CHINESE  HISTORY:  THIRD  PERIOD  25

First  War  with  Great  Britain  (1840-1843)
In  1839  Commissioner  Lin  Tze-sü  was  appointed  to  carry
out  the  prohibition  policy.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable
force  of  character  and  of  superior  integrity,  but  at  the  same
time  very  conservative  in  his  views  and  opposed  to  the
extension  of  foreign  trade.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  at
Canton  he  demanded  that  all  the  opium  in  the  possession  of
foreign  merchants  should  be  delivered  up  to  him,  without
compensation,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  contraband.  In
accordance  with  this  request,  at  the  direction  of  Captain
Elliot,  20,291  chests  of  opium  were  handed  over  to  the
Chinese  authorities,  all  of  which  was  completely  destroyed.
The  tension  between  the  Chinese  officials  and  the  foreign
merchants  had  now  become  so  great  that  a  collision  became
unavoidable.  The  giving  up  of  the  opium  led  to  further
demands,  and  the  conditions  imposed  upon  the  foreigners
became  unbearable.  This  led  to  the  first  war  between
China  and  Great  Britain,  in  1840,  which  unfortunately  is
generally  referred  to  by  the  Chinese  as  the  Opium  War.
Although  it  is  true  that  the  British  Government  made  the
destruction  of  the  opium  a  casus  belli,  yet,  even  if  this  had
not  occurred,  the  avoidance  of  hostilities  would  have  been
impossible.  The  real  cause  of  the  war  was  that  the  Chinese
refused  to  treat  on  terms  of  equality,  either  diplomatically
or  commercially,  with  foreigners,  and  the  latter  insisted  on
the  right  to  be  so  treated.  The  war  lasted  for  three  years.
The  Chinese  were  worsted  both  on  sea  and  land,  but  hostilities ­
  dragged  on  until  after  the  arrival  of  Sir  Henry
Pöttinger,  who  had  been  appointed  to  succeed  Captain
Charles  Elliot.  He  had  received  instructions  from  the  Home
Government  that  he  was  not  to  make  terms  with  the  provincial ­
  authorities,  but  directly  with  the  Imperial  Government. ­
  At  the  same  time  Sir  William  Parker  was  appointed
to  command  the  British  fleet.  By  Sir  Henry  Pottinger’s
command  the  war  was  carried  to  the  north.  Amoy,
Chinhai,  Chapu,  Ningpo,  Wusung,  and  Shanghai  were  taken
in  quick  succession,  and  then  the  British  fleet  sailed  up  the