Great Britain and the Taipings

Originally published in 1969 this was the first full study of British reactions to the major civil war known as the Taiping Rebellion which ravaged China in the mid-nineteenth century. The main emphasis of the book is on government policy towards the rebellion over the whole period in which it was active, but there are also chapters dealing with the views of merchants, missionaries and the general population. As well as filling in a vital chapter in the history of Sino-Western relations the book provides a case study of the process of policy making in an important area of ’informal’ empire. It will therefore be of interest to both students of nineteenth century Chinese history and of the Taiping Rebellion in particular, but also to those interested in mid-Victorian imperialism.

J. S. Gregory (1923-2021) was Professor of modern East Asian history at LaTrobe University, Australia.