In 1635, Sir William Courteen, Thomas Kynaston, Samuel Bonnell and other London merchants, with the help of Endymion Porter, obtained a charter from King Charles I of England to form the Courteen Association.
On 6 December 1635, King Charles I of England also agreed to invest £10,000 in "Joynte shares". In December, Charles I issued a Royal Mandate, with former Royal Navy officer Captain John Weddell as commander and Nathaniel Mountney as chief private representative. On the same day, a Weddell and Monteny Order was issued to Weddell to enforce the Military Order, and on 19 December, a Weddell Order was issued to harvest the spoils of war.
On 20 February 1636, a letter of recommendation from King Charles I of England to the agent of the United East India Company of the Netherlands, and a letter to the Governor of Portugal in Goa and the Governor of Macau.
The Courteen Association immediately formed a Weddell fleet consisting of four ships, the Dragon, Sunne, Catherine, and Planter, and two schooners, Anne and Discovery. The flotilla was led by John Weddell and Nathaniel Mountney. Thomas Robinson, who was fluent in Portuguese, was also a merchant disguised as a merchant and traveled with Weddell to China as a historian of the historian Peter Mundy, who was fluent in Portuguese.
On 14 April 1636, the fleet left Downs, England, and on 7 October, the fleet arrived in Goa. After three months and ten days in Goa, he was allowed to leave.
On January 17, 1637, Weddell's fleet left Goa and established merchant houses in Bhatkal, Kochi, Aceh and entered Malacca.
On June 27, 1637, three ships of Weddell's fleet, the Dragon, Catherine, the Sun and the schooner Anne, arrived on Hengqin Island off the coast of Macao. The British called it "Monton de Trigo" and the Portuguese called it Montanha.
The Macao side was opposed to the trade of British ships in Macao, fearing that the British would take away their own trade income from the Macao-Goa trade, and because they were also worried that the Chinese officials would provoke a strong reaction from the Chinese side to China about the arrival of the four Yi ships, which would affect the future of the Portuguese in Macao.
At that time, the Portuguese convoy preparing for Japan was waiting to be loaded in Macao, and the Portuguese resorted to delaying tactics to prevent the British from intervening, and sent guard boats to patrol the perimeter of Weddell's fleet.
Upon receiving this news, Weddell moved the fleet to Taipa and sent the schooner "Anne" to search for and survey the waterways entering Canton.
On the second day of anchorage in Taipa, a representative of a Cantonese official went to the "Dragon" to inquire about the intentions and requirements of the British fleet. Two weeks later, on 15 July, four more officers arrived at the fleet, one of whom was from Canton, and they were mainly aware of the number of people on board, the munitions, the cargo, and the amount of the purchase price.
On July 22, after completing the exploration of the Pearl River Estuary waterway, the "Annie" returned to the Taipa berth. It found the entrance to Humen and went deep into Toudaotan, 15 miles from the city of Guangzhou, measuring the depth of the water and marking along the way.
On 23 July, the Japanese fleet of the Portuguese (six ships) set sail for Japan.
After more than a week of patience, Weddell's fleet began to move in the direction of Humen.
On August 1, Weddell's fleet arrived at Kyushu Island (now Kyushu Island, Zhuhai, located on the west side of the Pearl River estuary, on the surface of the Kyushu Ocean, two kilometers away from the port of Kyushu in Zhuhai City. Kyushu Island is a general term for nine islands, including nine islands: Dajiuzhou, Jiuzhoutou, Jilongzhou, Hengshan, Hengduan, Sea Otter Island, Chacan Island, Daxi Pai, and Longyanzhou. Chinese officials visited and asked them to anchor there, but Weddell's fleet set off overnight.
On August 4, a Chinese convoy of more than 40 ships intercepted Weddell's fleet and demanded that they anchor underground. The British were frightened and anchored there.
On 6 August, Weddell's fleet sailed to Chuenpi, and the Chinese fleet sent to inform the British that they were not allowed to advance to Canton, and Weddell falsely claimed that the fleet was currently in the Piercing Ocean and that it was to advance a little and find a shelter from the wind. But it was refused, leaving Weddell's fleet to wait for instructions from Cantonese.
Weddell's fleet continued on its way, and on the evening of 8 August, it reached the lower anchorage of Anunghoi. Weddell saw that the Chinese fleet and batteries were constantly busy preparing, and Weddell began to prepare for battle. The Chinese side sent someone to tell him to wait for another six days.
