Belligerents:

Great Britain, France.
China.

Cause:

The increasing commercial ambitions of Western Powers in the East led Great Britain and France to insist on the establishment of fair and equitable terms of trade. The Chinese Government was in the hands of the Tatars known as the Taipings, who, by their successful rebellion, had overthrown the Manchu dynasty.

Occasion:

The refusal of the Chinese Government to redress long-standing grievances or to allow the diplomatic representatives of the Western Powers to reside in Peking; the seizure of the crew of the British ship Arrow off Canton, and the refusal of the Chinese Governor to apologize or surrender the men, and the murder of a French missionary in Kwangsi brought things to a head.

Course of the War:

Canton was taken by the British in December 1857. The Taku Forts fell in May 1858 and Tientsin was occupied. Negotiations were attempted but failed. An allied force of British and French landed in 1860, marched on Peking, and the Chinese yielded.

Political Result:

By the treaty of October 24, 1860, the Chinese paid an indemnity of eight million taels. The right of Europeans to travel in the interior was granted, and freedom guaranteed to the preaching of Christianity. By the customs tariff agreed upon the import of opium was legalized. In the course of 1861 British, French, and Russian legations were permanently established at Peking, and in the following years the same right was conceded to other European nations. By treaties with Russia in the same year China ceded all its territory north of the Amur to Russia, and in this territory Vladivostock was founded.

Good relations having been established, the Chinese Government, with the assistance of Gordon, carried out a successful campaign against the Taipings, and the Manchu dynasty was restored.

Remarks:

This was the opening of the door into China, and from henceforth the Western Powers began to compete for commercial and territorial prizes in the Chinese Empire.