded day by day. Foreign envoys in Beijing strengthened their influence and control over the Qing Dynasty, and China society was further semi-colonized.