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Battle of Kowloon
The Battle of Kowloon was fought between British and Chinese ships off Kowloon, China, on 4 September 1839. It has been called "the first shot of the First Opium War"〔Hanes & Sanello 2004, p. 66〕 and arose following a fight in which a local Chinese died at the hands of British troops. The Chinese did not consider the punishment meted out to the perpetrators sufficient and as a result suspended supplies of food to the British at the same time poisoning their water supplies. In retaliation the British summoned nearby warships in an attempt to force the Chinese to change their minds.
== Background ==
On 7 July 1839, seamen from the ''Carnatic'' and ''Mangalore'', both owned by Jardine, Matheson & Co., landed in Kowloon where they were joined by colleagues from other British and American ships. After a group of sailors consumed the rice liquor known as ''samshu'', a local named Lin Weixi in the village of Tsim Sha Tsui was beaten in a drunken brawl and died the next day.〔Hoe & Roebuck 1999, p. 91〕〔Hanes & Sanello 2004, p. 61〕〔Fay 1975, p. 171〕 On 15 July, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China, Charles Elliot, offered rewards of $200 for evidence leading to the conviction of those responsible for the murder and $100 for evidence leading to the instigators of the riot. He also gave $1,500 in compensation to Lin's family, $400 to protect them against extortion of that money from what he called the "lower mandarins", and $100 to be distributed among the villagers.〔''Correspondence'' 1840, p. 432〕
Unlike English common law, Chinese law held the community, rather than the individual, responsible for transgressions. Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu demanded the death of the culprit and was prepared to accept any sailor, whether innocent or guilty, to settle the matter. On 12 August, under an Act of Parliament of 1833, Elliot began a court of criminal and admiralty jurisdiction on board the ''Fort William'' in Hong Kong harbour, with himself as judge and a group of merchants as the jury.〔Hoe & Roebuck 1999, p. 92〕 Two men were found guilty of rioting, fined £15 each, and sentenced to three months hard labour to be served in England while a further three men were found guilty of assault and rioting, fined £25 each, and sentenced to six months imprisonment in similar conditions.〔''Correspondence'' 1840, p. 433〕 However, the Act was under review and after arriving in England, they were set free on the grounds that the trial held no jurisdiction. Elliot invited Lin to send observers to the trial, but none came.〔〔Hanes & Sanello 2004, p. 62〕 Without the handover of a man to the Chinese, Lin was not satisfied with the proceedings.〔 He viewed the extraterritorial court as an infringement of China's sovereignty.〔
On 15 August, Lin issued an edict that prevented the sale of food to the British.〔〔''The Chinese Repository'' vol. 8, p. 216〕 Chinese labourers working for the British in Macao were withdrawn the next day. War junks arrived in coves along the Pearl River and notices above the fresh water springs warned that they were poisoned.〔 On 24 August, the Portuguese Governor of Macao, Don Adraio Accacio da Silveira Pinto, announced that the Chinese had ordered him to expel the British from the colony. He warned Lancelot Dent of the British hong Dent & Co. that the Chinese planned to seize the British dwellings in Macao.〔Hanes & Sanello 2004, p. 63〕 On 25 August, former Superintendent John Astell proposed to Elliot that all British boats should evacuate to Hong Kong.〔''Correspondence'' 1840, p. 435〕 By the end of the month, 2,000 people in over 60 ships were in Hong Kong harbour, without fresh food or water. The ships held European merchants, lascars, and dozens of British families. The ''Volage'' of Captain Henry Smith and the ''Hyacinth'' sailed to Hong Kong on 30 August. Elliot warned Kowloon officials of escalating conflict if the embargo continued.〔Hoe & Roebuck 1999, p. 93〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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