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The Impact of Anglo-Chinese Relations on the Development of British Liberalism, 1842-1857

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The Impact of Anglo-Chinese Relations on the Development of British Liberalism, 1842-1857 A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2016 Luke A. Heselwood School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Contents List of Illustrations .......................................................................................................................... 3 List of Abbreviations................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Abstract....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Declaration and Copyright Statements.................................................................................................................................. 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Historiographical Review................................................................................................................................................. 15 Methodology, Sources and Terminology…………………………………………..…………………………29 Structure .............................................................................................................................................................................. 33 Chapter One - The Entry Question and the Limits of British Non-Intervention, 1842-1856 .................................... 36 The Limits of Free Trade………………………………….…………………………………………………..40 The Limits of International Law ..................................................................................................................................... 57 The Limits of British Diplomacy and Non-Intervention ............................................................................................ 71 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................................... 85 Chapter Two - The Taiping Rebellion and Britain: The consolidation of Britain’s role in China’s internal affairs, 1853-1856. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 87 Britain’s Divided Opinion on the Taiping..................................................................................................................... 91 Britain’s Ideological Struggle ....................................................................................................................................... 104 The Corrosion of Neutrality........................................................................................................................................... 118 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...………………128 Chapter Three - British reaction to the ‘Arrow Incident’: The Development of British conceptions of International Law, Diplomacy and the Character of the Nation, 1856-1857. ............................................................ 131 The Legal Problem .......................................................................................................................................................... 136 The Constitutional Problem ........................................................................................................................................... 148 The Moral Problem ......................................................................................................................................................... 157 The Commercial Problem .............................................................................................................................................. 167 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 175 Chapter Four - The ‘China Election’ of 1857 and the Development of British Liberalis m .................................... 177 The China Question and its National Impact .............................................................................................................. 183 Palmerston vs. Cobden ................................................................................................................................................... 198 The Liberal Realignment in Manchester ..................................................................................................................... 213 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 227 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................. 230 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................................... 238 Appendix - Romanisation of Chinese cities and names ................................................................................................. 269 Tables of British statesmen ................................................................................................................................................. 270 Word Count: 76, 392 2 List of Illustrations Chapter One: Figure One: Portrait of Sir John Bowring, by John King (1826), p. 41. Source: Joyce Youings ed., Sir John Bowring, Aspects of his Life and Career (Plymouth: Latrimer Trend and Co., 1993), p. 18. Figure Two: ‘The Foreigners Quarter at Canton’, by John Duncan (1789), p. 45. Source: John Rylands Collection R23747, John Trusler, The Habitable World Described: The Present State of the People in all Parts of the Globe, from North to South (London: Literary Press, 1789), p. 339. Figure Three: ‘Valuation of the Principal imports and exports in British Vessels at the Ports of Canton, Shanghai, and Amoy, during the years 1834-4, 1845, 1846 and 1847, taken from the Official Returns’, p. 48. Source: Chinese Repository, Vol. 18, June, 1849, p. 300. Figure Four: Map of Qing China, p. 64. Source: John King Fairbank and Denis C. Twitchett ed., The Cambridge History of China, Volume 10: Late Ch’ing 1800-1911, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), p. 7. Chapter Two: Figure One: Map of Qing China, p. 93. Source: John King Fairbank and Denis C. Twitchett ed., The Cambridge History of China, Volume 10: Late Ch’ing 1800-1911, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), p. 7. Figure Two: A statue of Hong Xiuquan in Haudu, Guangdong, China, p. 95. Source: archive.armstrong.edu. Figure Three: Image from Charles Buckton of the Chinese civil war fighting (1855), p. 113. Source: The National Archives, Foreign Office Records 17/227, ‘Buckton to Clarendon’, f. 34 (Whampoa: 29th January, 1855). Figure Four: ‘Shanghai in 1855’, p. 125. Source: F. L. H. Potts, A Short History of Shanghai: Being an account of the growth and development of the international settlement (Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, 1928). 3 Chapter Three: Figure One: An image of ‘John Chinaman’, p. 164. Source: British Library, LD 34 A, ‘John Chinaman’, Punch Magazine, Vol. 32 (10th January, 1857), p. 18. Chapter Four: Figure One: Campaign Poster 1857: “Electors of Huddersfield!!”, p. 208. Source: Manchester Central Library, M20, George Wilson Papers, Vol. 26, ‘Electors of Huddersfield!!’ (March, 1857). Figure Two: ‘A Lesson to John Chinaman’, p. 210. Source: British Library, LD 34 A, ‘A Lesson to John Chinaman’, Punch Magazine, Vol. 32 (9th May, 1857), p. 185. Figure Three: ‘Pam – Winner of the Great National Steeple-Chase’, p. 212. Source: British Library, LD 34 A, ‘Pam – Winner of the Great National Steeple-Chase’, Punch Magazine, Vol. 32 (28th March, 1857), p. 125. Figure Four: ‘Opening of Parliament’, p. 212. Source: British Library, LD 34 A, ‘Opening of Parliament’, Punch Magazine, Vol. 32 (2nd May, 1857), p. 175. List of Abbreviations CMCS - Chinese Maritime Customs Service 4 Abstract Between 1842 and 1857, British interactions with the Qing Empire shaped and informed the development of British liberal attitudes. However, amid the widespread historiography devoted to uncovering international influences on British liberalism during this period, the impact of the Anglo-Chinese relationship remains a footnote. Instead, focus is given to how Europe, America and the British Empire assisted in the advancement of British politics and liberal thought. This thesis redresses this oversight – showing how Anglo-Chinese frictions in the mid-nineteenth century brought into question British notions of free trade, international law, diplomatic standards and non-intervention. Britain’s determination to improve its trading network in China matched by the Qing’s refusal to allow further Western expansion, informed British liberal debate and shaped political attitudes. Most notably,
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