The conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Britain The big consequences of a skirmish
Ten years later (1637) it erupted in Chongzhen"Ming-British War", the first war in Chinese history and the first war of Britain. This war can be traced back to Portugal at the earliest, the war did not last long, the scale was not large, the Ming and British sides won and lost each other on the battlefield, and the Ming Dynasty did not lose much, because the ultimate goal of the British was just to do business with the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty was very serious at that time, so in the end no action was taken to apologize to the British.
Background of the war. Since 1553, when the Portuguese gained residency in Macau, they quickly monopolized the ** with the Ming Dynasty with their great maritime power.
In the mid-17th century, the world order began to change, and in contrast to the rise of Portugal and the Netherlands, the British tried to open markets through the Portuguese occupation of Damiyan. During this period, Portugal entered a period of decline, its commercial advantage in the Far East was shaken, and the Netherlands began to challenge it continuously. Therefore, Portugal wanted to join forces with Britain to contain the Netherlands.
In the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), the British East India Company reached an agreement with the Portuguese Governor of Goa, whereby Portugal granted free entry and exit for British merchants**. On December 12 of the same year, King Charles I of England issued a decree appointing Captain Wedel to command six ships to Daming.
Wedel's fleet set sail from London on 14 April 1636, arrived in Goa on 7 November 1636, left Goa on 17 January 1637 with the permission of the Governor of Goa, and arrived in Macao on 27 June, anchoring at the Cross Gate.
Although Portugal accepted the arrival of British merchants, the Portuguese merchants in Macao refused, because at that time the Dutch fleet blocked the ** route between Macau, Goa and Lisbon, and the ** with Nagasaki was also stopped because of the Japanese blockade, and the Portuguese merchants were left with only the ** route with Manila, and the British wanted to come to get a piece of the pie, how could the Portuguese merchants accept it? How could a Portuguese merchant possibly accept it?
The war was provoked by the Portuguese.
The Portuguese merchants, wishing to continue their monopoly with the Ming Dynasty, were very indignant at the arrival of the British, refusing to obey the instructions of the Governor of Goa on the one hand, and trying to discredit the British in front of the Ming authorities on the other hand, saying that they were just Dutch who had come to make trouble, and suggesting that the Ming expel them. On the other hand, they sent patrol boats to sail around the British fleet, stopping the ** activities of the British.
Unable to do so in Macau**, Weddell anchored for Guangzhou at the end of July and arrived at Humen on 8 August, where he dropped anchor. When an unidentified flotilla suddenly appeared,"Minghumen"The crew of the ship immediately fired warning shots.
I don't know if it was a grudge against the Ming Dynasty authorities, or a deliberate attempt to sow discord, Wedel immediately ordered the lowering of the St. George's merchant flag, raised the British royal flag, and then ordered the fleet to bombard Humen City, Humen City was captured, the Ming military flag was lowered, the British royal flag was raised, and the 35 guns on the ship were dismantled as trophies.
Upon hearing the news, the Canton authorities intervened with the Portuguese Noretti to get Wedel to return the cannons, while sending Noretti and two merchants with 22 lira of Spanish silver coins and two small boxes of Japanese silver coins went to Canton to trade.
At the same time, the British fleet continued to advance on the Canton river, which angered the Canton authorities. On 10 September, the coastal defense authorities in Guangzhou sent three ** ships to meet the British fleet and attacked the British fleet with artillery and rockets, forcing the British fleet to flee in a hurry.
Knowing that his fleet would not be able to fight the Ming sailors, Weidler sailed the fleet out of the Canton River and burned three Ming sailing ships in the Humen area on 19 September, burning a small town and robbing 30 pigs. On 21 September, he reoccupied and blew up the Yan Niang shoe fort in the Humen area, burning a sailing ship.
Knowing that he had committed a crime and could no longer negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, and fearing retaliation from the Ming sailors, Weddell led his fleet to Macao and pleaded with the Portuguese. On 9 November, negotiations began in Canton, in which the British merchant was eventually awarded 2,800 taels as compensation, while Wedel submitted a letter of commitment to the Ming authorities, apologizing for the Humen time and pledging to resign as soon as the ** was completed. Evacuate immediately.
The Guangzhou authorities decided not to hold them accountable and asked them to leave the country as soon as possible after the end of the **"。Ming-British War"It's over.