Peter Ward Fay 
The Opium War, 1840-1842 
Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century and the War by which They Forced Her Gates Ajar

This book tells the fascinating story of the war between England and China that delivered Hong Kong to the English, forced the imperial Chinese government to add four ports to Canton as places in which foreigners could live and trade, and rendered irreversible the process that for almost a century thereafter distinguished western relations with this quarter of the globe– the process that is loosely termed the ‘opening of China.’

Originally published by UNC Press in 1975, Peter Ward Fay’s study was the first to treat extensively the opium trade from the point of production in India to the point of consumption in China and the first to give both Protestant and Catholic missionaries their due; it remains the most comprehensive account of the first Opium War through western eyes. In a new preface, Fay reflects on the relationship between the events described in the book and Hong Kong’s more recent history.

About the author

Peter Ward Fay is professor emeritus of history at the California Institute of Technology.