Southampton's connections with opium trade and the Opium Wars

His two sons were involved in the first Opium War, and this was probably his reason for naming two streets there Canton Street and Amoy Street. But Southampton’s connections with the opium trade and the Opium Wars of the 19th Century don’t stop there.

The first Opium War was fought from 1839 to 1842. Foreign traders – primarily British – had illegally exported opium to China since the 18th century, but the trade grew dramatically from about 1820.

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The widespread addiction in China was causing severe social and economic disruption, and in the spring of 1839 the Chinese Government cracked down, destroying more than 20,000 chests of opium warehoused at Canton by British merchants.

The East India Company (EIC) were worried about their remaining stocks of opium.

Four iron paddle- steamers were secretly commissioned – three were fitted out in Southampton, by the firm of ships’ chandlers JJ Wolff. Southampton was chosen as distant enough from EIC headquarters in London to be suitable for such covert purposes.

Large, swivel-mounted cannons were fitted at the bow and stern, and other armaments on the decks.

The crews were recruited locally, giving rise to rumours that the ships were destined for use against France.

The four ships made the voyage to Canton - it took them more than six months.

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They were successful in attacking the Chinese war junks attempting to stop the opium trade.

The largest of these ships, Nemesis, was the first British ocean-going iron warship; the Chinese referred to her as the “devil ship”.

In 1840, the British government sent a force which travelled up the Pearl River to Canton, and occupied the City in May 1841.

The Battle of Amoy was fought between British and Government forces at Amoy on Xiamen Island on August 26, 1841. The British captured Nanking in late August, which put an end to the fighting, but a second Opium War was fought by Britain and France against China from 1856–60.

Four individuals linked with the Southampton area were involved in these two wars and the opium trade.

Lord Palmerston, whose statue stands in Palmerston Park, was the MP for South Hampshire and a burgess of Southampton. He oversaw British actions in China as Foreign Secretary, against an opposite view promoted by humanitarians, reformers and religious nonconformists, led by a young William Gladstone.

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They argued that Palmerston was only interested in the huge profits the trade bought Britain, and was totally oblivious to the horrible moral evils of opium.

General Gordon was involved in the aftermath of the Second Opium War, his memorial in Queens Park records this. Arriving too late to fight against the Chinese, he ironically became commander of a militia group known as “The Ever Victorious Army”, fighting for the Emperor against rebels.

He won the title of “Titu” from the Emperor, the highest grade in the Chinese army, and earned the popular nickname “Chinese” Gordon in Britain.

In 1841, the Earl of Elgin – son of the Lord Elgin of Elgin Marbles family and for a short time MP for Southampton – served as High Commissioner to China. There is an Elgin Road in Freemantle.

Sir Charles Gilbert Elliot, whose grave is at St Andrew’s Church, Hamble, joined the Royal Navy in 1832, and saw a great deal of action during the Second Opium War.

P&O was based in Southampton from 1840 until 1874, and started to transport opium from Bombay to China in 1847. It monopolised the transport of Malwa opium from Bombay until the 1860s, and in 1880 secured a lucrative contract to transport Bengal opium.

Much of this information is from “The Exploits of our Fellow Townsman Mr Wolff’ by Alan Morton, available from admorton@btinternet.com, and is included in an article by Sarah Hanna for the Southampton Archaeology Society

Jack Wilson is a tour guide with SeeSouthampton.co.uk .