MMW 14 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Cangue, Kowtow, Imperial Ban

• School: UCSD
• Department: Making of the Modern World
• Course: MMW 14
• Professor: Edmond Chang

Document Summary

British goodwill mission to the court of emperor qianlong. Request for china to remove all barriers to free trade and cultural exchange. Macartney seen as an emissary from a tributary state . China"s foreign relations were defined by the tribute system. Everyone was considered inferior to china, but you could show your goodwill by bringing tribute. He was expected to kowtow (prostrate himself) to the emperor, but he didn"t, he went down on one knee instead. The chinese blamed it on his tight breeches. Canton was the only port open to foreign trade, and britain wanted more to be opened. They wanted to open warehouses for the eic in beijing. They wanted some british merchants and administrators to settle on offshore islands. They wanted to allow missionaries to propagate christianity at will. Missions were pretty much banned outside canton. Qianlong rejected all the requests of the british, but they did end on amicable terms.