You know you are truly devoted to teaching people about history when you write your own audio books with incredible citations and facts and then hand it out for free to whomever wants learn. For that I want to simply say thank you Mark
But the top comments for this video were from mom's basement brigade. History is now under attack from video game warriors who think a game algorithm is a god given commandment that a useless weapon can compete against a superior weapon, cause call of duty. World of warships and such. And these dickheads have the Gaul to say thank you for your service. Then dishonour them by thinking that they can do better cause they win at cod. Wow. And such I don't need praise from a coward who fights his battles from mom's basement. Sign on the dotted line or learn your place. Well done Dr. Felton.
@@matthewmcintosh4925 what are you taking about, I'm pretty sure nobody who watches this video, has played cod in the last 10years. And history under attack by gamers, ok. Only attack on history comes from far left history revisionists
@@meisterproper8304 you seem to have missed the fact that the comment I was commenting on has been deleted. And this will really mess with your head, I'm a right wing socialist. In fact my country does socialism so well 99.9% of our population don't realise they live in a socialist country. Even better the U.S. will sell us military technology you won't sell to other countries. Your military love being invited to our nation for training and exercises. Your citizens love comming here to study or relax or for business. Long before your previous leader, our freely and fairly elected officials publicly declared, "we will decide who enters our country and under what circumstances the are allowed to enter our country". Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your most cherished document begin with "we the people". Want to guess what that means. Like most you are confused about the difference between communist and socialist. When the world gets back to normal you are welcome to visit us and enjoy our hospitality, unique wildlife, and general relaxed way of life in a safe environment. Fyi the correct name of my beloved nation is The Commonwealth of Australia. Yes we are a socialist country, we just do it so well even our citizens don't realise they live in a socialist country. What do you think by the people for the people actually means.
@@matthewmcintosh4925 are you ok!? So only vets can comment those videos!? They are a special, semigod kind!? My country hasnt been at war in decades, so.. do streetfights count!? Or criminal related firefights/hits!?...... 🤷🏻♂️🤫
Dr. Felton makes the extra effort to pronounce names and places properly - something the so-called History Channel was abysmal at. It's not only appreciated, but I think it shows genuine respect for the topic, and especially for the people involved. Well done series.
I think there's been two major ways of translating Chinese to English (wade Giles and pinyin? I don't remember) so instead of encountering one version i frequently encounter two versions of chinese place names and people names, it can be confusing, like the contemporary Tianjin city used to be tientsin on older maps I've seen, the person lin zexu used to be something else in previous times, I remember the one mongol general was spelled something like Sen-Kuo-lin-chin instead of the more recent version mark uses with an r sound in place of the l, it can be confusing so mark definitely put in some effort just to get the names straight lol
@@steventhompson399 you’re correct Wade-Giles is the older romanization system and pinyin is the newer one. And imho pinyin is a much better much more intuitive system. You can teach yourself the phonics in no time.
And you have lead a very sheltered life. Yes his docs are good but. But dr. Felton is more of a generalist. Recommend you watch drachinfel and others you will learn about if you have a genuine interest in military history. Others will go into every weapon used in this conflict. Video games may give you the impression that you are a soldier but the real world is a lot different than mom's basement.
BRITISH EMPIRE : -We came to civilize you CHINESE : We have been civilized for thousands of years BRITISH EMPIRE : - OK then , how about some high quality opium?
Let's try to quote the British accurately.. It's more like we are 100 years more advanced than you technologically and have tremendous number of goods that would be extremely useful to you and would help you start your own industrial revolution. China replied no we're the superior race on earth superior to everyone including you and there is nothing an inferior race like you could possibly have that we would care about or that could help us. We are not going to buy anything you have and don't care about this trade imbalance and that you're silver reserves are going down by the day. Meanwhile Admiral Perry of the United states went to Japan with I think only about 10 items to show them and with just ten items Japan reverse engineered it change their society to be one with an industrial revolution like Europe and America and went way past China technologically. Many decades later China had to depend on the West to teach them how to fight a modern war and depend on them for weapons so that Japan did not wipe them off the face of the earth.
