Treaty of Nanking

Treaty of Nanking

Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce Between Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and the Emperor of China[1]
Signing of the treaty on board HMS Cornwallis
Signed	29 August 1842 (1842-08-29)
Location	Nanjing, Qing Empire
Effective	26 June 1843 (1843-06-26)
Condition	Exchange of ratifications
Parties	Qing Empire  United Kingdom
Languages	English and Chinese
Full text
Treaty of Nanking at Wikisource

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The Treaty of Nanking was an unequal treaty between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China to end the First Opium War (1839–1842), signed on 29 August 1842.

In the wake of China's military defeat, with British warships poised to attack Nanjing (then romanized as Nanking), British and Chinese officials negotiated on board HMS Cornwallis anchored in the Yangtze at the city. On 29 August, British representative Sir Henry Pottinger and Qing representatives Keying, Yilibu, and Niu Jian signed the treaty, which consisted of thirteen articles.

The treaty was ratified by the Daoguang Emperor on 27 October and Queen Victoria on 28 December. Ratification was exchanged in Hong Kong on 26 June 1843. The treaty required the Chinese to pay an indemnity, to cede the Island of Hong Kong to the British as a colony, to essentially end the Canton system that had limited trade to that port and allow trade at Five Treaty Ports. It was followed in 1843 by the Treaty of the Bogue, which granted extraterritoriality and most favoured nation status.