Battle of Kowloon
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Kowloon was fought between British and Chinese ships in Kowloon
, China, on 4 September 1839. It has been called "the first shot of the First Opium War
".
was beaten in a drunken brawl and died the next day. On 15 July, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China, Charles Elliot
, offered rewards of $200 for evidence leading to the conviction of those responsible for the murder and $100 for evidence leading to the instigators of the riot. He also gave $1,500 in compensation to Lin's family, $400 to protect them against extortion of that money from what he called the "lower mandarins", and $100 to be distributed among the villagers.
Unlike English common law
, Chinese law held the community, rather than the individual, responsible. Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu
demanded the death of the culprit and was prepared to accept any sailor, whether innocent or guilty, to settle the matter. On 12 August, under an Act of Parliament of 1833, Elliot began a court of criminal and admiralty jurisdiction on board the Fort William in Hong Kong harbour, with himself as judge and a group of merchants as the jury. Two men were found guilty of rioting, fined £15 each, and sentenced to three months labour to be served in England. Three men were found guilty of assault and rioting, fined £25 each, and sentenced to six months imprisonment in similar conditions. However, the Act was under review and after arriving in England, they were set free on the grounds that the trial held no jurisdiction. Elliot invited Lin to send observers to the trial, but none came. Without the handover of a man to the Chinese, Lin was not satisfied with the proceedings. He viewed the extraterritorial court as an infringement of China's sovereignty.
On 15 August, Lin issued an edict that prevented the sale of food to the British. The Chinese labour serving the British in Macao
was withdrawn the next day. War junks
arrived in coves along the Pearl River
and notices above the fresh water springs warned that they were poisoned. On 24 August, the Portuguese Governor of Macao, Don Adraio Accacio da Silveira Pinto, announced that the Chinese ordered him to expel the British from the colony. He warned Lancelot Dent
of the British hong
Dent & Co.
that the Chinese planned to seize the British dwellings in Macao. On 25 August, former Superintendent John Astell proposed to Elliot that all British boats evacuate to Hong Kong. By the end of the month, 2,000 people in over 60 ships were in Hong Kong harbour, without fresh food or water. The ships held European merchants, lascars, and dozens of British families. The Volage of Captain Henry Smith
and the Hyacinth
sailed to Hong Kong on 30 August. Elliot warned Kowloon officials of escalating conflict if the embargo continued.
from the Volage of Captain Smith who accompanied him. Upon arrival, there were three anchored Chinese man-of-war junks
, whose presence prevented the regular supplies of food. Elliot sent interpreter Karl Gützlaff
in a small boat with two men to the centre junk which Elliot thought was the commanding vessel. Gützlaff carried two documents that he translated from Elliot. They included demands for food shipments to be restored and a plea not to repeat poisoning the colony's water springs. After a Chinese spokesman read the messages, he told Gützlaff that they lacked the authority to renew food shipments and they directed him to another junk where a naval officer was said to reside.
There, Gützlaff restated his request to allow people to come out and sell provisions. He repeatedly went back and forth between the two parties, repeating details of the conversation with Elliot. After five or six hours of what Elliot called "delay and irritating evasion", he sent a boat of people on shore with money to purchase supplies, which they accomplished, but were then obliged by authorities to return the provisions. In his report, Elliot wrote that he felt "greatly provoked" upon hearing this and opened fire on the junks, which returned fire with help from the shore battery
. They engaged for almost half an hour before the British ships ran low on ammunition and sailed away. After replenishing their cartridges, the Louisa and Pearl re-engaged the junks, which retreated to their former position. The battle ended in a stalemate. Three British were reported wounded and "several" Chinese were killed.
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
, China, on 4 September 1839. It has been called "the first shot of the First Opium War
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
".
Background
On 7 July 1839, seamen from the Carnatic and Mangalore, both owned by Jardine, Matheson & Co., landed in Kowloon. They were joined by colleagues from other British and American ships. After a group of sailors consumed the rice liquor samshu, a local named Lin Weixi in the village of Tsim Sha TsuiTsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui , often abbreviated as TST, is an urbanized area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui...
was beaten in a drunken brawl and died the next day. On 15 July, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China, Charles Elliot
Charles Elliot
Sir Charles Elliot, KCB , was a British naval officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China...
, offered rewards of $200 for evidence leading to the conviction of those responsible for the murder and $100 for evidence leading to the instigators of the riot. He also gave $1,500 in compensation to Lin's family, $400 to protect them against extortion of that money from what he called the "lower mandarins", and $100 to be distributed among the villagers.
