Industrial Age · East Asia · Politics
1858
Hong Kong Treaty of Tientsin
September 24, 1858
Under the guns of Anglo-French forces that had taken the Taku forts, the Qing signed the Tientsin treaties: more treaty ports, a permanent British minister in Beijing, the legalization of opium, and indemnities. The emperor refused ratification. War would resume the following year, culminating in the burning of the Summer Palace.