With the Pearl River cleared of Chinese…
March 1841 CE
Although the truce had ended on March 6, Superintendent Elliot believes that the British should negotiate with the Qing authorities from their current position of strength rather than risk a battle in Canton.
The Qing army has made no aggressive moves against the British and instead has begun to fortify the city.
Chinese military engineers have begun to establish a number of mud earthworks on the riverbank, have sunk junks to create riverblocks, and have started constructing fire rafts and gunboats.
Chinese merchants are ordered to remove all of the silk and tea from Canton to impede trade, and the local populace is barred from selling food to the British ships on the river.
On March 16, a British ship approaching a Chinese fort under a flag of truce is fired upon, leading to the British setting the fort on fire with rockets.
Groups
Commodities
Regions
East Asia
View →Subregions
