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當年今日：亞羅船事件

Today in Military History: 8 October 1856 - Arrow, a ship flying the British flag, is boarded by Chinese, who arrest the crew, and inevitably cause a chain of events that begins the Second Chinese War.

On the morning of 8 October, a ship with a junk rig, and a European hull -- a hybrid known as a "lorcha" -- lay quietly at anchor in the Pearl River, off the Chinese trading port of Canton. Owned by a Hong Kong merchant, Fang Aming, but registered as British, which meant she was protected under the Treaty of Nanking.

A little after 8 a.m., Qing officials boarded her, claiming that known pirates and smugglers were among her crew. Allegedly, the vessel was employed in the salt-smuggling trade. Twelve Chinese seamen were arrested. The captain hurried to complain to the British Consul, Harry Parkes, who rushed on board in a fruitless attempt to prevent the arrested men from being taken on shore.

The British officials in Guangzhou demanded the release of the sailors, claiming that because the ship had recently been British-registered, it was protected under the Treaty of Nanjing. The British insisted that the Arrow had been flying a British ensign and that the Qing soldiers had insulted the flag.

Parkes returned to his office to pen a severe message to the Governor-General of Canton, Yeh Mingchen, complaining particularly about the insult to the British flag -- which, apparently, had been torn down and disgraced. Not only did he want the return of the men, he wanted an apology for this. He also sent a note to Hong Kong, declaring that it was time for a military demonstration of strength.

Yeh replied, pointing out that the vessel was Chinese-built and Chinese-owned, and that the arrested men were Chinese. However, he offered to return the arrested men to the Consulate. Parkes refused to accept them, as there had been no apology.

This was all a subterfuge. The real issue was Chinese recalcitrance in the matter of Western trading privileges in their country. Gunboats, under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, sallied out to punish Canton for the alleged insult. Though the Chinese prisoners had been returned to the custody of the British Consul they had not been "publicly restored to their vessel, nor had the required apology been made" -- or so Seymour claimed. After destroying the Imperial Provincial Fleet in the Peark River, he forced his way into Canton, and marched on Yeh's offices. The Cantonese retaliated by torching British factories.

In all reality, the registration of the nationality of the Arrow had actually expired, in which case she did not have the right to fly the ensign, and her crew's arrest by the Qing authorities was lawful.

Image: A British propaganda piece, which shows Chinese officers hauling down the British flag and arresting the crew of the British ship the 'Arrow'. The official title of the work is "Chinese officers hauling down the British Flag on the 'Arrow'".