Jinchao Wars
| Jinchao Wars | |||||||||
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 Empire of Hoterallia |
 Yan Dynasty | ||||||||
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The Jinchao Wars (Huwen: 靜潮戰爭, Hoterallian: 静潮諸島戦争) were two wars waged between the Yan dynasty and Empire of Hoterallia in the mid-19th century and late-19th century. The First Jinchao War, fought in 1852–1855, was a conflict triggered by the Yan dynasty's campaign to enforce its prohibition of opium against Hoterallian merchants who sold opium and the imprisonment of the merchants. The Second Jinchao War was fought from 1891–1892 after an initial invasion attempted by the Yan dynasty to retake Jinchao. In each war, the Hoterallian force's modern military technology led to an easy victory over the Yan forces. The Yan government was compelled to grant favorable tariffs, trade concessions, reparations, and territory to the Hoterallian.
The wars and the subsequently-imposed treaties weakened the Yan imperial government and forced Beihuhai to open specified treaty ports that handled all trade with imperial powers. In addition, Hoterallia also occupied a portion of the Yan dynasty's capital, Haicheng, and created a government for occupied territories that the Yan dynasty ceded to Hoterallia.[1][2]
The prestige of the Yan dynasty, along with the classical tradition in Beihuhai, suffered a major blow. The humiliating loss of ports and a portion of the capital sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within Beihuhai, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of political upheavals led by TBA, culminating in the 1912 Bamboo Revolution.[3]
Background
Formal Hoterallian trade with the Yan dynasty started in the 12th Century, but the practice had been in place since 1656. Initially, the exchange of goods consisted simply of jewelry, spices, textiles, and other agricultural goods, later expanding to encompass the narcotics trade opium by the turn of the 19th Century.[4] Opium had long been considered traditional medicine in Beihuhai, and there was a flourishing opium trade. However, the practice of smoking opium began to spread at an unknown date, eventually leading to a nationwide addiction in the 1820s. The Yan monarchy made abortive attempts to control the practice but was not in a position to enforce its policies.[5]
Eventually, the Tianguang Emperor adopted a harsher stance on opium, implementing a blanket ban on the narcotic and orchestrating raids by Beihu troops on opium dens, resulting in mass arrests and executions. Considerable social unrest was sparked by the Emperor’s decision, resulting in demonstrations against the ban.[5] The first crackdown eventually softened up, but by 1832, shortly after the ban, opium was in widespread use again.
The ineffectiveness of the ban leads the Yan monarchy to seek harsher treatment for the drug. In 1852, Beihu troops stormed Hoterallian merchant ships in Haicheng harbor, arresting their crews and seizing their opium, which was dumped into the harbor.[6]
The arrest of the merchants greatly angered the Hoterallian government, who demanded their release and repatriation. The House of Peers and the Royal Cabinet, despite wanting to impose a neutral stance on international politics for economic progression, had advocated war with the Yan dynasty, and the pro-Whig press printed stories about the Yan's "despotism and cruelty."[7] Under strong pressure and lobbying from various trade and manufacturer associations, the Rikken Teiseitō cabinet under Prime Minister Tetsuya Fujiwara decided on 12 May 1852 to send an expedition to Beihuhai.[8] War preparations then began.
References
- ↑ Taylor, Wallbank; Bailkey, Jewsbury; Lewis, Hackett (1998). "A Short History of the Jinchao Wars". Civilizations Past And Present.
- ↑ Kenneth, Pletcher. "Beihuhai's history: Jinchao Wars".
- ↑ Paine, S.C.M (2003). The Second Jinchao War of 1891–1892: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy. University of Guri Press.
- ↑ Chen, Song-Chuan (1 January 2017). Merchants of War and Peace: Hoterallian Extensive Knowledge of Beihuhai in the Making of the Jinchao Wars. University of Xinmu Press.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Van Dyke, Paul A. (2005). The Unhak trade: life and enterprise on the Beihuhai coast, 1700–1890. Xinmu: University of Xinmu Press.
- ↑ "Hoterallia and Beihuhai: The Jinchao Wars, 1852–92". hojoweb.org. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ↑ Glenn, Melancon (2003). Hoterallia's Beihuhai Policy and the Opium Crisis: Balancing Drugs, Violence, and National Honour, 1823–1880. Sunadic Publishers & Dist.
- ↑ Yōko, Taniguchi (2011). Deterrence Through Strength: Hoterallian Naval Power and Foreign Policy During the Imperial Era. Orajioe University Press.