Britain's Second Embassy to China
Lord Amherst's diplomatic mission to the Qing Court in 1816 was the second British embassy to China. The first led by Lord Macartney in 1793 had failed to achieve its goals. It was thought that Amherst had better prospects of success, but the intense diplomatic encounter that greeted his arrival end...
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| פורמט: | Online |
| שפה: | אנגלית |
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ANU Press
2021
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| גישה מקוונת: | ONIX_20210315_9781760464097_44 |
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אין תגיות, היה/י הראשונ/ה לתייג את הרשומה!
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| _version_ | 1869525639712735232 |
|---|---|
| author | Stevenson, Caroline |
| author_browse | Stevenson, Caroline |
| author_facet | Stevenson, Caroline |
| author_sort | Stevenson, Caroline |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Lord Amherst's diplomatic mission to the Qing Court in 1816 was the second British embassy to China. The first led by Lord Macartney in 1793 had failed to achieve its goals. It was thought that Amherst had better prospects of success, but the intense diplomatic encounter that greeted his arrival ended badly. Amherst never appeared before the Jiaqing emperor and his embassy was expelled from Peking on the day it arrived. Historians have blamed Amherst for this outcome, citing his over-reliance on the advice of his Second Commissioner, Sir George Thomas Staunton, not to kowtow before the emperor. Detailed analysis of British sources reveal that Amherst was well informed on the kowtow issue and made his own decision for which he took full responsibility. Success was always unlikely because of irreconcilable differences in approach. China’s conduct of foreign relations based on the tributary system required submission to the emperor, thus relegating all foreign emissaries and the rulers they represented to vassal status, whereas British diplomatic practice was centred on negotiation and Westphalian principles of equality between nations. The Amherst embassy’s failure revised British assessments of China and led some observers to believe that force, rather than diplomacy, might be required in future to achieve British goals. The Opium War of 1840 that followed set a precedent for foreign interference in China, resulting in a century of 'humiliation’. This resonates today in President Xi Jinping’s call for ‘National Rejuvenation’ to restore China’s historic place at the centre of a new Sino-centric global order. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-64032 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | ANU Press |
| publisherStr | ANU Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-640322025-03-12T22:03:08Z Britain's Second Embassy to China Stevenson, Caroline China Britain British Empire William Pitt Amherst Canton Kowtow tributary system thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day Lord Amherst's diplomatic mission to the Qing Court in 1816 was the second British embassy to China. The first led by Lord Macartney in 1793 had failed to achieve its goals. It was thought that Amherst had better prospects of success, but the intense diplomatic encounter that greeted his arrival ended badly. Amherst never appeared before the Jiaqing emperor and his embassy was expelled from Peking on the day it arrived. Historians have blamed Amherst for this outcome, citing his over-reliance on the advice of his Second Commissioner, Sir George Thomas Staunton, not to kowtow before the emperor. Detailed analysis of British sources reveal that Amherst was well informed on the kowtow issue and made his own decision for which he took full responsibility. Success was always unlikely because of irreconcilable differences in approach. China’s conduct of foreign relations based on the tributary system required submission to the emperor, thus relegating all foreign emissaries and the rulers they represented to vassal status, whereas British diplomatic practice was centred on negotiation and Westphalian principles of equality between nations. The Amherst embassy’s failure revised British assessments of China and led some observers to believe that force, rather than diplomacy, might be required in future to achieve British goals. The Opium War of 1840 that followed set a precedent for foreign interference in China, resulting in a century of 'humiliation’. This resonates today in President Xi Jinping’s call for ‘National Rejuvenation’ to restore China’s historic place at the centre of a new Sino-centric global order. 2021-03-16T03:03:34Z 2021-03-16T03:03:34Z 2021-03-15T13:34:38Z 2021 book ONIX_20210315_9781760464097_44 OCN: 1232217390 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/47329 9781760464097 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/64032 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/47329/1/book.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/47329/1/book.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/47329/1/book.pdf ANU Press ANU Press 10.22459/BSEC.2020 10.22459/BSEC.2020 975ba519-3ce2-4517-95bf-b847729fbcf1 9781760464097 ANU Press 404 Canberra open access |
| spellingShingle | China Britain British Empire William Pitt Amherst Canton Kowtow tributary system thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day Stevenson, Caroline Britain's Second Embassy to China |
| title | Britain's Second Embassy to China |
| title_full | Britain's Second Embassy to China |
| title_fullStr | Britain's Second Embassy to China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Britain's Second Embassy to China |
| title_short | Britain's Second Embassy to China |
| title_sort | britain s second embassy to china |
| topic | China Britain British Empire William Pitt Amherst Canton Kowtow tributary system thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day |
| topic_facet | China Britain British Empire William Pitt Amherst Canton Kowtow tributary system thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day |
| url | ONIX_20210315_9781760464097_44 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stevensoncaroline britainssecondembassytochina |