Notes of Proceedings and Occurrences During the British Embassy to Pekin in 1816

Sir George Thomas Staunton (17811859) Sinologist and politician was a key figure in Anglo-Chinese relations as had been his father. In 1798 he began working for the British East India Company in Canton (Guangzhou) where he was the only Englishman who could understand Chinese having begun learning it as a child. By 1815 British trade with China was worth over 4 million in tea duties alone and there was immense pressure for the Chinese to relax their restrictions. In 1816 following earlier failed missions an embassy including Staunton as second commissioner was organised to seek better trading conditions and to press the emperor for the opening up of a second harbour. Chinese mistrust and British arrogance led to the failure of the embassy with no imperial audience given. This account privately published in 1824 is a valuable document in the understanding of the historical background to Britain''s relationship with China into the twentieth century.