Cold Open

It’s the morning of January 7th, 1841, onboard the British ship Nemesis, in Pearl River Delta of Southern China.

43-year-old William Hall, commander of the Nemesis, raises his telescope and fixes it on the Chinese fleet upriver. Smoke drifts across the water between their black wooden hulls. Just this morning, Hall’s ships pounded a nearby coastal fort into submission. And now, he’s turning his attention to the Chinese navy.

Decades of tension between Britain and China's Qing Empire have reached a boiling point. China has recently cracked down on opium abuse and tried to ban foreign merchants from importing the drug into the country. But the trade is a lucrative one, especially for the British. So, London has sent a fleet to force China to change its mind.

And the Nemesis is a state-of-the-art warship. Steam-powered and iron-hulled, it’s been specially designed to slip through shallow waters and take the battle to the enemy where they least expect it.

On the quarterdeck, still eying the Chinese ships, Commander Hall calmly gives the order to attack, and his crew springs into action.

British guns soon ring out across the delta. 

Hall watches through his telescope as 32-pound cannonballs slice through the Chinese ships, pulverizing heavy timber into a rain of splinters.

But Hall has an even more powerful weapon at his disposal—the Congreve rocket. Although difficult to use, if it hits its mark, the results can be devastating.

Hall nods at his engineers. They move the rocket into position at the bottom of its metal launching ramp, aim it at the largest ship in the Qing fleet, and light the fuse.

With a rush of flame, the missile flies off the ramp, and up into the sky.

It whistles through the air, dips, and then crashes into a Chinese warship. 

Hall ducks instinctively as a blinding explosion tears the enemy ship in two. When he looks up, a fireball is reaching up to the heavens, and debris is raining down on the water all around. They must have hit a powder store. It’s the largest explosion Hall has ever seen. So surely, the Chinese won’t dare defy him any longer.

In the face of Britain’s superior firepower, the Qing Dynasty will soon have no choice but to sue for peace. Under the terms of the Treaty of Nanjing, China will be forced to open its major ports to foreign merchants once again. But that is not the only concession the Chinese make. As part of the treaty, Britain will gain control over a small but strategically positioned island at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta. And British rule in Hong Kong will be steadily consolidated over the decades that follow, until they secure a 99-year lease on the crucial lands around it on June 9th, 1898. 

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is June 9th, 1898: Britain Leases Hong Kong

Act One: The Arrow

It’s the morning of October 8th, 1856, at the British Consulate in Canton, South China, 15 years after the British victory in the First Opium War. 

28-year-old Consul Harry Parkes puts down his pen and lays his paperwork to one side as a British merchant captain hurries into his office. Red in the face and out of breath, this captain, Thomas Kennedy, quickly explains that an outrage has occurred. The local Chinese authorities have seized the British-registered cargo ship the Arrow, arrested most of its crew, and hauled down the British flag from its mast.

Hearing this, Harry forgets his paperwork, grabs his coat and storms out of his office with Captain Kennedy trailing behind him. During his 15 years in China, Harry has grown to loathe the Chinese. So when he boards the Arrow and sees its crew under guard, with their hands bound behind their backs, he rails against the Chinese, accusing them of violating Britain’s maritime rights. He demands that they free the arrested crew immediately. But the Chinese marines refuse. They say some of the sailors are wanted for piracy. When Harry tries to insist that the men be freed, a Chinese marine slaps him across the face. Humiliated, Harry withdraws—but he swears he will never forget the insult.

Back in his office, Harry immediately writes to Ye Mingchen, the local Chinese viceroy. He delivers an ultimatum—release the Arrow’s crew and publicly apologize for China’s behavior, or Britain will retaliate by force.

This is no idle threat. Thanks to the naval base on Hong Kong Island, the Royal Navy is more than capable of protecting British interests in the region. Wary of this power, Chinese officials mostly bow to British demands to avoid conflict. But Ye Mingchen has had enough. He believes the Chinese have every right to seize suspected pirates and maintain some control over their own ports. So, he refuses Harry Parkes’ ultimatum.