Unlike English common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, Chinese law held the community, rather than the individual, responsible. Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu
Lin Zexu
Lín Zéxú ; 30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850) was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing Dynasty.He is most recognized for his conduct and his constant position on the "high moral ground" in his fight, as a "shepherd" of his people, against the opium trade in Guangzhou...
demanded the death of the culprit and was prepared to accept any sailor, whether innocent or guilty, to settle the matter. On 12 August, under an Act of Parliament of 1833, Elliot began a court of criminal and admiralty jurisdiction on board the Fort William in Hong Kong harbour, with himself as judge and a group of merchants as the jury. Two men were found guilty of rioting, fined £15 each, and sentenced to three months labour to be served in England. Three men were found guilty of assault and rioting, fined £25 each, and sentenced to six months imprisonment in similar conditions. However, the Act was under review and after arriving in England, they were set free on the grounds that the trial held no jurisdiction. Elliot invited Lin to send observers to the trial, but none came. Without the handover of a man to the Chinese, Lin was not satisfied with the proceedings. He viewed the extraterritorial court as an infringement of China's sovereignty.
On 15 August, Lin issued an edict that prevented the sale of food to the British. The Chinese labour serving the British in Macao
Mação
Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....
was withdrawn the next day. War junks
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
arrived in coves along the Pearl River
Pearl River (China)
The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...
and notices above the fresh water springs warned that they were poisoned. On 24 August, the Portuguese Governor of Macao, Don Adraio Accacio da Silveira Pinto, announced that the Chinese ordered him to expel the British from the colony. He warned Lancelot Dent
Lancelot Dent
Lancelot Dent was a 19th century British merchant resident for a period in Canton, China who dealt primarily in opium.He was christened on August 4, 1799 in Crosby Ravensworth, Westmorland, England, son of William and Jane Dent....
of the British hong
The Hongs
The Hongs were major business houses in Canton and later Hong Kong with significant influence on patterns of consumerism, trade, manufacturing and other key areas of the economy...
Dent & Co.
Dent & Co.
Dent & Co. or Dent's, was one of the wealthiest British merchant firms, or hongs, active in China during the 19th century. The company was a direct rival to Jardine, Matheson & Co...
that the Chinese planned to seize the British dwellings in Macao. On 25 August, former Superintendent John Astell proposed to Elliot that all British boats evacuate to Hong Kong. By the end of the month, 2,000 people in over 60 ships were in Hong Kong harbour, without fresh food or water. The ships held European merchants, lascars, and dozens of British families. The Volage of Captain Henry Smith
Henry Smith (1803–1887)
Admiral Sir Henry Smith, KCB , was a British officer in the Royal Navy. He served in the capture of Aden , First Opium War, and Crimean War. He was appointed a CB in 1840 and a KCB in 1873.- References :...
and the Hyacinth
HMS Hyacinth (1829)
|HMS Hyacinth was an 18-gun Royal Navy sixth-rate sloop. She was launched in 1829 and surveyed the north-eastern coast of Australia under Francis Price Blackwood during the mid 1830s. She took part in the First Opium War, destroying, with HMS Volage, 29 Chinese junks...
sailed to Hong Kong on 30 August. Elliot warned Kowloon officials of escalating conflict if the embargo continued.
Battle
On 4 September, Elliot sailed to Kowloon in the cutter Louisa for food supplies, with a small-armed vessel the Pearl, and a pinnacePinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
from the Volage of Captain Smith who accompanied him. Upon arrival, there were three anchored Chinese man-of-war junks
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
, whose presence prevented the regular supplies of food. Elliot sent interpreter Karl Gützlaff
Karl Gützlaff
Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff , anglicised as Charles Gutzlaff, was a German missionary to the Far East, notable as one of the first Protestant missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand and for his books about China. He was one of the first Protestant missionaries in China to dress like a Chinese...
in a small boat with two men to the centre junk which Elliot thought was the commanding vessel. Gützlaff carried two documents that he translated from Elliot. They included demands for food shipments to be restored and a plea not to repeat poisoning the colony's water springs. After a Chinese spokesman read the messages, he told Gützlaff that they lacked the authority to renew food shipments and they directed him to another junk where a naval officer was said to reside.
There, Gützlaff restated his request to allow people to come out and sell provisions. He repeatedly went back and forth between the two parties, repeating details of the conversation with Elliot. After five or six hours of what Elliot called "delay and irritating evasion", he sent a boat of people on shore with money to purchase supplies, which they accomplished, but were then obliged by authorities to return the provisions. In his report, Elliot wrote that he felt "greatly provoked" upon hearing this and opened fire on the junks, which returned fire with help from the shore battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
. They engaged for almost half an hour before the British ships ran low on ammunition and sailed away. After replenishing their cartridges, the Louisa and Pearl re-engaged the junks, which retreated to their former position. The battle ended in a stalemate. Three British were reported wounded and "several" Chinese were killed.