On 12 August, the "Dragon" sent a barge to survey the waterway. As they approached the vicinity of the Fort, they were fired three times with warning fire from the battery. Four ships of Weddell's flotilla immediately surrounded the A-Niang Shoe battery. The battery returned fire to the British provocations, but did not hit any British ships. After half an hour of intense artillery fire from Weddell's fleet, the defenders of the battery fled. Weddell sent more than 100 sailors to the fort, tore down the Chinese flag of the fort, and raised the flag of King Charles I. The abandoned fort contained forty-four small cannons weighing four or five hundred pounds, and Weddell sent thirty-five of them to be carried to the ship as trophies.
Weddell's fleet also captured two sailing boats and a fishing boat in the waters near Ya Niang Shoe on the same day and the next day, and forced the fishermen to deliver a letter to Canton.
On August 15, the Cantonese side sent Paulo Noretti's black interpreter to intervene. He was a close confidant of Chen Qian, the general soldier of Guangzhou, and his Chinese name was Li Yerong. He accepted the instructions of Chen Qian, the commander-in-chief of Guangdong, and demanded that the British return the looted artillery and supplies, and that after paying the same amount of taxes as the Portuguese, they could conduct trade.
On August 16, Paulo Noretti and John Montney and Thomas Robinson of the fleet traveled to Guangzhou.
Late at night on August 19, John Montney and Thomas Robinson returned from Guangzhou, and they said that they had been received by the general army in Guangzhou and were courteous to their guests.
At that time, Xiong Wencan, the governor of Liangguang, had been transferred to the post of secretary of the military department and the right deputy capital of the Imperial Palace, and the new governor had arrived. Zheng Maohua, the governor of Guangxi, and Zheng Jinguang, the deputy envoy of Haidao, who were in charge of the military affairs of the two provinces, all strongly advocated the rapid drive away of the British fleet, and Chen Qian, the commander-in-chief of Guangzhou, was forced to express his approval under pressure. Zheng Jinguang, deputy envoy of Haidao, and Chen Qian, commander-in-chief of Guangzhou, jointly issued a proclamation. In the proclamation, he sternly condemned Hongyi's banditry act of attacking the Yaniangshoe Fort; on the trade issue raised by the British, he pointed out that it was necessary to make it clear to the superiors that British ships "must not trade" without the permission of their superiors, ordered the British ships to set sail immediately and sail to the open sea, and warned the British, "If you dare to destroy a single grass or tree, our army will swear to destroy you, so that you will not be left behind, and you will regret it and will not be punished." ”
Chen Qian ordered Paul Noretti to read the message to Weddell in person.
On 21 August, Paul Noretti, who had been privately instructed by Chen Qian, the commander-in-chief of Canton, to meet Weddell with a message at the anchorage of the British ships. Noretti, in which he read the proclamation in Portuguese, falsely claimed that the British, after paying the taxes to the imperial court, would be free to buy and sell any merchandise, in view of the Portuguese's refusal to trade in Macao, and that the British should return the artillery and the looted ships. Noretti also claimed that he had been appointed as a broker and asked Weddell to send two or three businessmen to Guangzhou to buy goods. Weddell considered himself satisfied and immediately returned the artillery and the looted ships.
On August 24, Paul Noretti returned to Guangzhou. Nathaniel Montney, John Montney, and Thomas Robinson, the chief privateers of Weddell's fleet, went with them. They carried 22,000 Spanish silver dollars and eight riyals and two small boxes of Japanese silver, of which "10,000 were bribes to officials and the rest were used to purchase goods." ”。 Nathaniel Montney, John Montney, and Thomas Robinson arrived in Guangzhou and lived in a house surnamed Ye on the outskirts of Guangzhou.
Noretti pulled the strings, and Monteney and others bribed Guangzhou officials with heavy sums of money. Sixty percent of the 10,000 eight riyals were embezzled by Chen Qian, the commander-in-chief of Canton, who privately signed a contract with Montney and signed the terms that "for the sake of free and extensive trade and residence, the British shall pay 20,000 taels of silver (30,000 eight riyals) every year, four large iron cannons, and 50 Mauser guns." ”
"The traitors regard it as if it were a golden hole," Noreti and his merchant friends Jie Bangjun and Ye Gui bought wine, rice, sugar, ginger and other products on behalf of the British. Montenny and the others demanded more money from the fleet for more cargo, and Weddell sent another 40,000 eight riyals.
