Item #21721 The Past and Future of British Relations in China. Arctic, China.
The Past and Future of British Relations in China.

The Past and Future of British Relations in China.

Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1860. Hardcover. The author, a British admiral and leading Arctic explorer, managed to navigate 600 miles up the Yangtse River, a feat previously thought to be impossible, to show that British trading vessels could so. The focus of Osborn's work is current and future trading conditions with China; he notes with pride that by 1858 "the great commercial emporium of Shanghai had sprung into existence, and that not far off had risen Hong Kong, with its 70,000 inhabitants, its palaces, and wealth ..." (p178). Osborn took a prominent part advocating the need for a search expedition for Sir John Franklin and in 1850 was appointed to command the steam tender the "Pioneer", one of the ships of the Franklin Search Expedition under the leadership of Captain Austin.

Here he describes British contact with China and the importance of trade with the country: "We cannot exist without tea and silk; we want that huge market of four hundred millions for our manufactures; the exchequers of Britain and India need the revenue already derived from the trade between us." (p10).

Captain Sherard Osborn's (1822 - 1875) wartime experience took place in the Second Opium Wars, or Second Anglo Chinese War, during which he escorted a fleet of fifteen gunboats in the attack on Canton. As captain of H.M.S. 'Furious', he played an important role in the war, and also undertook the very challenging navigation of his vessel up the Yangtse to Hankow (1858). Osborn sailed 600 miles up the Yangtse River to prove its navigability for much smaller trading vessels.

Small 8vo, vi, 184pp, 3 folding maps. Red gilt cloth. Library paper label at spine, blind stamp at title page, evidence of library slip removal. OCLC: 9003621. Very good condition. Item #21721

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