Outraged yet again, Harry retreats to Hong Kong, where he orders the destruction of four Chinese forts and the shelling of the viceroy’s residence. But Ye Mingchen remains defiant. In response to the Royal Navy’s attack, he orders the burning of all British-owned factories in Canton. 

Harry is incensed. It’s clear that an even stronger message will have to be sent. So over the next year, reinforcements slowly filter into Hong Kong, and the British form an alliance with the French to further strengthen their position in South China. There are occasional negotiations with Chinese officials, but these eventually fall apart, and in December 1857, the British and the French launch a combined assault on Canton. And Harry is determined to see it for himself. So he’s there to watch when 500 British soldiers wade through muddy rice paddies to the edge of Canton.

Enemy fire rains down on them from the city walls as they take cover among a cemetery’s jagged tombstones and shallow graves. But the Chinese weapons are archaic. Bows and arrows and old-fashioned muskets are no match for the modern rifles used by the Europeans. Soon, the French are able to scale the city walls. And it’s not long before the British join them. Canton is theirs.

But Harry is still determined to find the man that defied him. As British and French troops secure the city, he peels off a hundred marines and heads toward the viceroy’s palace. As they reach the gates, Harry shows the marines a miniature portrait of Ye Mingchen—he wants to make sure they find the right man.

And as the British storm the complex, a Qing official surrenders himself, claiming to be the viceroy. But thanks to Harry’s portrait, the British aren’t fooled. The marines secure the perimeter and begin a room-by-room search. As they sweep through a courtyard, a marine spots a robed man trying to scramble over the back wall. He grabs the official by his hair and yanks him down before dragging him back to Harry Parkes. Harry holds up the portrait to check. And it is definitely Ye Mingchen. Harry smirks as the viceroy is taken away into British captivity.

After the fall of Canton, other Chinese fortifications along the coastline quickly surrender. China is then made to sign another lopsided treaty that forces more ports to open to Western merchants and effectively legalizes the trade in opium. But this Second Opium War is not over yet. Soon, the indignant Qing Dynasty will renege on the treaty they signed under duress—and take revenge on Harry Parkes for humiliating the Viceroy of Canton .

Act Two: The Old Summer Palace

It’s August 12th, 1860, outside Tianjin in northern China, two years after the British attacked Canton. 

52-year-old General James Hope Grant yanks on the reins to steady his horse as he looks out across the swampy marshland ahead. Past a narrow causeway waits hundreds of enemy cavalry, their weapons glittering in the sun.

After years of peace, war has broken out between Britain and China once again. The Qing Emperor has refused the British passage up the Hai River to Beijing and ordered attacks on any ships that try to force their way through. So, General Grant has been sent to capture the city of Tianjin, before marching on Beijing to confront the Emperor directly. 

As the Chinese cavalry move into position, General Grant orders his artillery to open fire. Shells rip into the enemy line, blowing apart horses and men alike. But the Qing cavalry holds firm, firing back from behind their fallen horses, shooting arrows and muskets through the smoke. General Grant is impressed by their bravery. But he doesn’t show any mercy. He keeps firing until the Qing flee the battlefield and retreat to the forts around Tianjin.

But the Chinese warriors are no safer there.

It takes only a few days for the first of the forts to fall. The British and French suffer only a few hundred casualties between them, but the Chinese losses are far heavier—more than 2,000 are captured or killed. In the wake of this devastating defeat, a delegation from the Qing Emperor soon arrives to negotiate. But General Grant sends the notorious Harry Parkes to meet them. Since his victory at Canton, Harry’s hatred of the Chinese has only grown. And when he’s handed the Qings’ negotiating terms, he doesn’t even read them. Instead, Harry crumples up the letter and throws it back at the emissaries. He tells them that if they do not surrender immediately, they will all be blown to pieces. 

Within two hours, there are white flags flying above the remaining forts outside Tianjin. With the path now clear, General Grant can advance toward Beijing. But the British and French don’t attack the capital. Instead, they seize control over the routes into the city. And now, if the Qing dare to defy them again, the British can starve the capital into submission. 

From their new base in Tianjin, General Grant and Harry Parkes begin drafting terms for a new treaty to end the conflict. They are joined there by their superior, the British High Commissioner to China, 49-year-old Lord Elgin.

