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The Convention of Chuenpee, Chuanbi Convention or the Ch'uenpi Convention in Guangdong, China was one of the first attempts to settle the First Opium War disputes between Qing Dynasty and the United Kingdom. It was drafted in 1841, but was not formally ratified due to disagreements between the two parties.[1]
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Background
In January 1841, Captain Charles Elliot of the Royal Navy proposed to Qishan, the Governor of Guangdong Province, that a convention be signed to end hostilities during the First Opium War. Since the meeting took place close to Bocca Tigris at Shajiao Fort (沙角炮台), which is also called Chuanbi fort in Chinese, the convention is commonly known as the Chuanbi Convention. It was held on 20 January in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Chuenpee on 7 January.
Terms
On 20 January, Charles Elliot issued a circular announcing "the conclusion of preliminary arrangements" between Qishan and himself involving the following conditions:[2]
- The cession of the island and harbour of Hongkong to the British crown. All just charges and duties to the empire upon the commerce carried on there to be paid as if the trade were conducted at Whampoa.
- An indemnity to the British government of six millions of dollars, one million payable at once, and the remainder in equal annual instalments ending in 1846.
- Direct official intercourse between the countries upon equal footing.
- The trade of the port of Canton to be opened within ten days after the Chinese new-year, and to be carried on at Whampoa till further arrangements are practicable at the new settlement.
The convention specifically allowed the Qing government to continue collecting tax at Hong Kong, which was the main "clogging" point that led to the disagreement according to Lord Palmerston.[1]
Aftermath
Although Qishan intended to sign the treaty, he never got formal approval from the Daoguang Emperor and never signed the treaty. When the emperor found out about the contents of the treaty he dismissed Qishan from his position. The British government was also dissatisfied with the contents of the treaty and dismissed Elliot from his position as a consequence of the treaty.
Many of the contents of the treaty, such as the cession of Hong Kong, were included in the Treaty of Nanking, which was signed in 1842.
Notes
- ^ a b Courtauld, Caroline. Holdsworth, May. Vickers, Simon. [1997] (1997). The Hong Kong Story. HK University press. ISBN 0195903536
- ^ The Chinese Repository. Volume 10. p. 63.
References
- Lecture notes from Dr. Poon Suk-wah, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
See also
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