The Taking of Hong Kong: Charles and Clara Elliot in China Waters / Edition 1

by Susanna Hoe, Derek Roebuck

Overview

Relations between Britain and China have, for over 150 years, been inextricably bound up with the taking of Hong Kong Island on 26 January 1841. The man responsible, Britain's plenipotentiary Captain Charles Elliot, was recalled by his government in disgrace and has been vilified ever since by China. This book describes the taking of Hong Kong from Elliot's point of view for the first time '- through the personal letters of himself and his wife Clara '- and shows a man of intelligence, conscience and humanitarian instincts. The book gives new insights into Sino-British relations of the period. Because these are now being re-assessed both historically and for the future, revelations about Elliot's role, intentions and analysis are significant and could make an important difference to our understanding of the dynamics of these relations. On a different level, the book explores how Charles the private man, with his wife by his side, experienced events, rather than how Elliot the public figure reported them to the British government. The work is therefore of great historiographical interest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700711451
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/19/1999
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Susanna Hoe, Derek Roebuck

Table of Contents

1: Whenever there is a Breeze; 2: By Warship to China; 3: Into the Tiger's Mouth; 4: Climbing the Ladder; 5: The Opium Trade; 6: Some Gross Insult; 7: Elliot's ‘Troublesome Friend'; 8: All Engineered by Elliot; 9: Charles Elliot Alone; 10: Looking Westwards; 11: Two Such Imbeciles; 12: The Road to Gloary; 13: Whimsical as a Shuttlecock; 14: Hipping off the Fox-Hounds; 15: Wrecked Ashore; 16: The Web of Calumny; 17: Elliot Where Is He?; 18: Exiled to St Helena; 19: Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

'This book reveals the human side of history. A fascinating account of a very interesting - and controversial - period in Sino-British relations.' - Ian Taylor, South African Journal of International Affairs

From the Publisher