@@martinishot Trying to paint the English as the lesser evil here is unacceptable and uneducated. The British knew very well what they were doing and should've left the Chinese alone. Same for Matthew Perry and his violent coercion of the Japanese. It doesn't really matter how much they prospered from this interaction, because the negative impact on their culture and history, and the humilliation of the people living during those times was more than enough to throw those countries in disarray. Would Japan have harnered imperialist ideas in WW2 if Perry had never ordered those cannons to fire that day? Would China have succumbed to the Communist plague had their government not be tampered with by people who absolutely had no regard for the wellbeing of the people and their right to sovereignty over their historical territories? Food for thought, I think. A much more considerate stance than arguing "well, China can now fight wars and Japan invented Sony". Technological advancement is inevitable in our world. Even a hermit kingdom like Edo-period Japan, with its completely shut borders was a porous enough society that Dutch traders at Dejima port could influence technological advancement there (if you look at some of the treatises on anatomy and mechanics written at the time). Japan's wish here was to rule over its subjects without interacting with the outside interfering (despite an arguably illegitimate claim to sovereignty, since the Emperor was not the de-facto ruler). I very much doubt that this interested the Americans, who were self-interested. The philosophy at the time when it came to international relationships is to balance countries against eachother while protecting one's sphere of influence (real-politik). These satellite countries were little more than glorified vassals who had to endure the abuses of their overlords for little more gain than meager technological advancements. This was the same for China, who was at the mercy of several powers and was eventually destroyed by this interaction. I don't make the case of referring to countries as individual actors, all the people involved in those incidents back then are dead (good riddance) and there's little ammends one can make, but I have to say that the British do own the Chinese a pretty big apology. Same for the other countries dirtying the waters around there like Portugal and Spain.
Militarily you're correct. But why were the british and indian forces in china in the first place. To protect british government endorsed drug trading. I listened to a lecture on why the ccp acts the way they do meaning they still want to avenge the treatment the chinese received during the opium wars. Interesting opinion
Chinese Emperor : How goes the battle with the foreign devils? Chinese Official: We are fighting so hard we lost 5000 men ! Chinese Emperor : How many foreign devil have perished? Chinese Official: well....hard to say...
Or it's like one of those action movies where the bad guys can't hit the broad side of a barn. Passive leadership+being outranged was probably the lethal combination.
You have to consider the historical background. The Qing Dynasty at the time was still a feudal society, most of the military were farmers they gathered from nearby regions.😅😅 If a Military campaign fails to achieve its goal or is defeated. It would have been an absolute nightmare for these "part-time soldiers. " This was the time even just traveling 100 miles in the wild could kill you. Therefore, many casualties were caused by simply traveling back to their villages without supplies. Many body counts were conducted by tax collectors in these villages after the war and counted the number of people missing from the regions where the troops were gathered. As you can imagine, many people couldn't make it back. So all these missing persons were also added to the list of war casualties by historians. This is one of the reasons why the numbers were so high.
I want to let you know how much I am enjoying this series. My university major was history and my concentration was Chinese economic history so I know something of this period. That said, this is an extremely detailed and well-done piece, I don't often encounter a standard this high. Thank you
Always a "movie" playing in my mind when I listen. I can picture all of it... next best thing to being there. Not just information, but stories. That's why I enjoy the channel.
This is amazing history never before examined in such detail! The history of those times which I am a decendent of is indeed priceless. Thank you so much Dr Felton. Cheers from Canada👋
Went to a boarding school in the uk, named and dedicated to a general who also served in the Chinese Arrow war, general Charles G. Gordon. I believe that this was where his career began.
Yes, that’s the one. Although little was actually taught about him in China, I do remember seeing two long Chinese flags in the Rec hall. Still very interesting.
I’ve learned more from your videos than I ever did in college. Your voice, the way you deliver… so engaging. Bravo sir. Thank you for your exquisite work.
Fascinating to get the full story, thank you. I have been around the Humen Opium Wars Museum and several of the fortresses a couple of times, plus several of the other places mentioned here, the Huangpu Naval Base and Forts in and around Guangzhou (my wife from Guangzhou and we visit ever year). Most of these forts and bases are accessible and well worth a visit if you get a chance. Really amazing to see the huge fortresses and gun emplacements around Humen, the terrain and think how strong they should have been if they'd been well organised and had good guns, the guns they had shipped in from Krupps are still on show in a few places, but all pointing out to sea and the river, the British sent in raiding parties down the coast, circled and took them with barely a shot fired.
