1840年代:英国与舟山

The 1840s: Britain and Zhoushan

舟山亦称定海,位于杭州湾以南的浙江海面。第一次鸦片战争,英国占领香港,此乃中英关系史上的大事件。但英国对中国领土的最初觊觎目标却并非香港,而是舟山。19世纪40年代,舟山不仅成为英国发动对华鸦片战争最主要的攻击目标;战后,又长期被英军占领,成为中英两国外交的症结。作为当时世界最强国的英国与中国领土舟山间的关系值得探究。

Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province, also named Dinghai, is located in the sea which is to the south of the Bay of Hangzhou. During the Opium War, it was a great event in Sino-England history that Britain occupied Hong Kong. At that time, the goal that Britain coveted at first was not Hong Kong, but Zhoushan. In the 1840s, Zhoushan became not only the most important attacked target by Britain in the Opium War but also a diplomatic hassle in Sino-England history after the War. It is of great value to study the relationship between Britain as the most powerful country of that period and Zhoushan which belongs to China.