The Opium War, overlapping empires, and China's water borders

Thesis

This thesis explains the relationships between the British Expedition to China, the Qing state, and the Chinese maritime and river population during the Opium War (1839–1842). Drawing on scholarship on borderlands and frontiers as well as a variety of textual and visual sources, the thesis argues that the Opium War transformed vast coastal and waterway regions in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces into what can be conceptualized as "water borders." These water borders were ...

Expand abstract

Authors: Luk, C

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Chinese maritime history; British Empire; water borders; frontiers; Qing Empire; trade; The Opium War
• Subjects: Qing Empire (1636-1912); Frontiers - China -1644-1911; Trade - China - 1644-1911; British imperialism in China; Maritime history - China - 19th century; The Opium War