Weddell sent men to investigate the three designated anchorages, and found that none of them could be anchored.
On 29 August, Weddell spotted signs of an approaching typhoon and asked for permission to enter the river, but was denied.
On Aug. 30, Weddell continued to drive two nautical miles, anchoring at Tiger Island outside Humen until Sept. 10.
Seeing that Weddell's fleet did not listen to the dissuasion and went deep into the inland waters, the Cantonese side decided to adopt the strategy of "using Han to defend Macao and Macao to defend red."
On 6 September, Weddell received a written protest from the Governor of Macau and the Senate against his entry into Canton to the detriment of Portuguese interests, and demanded that the British fleet leave China immediately. However, Weddell, relying on the good relations he had established with Chen Qian, the commander-in-chief of Canton, through Noretti, arrogantly rejected the Macau side. - "Why should we wait for the letter of permission from the king of Castile or the governors of those places?"
On 7 September, Weddell again gave 12,000 eight riyals of Spanish silver to a British merchant in Canton via Noretti.
On September 8, Thomas Robinson bought 1,000 quintals of sugar for 28,000 eight riyals.
Weddell's use of force to force trade with China caused strong dissatisfaction among the Cantonese authorities. They arrested Noreti for "bringing money into the province without permission" and interrogated him severely. Noretti confessed that he had bought sugar, rice, wine and other items for "Hongyi", and "brought two Yimu, and Yizi was at Jiebangjun's house." "The Canton government arrested Jie Bangjun and Ye Gui for trading with the British without permission. Monteney and Robinson were also detained in their residences, and British goods were confiscated. They had tried to escape.
At that time, the Guangdong side adopted the suggestion of General Li Yanqing and others, adopted the tactics of fire attack, and ordered the commander-in-chief Chen Bangji and Wu Yifeng to "recruit 40 Fujian soldiers including Zhang Qi, prepare firewood, firewood, and grass, and select five old military ships to be used as fireboats." The ships were linked with iron chains. In the early morning of September 10, under the cover of darkness, they sailed towards the British ship. Approaching the British ship, the sailors in the lurking ship immediately set fire to it and jumped into the river. In an instant, the fire was blazing, and the three arsonist ships were discovered by Weddell's fleet in time and were able to escape.
Having not heard from the merchants in Canton for more than two weeks, Weddell and the crew decided to "do everything we could to sabotage China" in order to induce the Chinese to treat the British merchants and ships better.
On 18 September, Weddell began to take action. On 19 September, before dawn, Weddell's fleet attacked the Chinese sailors sailing on the Pearl River, burning three sailboats equipped as firearms boats and two others, setting fire to a village, and taking away thirty pigs. The rest of the "16 ships" of the Mingshui Division fled.
On 21 September, Weddell received a letter from Montney informing him that the merchants had been "imprisoned and guarded increasingly harshly and horribly" and that they had not received the money they had sent. Therefore, Weddell ordered a landing and occupied the A-Niang shoe battery, and the defenders had already fled.
On 22 September, Weddell's fleet burned a galleon, and Weddell "went ashore and blew up the fort with three barrels of gunpowder, shattering most of the wall and tearing up and destroying the inside of the fort."
On September 24, the Chinese side sent a letter "stating that they want us to wait another 10 days and then get what we want." "However, Weddell was reported that a Fujian fleet had arrived and was ready to attack. Weddell feared an attack on the fleet and decided to leave.
On September 26, Weddell's fleet left Humen and anchored in Lingdingyang.
On 27 September, Weddell's fleet was four miles away from Macau (the rig, an ancient unit of length, usually defined in the English-speaking world as 3 miles, about 4.828 kilometers, for land, i.e., about an hour's walk from the same person; or 3 nautical miles, about 5.556 kilometers, for the sea. ) of the sea under the anchorage.
The Weddell Fleet Committee submitted a letter of protest to the Captain General of Macau and the Senate. Stating the reasons and grounds of the indignation against Goa and Macao, accusing the Portuguese of supplying and equipping ships with firearms, holding them responsible for the seizure of the merchants, and demanding that they "release and return the above-mentioned merchants, who have been detained in Canton by your cause, and make indemnity for all the goods and all the losses suffered by the voyage, as the matter was caused by your superiors." When the Governor of Macau received the letter, he replied to Weddell and sent Father Reboredo, a Jesuit priest who had travelled from Malacca to Macao on Weddell's fleet, to meet Weddell and deliver the letter, expressing his intention to intervene.