Elgin believes the Qing will buckle if the British are aggressive enough, so he sends Harry to hammer out a deal. But the Chinese turn the negotiations into an ambush. Harry Parkes and his delegation are captured and taken to Beijing as hostages. 

Now the Chinese have some leverage of their own.

But Lord Elgin calls their bluff. Even though a direct assault on Beijing could be a death sentence for the hostages, he orders General Grant to launch a final offensive against the Qing Empire.

The British and French armies advance on Beijing. The Emperor sends his elite Mongol cavalry to face them, but they become trapped in a lethal bottleneck on a bridge near the city and are blown to pieces by British and French fire.

Shaken by this defeat, the Qing Emperor flees Beijing. And that leaves his magnificent Summer Palace on the outskirts of the city practically undefended, and the British and French are quick to take advantage.

As they seize the palace and begin to loot its treasures, the fate of the hostages seized by the Chinese is revealed. Harry Parkes and seven other hostages are alive, though emaciated and broken by torture. But they’re the lucky ones. Many other captives have been executed or tortured to death.

Lord Elgin is outraged by their treatment and decides the Emperor must be punished. So, he orders his troops to burn down the Summer Palace. And as the first pavilions are put to the flame, Elgin tells himself it's a bloodless revenge that spares the citizens of Beijing.

But the burning of the palace will reverberate through history. It will be remembered as an act of cultural vandalism that destroys exquisite temples and gardens, as well as countless invaluable works of art. For the Qing Dynasty, it will be a humiliation it will never recover from. Their catastrophic defeat at the end of the Second Opium War will shatter their authority—and it won’t just be the British and French who'll look to take advantage.

Act Three: One Country, Two Systems

It’s June 9th, 1898, in Beijing, almost 38 years after the British destroyed the Old Summer Palace. 

Claude MacDonald strides through the courthouse into the Chinese Foreign Office. Flanked by a small escort of red-coated soldiers, the British Ambassador greets the Qing Dynasty officials with a respectful bow. 

But still there’s tension in the air. In the decades since Lord Elgin torched the Summer Palace, China has struggled to recover. Its rivals have been carving up its land, and the once-powerful empire is now a patchwork of foreign outposts and occupied territories. Defeat in a recent war with the Japanese has left the Qing reeling once again—and their old enemy, the British, are taking advantage by drawing n up a new treaty that will demand yet more concessions from China.

On a gilded table draped in red cloth, the treaty lies ready for signature. Its focus is the island of Hong Kong. For the past fifty years, it's become more than just a British naval base. It’s now an important shipping hub. Yet it is stifled by overcrowding and rampant disease. And with Britain’s geopolitical rivals expanding their influence in the region, London has concerns about Hong Kong’s long-term security. To protect the colony’s future, Claude MacDonald has negotiated a huge expansion into the Chinese mainland.

The acquisition of these “New Territories” is framed as a temporary lease, a 99-year agreement. But the British won’t be paying the Chinese any rent, and everyone involved believes the arrangement will be permanent.

The Qing officials watch in stony, helpless silence as Claude signs on behalf of the crown. With a few sharp strokes of his pen, he seals what he hopes will be permanent British rule in Hong Kong.

But despite Claude’s belief that the agreement will last forever, the future of Hong Kong will not be settled with this treaty. As the end of the lease agreement approaches in the 1980s, a resurgent China will insist on taking back not just the New Territories but British Hong Kong. By then, the city will have become a thriving modern metropolis and a global hub for banking and commerce. Britain will try to negotiate an extension to the deal, but it will quickly become clear in talks that China intends to take back Hong Kong at the end of the agreement—by force if need be. So, this time, it will be the British who have no choice but to sign the deal. And in 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration will confirm that Hong Kong will be handed back to China in the summer of 1997, almost exactly 99 years after Britain secured its lease of the New Territories on June 9th, 1898.

Outro

Next on History Daily. June 10th, 1752. Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm to demonstrate connection between lightning and electricity.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Angus Gavan McHarg.

Edited by William Simpson.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.