At first, Weddell didn't trust the Portuguese in Macau, and delayed for some time. Meanwhile, on September 30, a Spanish galleon bound for Acapulco, Mexico, arrived from Manila and anchored next to the Weddell fleet. Weddell and his subordinates also discussed the issue of seizure or letting him go. At that time, Britain and Spain were at peace. Eventually, the Spanish galleon sailed away, and the crew of Weddell's fleet made many complaints.
Weddell was willing to accept the mediation of the Macao side, and the Guangdong side was also unwilling to escalate the situation, preferring to settle the matter peacefully and let the "Hongyi" leave the country as soon as possible. Zheng Maohua, the governor of Guangxi, who was in charge of the military affairs of Guangxi and Guangzhou, agreed to the British request.
On October 9, the British merchants, money, and goods were returned, and the British were asked to "leave the waters of China peacefully, without harming a single person," and to "never return here." Two days later, on October 11, Weddell was allowed to do some business in Macau.
On 16 October, some Portuguese came to Canton to mediate the matter. On the 18th, a meeting was held demanding that the British promise to leave Canton at once and to pay 28,000 eight riyals for the privileges of the trade they had made. On the 20th, the merchants were informed that Ming officials had estimated the amount of the fixed payment at 2,800 taels of silver (4,250 eight riyals), a request rejected by the British. In the end, the British got their possessions back and completed their trade.
On 22 November, Weddell's fleet drew up a list for Chen Qian, the commander-in-chief of Canton, listing the money and cargo they had brought with them, not including the 1,000 eight riyals that had been delivered after their departure.
On 26 November, the British left Canton and returned to their fleet anchored off Macao.
An official document sent to Chinese officials on November 30, signed by Weddell, Monteney and Captain Capt. Swanley, reads: "Our entry into Chinese mainland is due to our ignorance of Chinese laws, and we believe that the Chinese king is charitable and lenient to those who come from afar," and the Chinese received their assurances. They were sent to Macao, "from where we can return to our country," and their future actions "abide by Chinese laws and regulations and will never be violated," and "if they violate them now and in the future, they will be willing to be punished by officials and the city of Macao."
In the winter of 1637, Zhang Jingxin, the governor of Liangguang, arrived and learned that Weddell's fleet was still staying in Macao, so he immediately reorganized the army, deployed troops to "show that it must be suppressed", and ordered the deputy envoy of Haidao to urge the British to leave China and return to China as soon as possible.
On 20 December, the Catherine sailed back to England, stopping at Aceh and Batkal. The ship was loaded with cargo purchased from Guangzhou and Macau suitable for long-distance shipping. The other ships remained for trade with Aceh and India.
The list of goods purchased from China is as follows:
- Sugar, 12,086 quintals
- Rock sugar, 500 quintals
—— Green ginger, 800 quintals
- Bulk gold, 30 and 1/2 pounds, valued at 4,333 eight riyals
—— 织物（丝和缎），24盒
- Raw ginger, 100 quintals
—— Sumu (from Mexico), 9,600 pieces
- Porcelain, 53 barrels
- Gold chains, 14 pieces
- Cloves, 88 boxes
The total value of the above goods is 60,000 eight riyals.
On 29 December, Weddell sailed out of Macau with the remaining two ships, the Dragon and the Sun. The "Dragon" took 140 Portuguese along with their property without informing the Captain of Macao and without obtaining permission.
Weddell arrived in Malacca on 16 January 1638 and in Aceh on 3 February.
Weddell sailed the Dragon from Aceh to India.
After loading in Aceh, the Sun left Aceh on March 3, 1638, and arrived in Dover, England, on December 15. The distance of its outward voyage is 17,281 nautical miles, and the return journey is 18,923 nautical miles, for a total of 36,204 nautical miles.
This battle was the first time that China and Britain went head-to-head, and the Ming Dynasty finally won an actual victory through the mediation of the Portuguese in Macao, but it turned out that the Ming Dynasty warfleet could not fight against the British warships. Although there were few casualties on both sides, the British were now familiar with the intrusion into the Chinese coast, and when the British fleet re-entered Humen in 1840, they already had a detailed waterway map at hand.
bibliography
张廷玉（清）：《明史》，中华书局1974年版。
The First Historical Archives of China: Collection of Archives of the Ming Dynasty of China, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2001.
Huang Hongzhao, "Britain Apologized to the Ming Dynasty Government for Reparations", Legal Expo, No. 3, 2011.