I did a few full 360 degree Panoramas of a couple of the guns and emplacements and fortresses, or what is left of them at Humen, Shajio and Weiyuan. View here, look for the arrows to the others within each of these 2 links. www.360cities.net/image/shajiao-fort-1-humen-guangdong-province Shajio Fortress Krupp Gun www.360cities.net/image/weiyuan-fort-9-humen-guangdong-province Weiyuan Fortress One can zoom in and drag the images around to view. Think there are about 9 or 10 images to view. Please delete this if it detracts from your video / talk.
this tactic of not facing the coast fortresses head on, but via landing parties miles further down the coast/behind the fortress is nothing new..already happend in Cuba by the british in 17th c...dare say also many other smart nations during roman/greek times. So strange then that the brits lost this "epiphany" during singapore 1942
@@oddballsok My understanding from visiting the Fortresses and emplacements at Humen, Weiyuan and Shajiao was that after the first war, they went to Krupps in Germany to buy modern breach loaders rather than their ancient bronze ad irom muzzle loading cannon, but they still used the same fortresses and tactics. When the British came in the Second Opium War, despite the Krupps guns, the British used the same tactic, dropped off a party ashore just down the coast, circled round the back and took them all out again. The terrain is very steep, many hundreds if not thousands of steps from the base camp in the hills down to the gun emplacements and fortresses in particular at Humen / Weiyuan. Doubt if the troops would have been in much of a healthy state to fight after running up and down those steep hills and thousands of steps. Yes, as you say, forgot their own lessons and tactics when it came to Singapore.
@@monkeylee4818 Perhaps not our most glorious moment, certainly not our worst. But compared to many modern empires and rulers Britain is far from the worst.
I have one minor critique, and I only mention it because I really enjoyed and appreciated this audio series. It would have been nice to have a closer and more detailed map as the background to allow active following the series of battles progression. The larger Chinese map may be useful at the introduction, but the more detailed close in map would have added to the audio's stories setting.
Mate keep these up ! The longer episodes are great ! I suffer with PTSD and struggle to sleep ... you complete this struggle , i just dim the lights and ‘alexa play mark felton war stories ‘ ❤️big respect from a fellow english man 🇬🇧
Wonderful presentation of how the British Empire established a colony in China over drugs and trade and away to get their Silver back, not sure the conversion of Silver dollars to Kilograms of Silver. Cheers and stay safe
>Chinese army dug in on river bank, knowing the British are coming. >British arrive, fire at the entrenched cannons and launch an amphibious attack >3 British wounded, 100s of enemy casualties, enemy forces routed, dozens of guns captured HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN
Confidence and modern technology. Imagine two British divisions, and the modern RAF replacing the British forces at the Battle of the Somme. And I'm not even sure that's a fair comparison given that the German Mausers could outrange the current British assault weapons
@@ronmaximilian6953 You’d think that during an assault the Chinese’d at least get a few volleys of fire off before running, its like they were using rubber bullets or something
@@sheldoniusRex The only way I can see these sorts of results happening is the Chinese literally routing and running from the naval guns before the marines get into musket range. But then even in urban combat, where the British advantages in firepower are massively curtailed they still tear though a vastly numerically superior foe with minimal losses. I know at this point China hadn’t had a big war in ages and had mass corruption in the army vs the British army and navy, flush with triumph and experience from across the globe, with legends leading them and veterans fighting its still insane to see loss numbers like that.
Born and raised to adult life in British Hong Kong, then Chinese Hong Kong. Moved to New York. With grandparents originally from different parts of Canton east and west of the pearl river delta. I know these places so much.
Interesting detailed commentary as expected from Dr Felton! I had heard of the opium wars and this comprehensive sequence of events filled in a lot of gaps! The war stories series should be exported to a podcast channel!
Gripping presentation. This episode in history is clear evidence of what disciplined professional soldiers with battle tempered leadership can accomplish when given only an objective and sure assurance of political support at home.
He mentioned in part 1 that there wasn't sure political support, William Gladstone thought it was an immoral war and there was considerable opposition to it in the public sphere.
@@jaythompson5102 there were no crowds spitting on soldiers calling them baby killers. No generals were ever going to be called traitors by serious journalists or politicians for winning battles. No one's career choices were going to be limited or curtailed by participating in this action.
@@gardnep I was talking about the magnificent performance of a professional military force in the field. How the flying fuck you turned that into a statement of principle on the issue of drugs mystifies me. I literally said nothing about them. So, just to piss you off further, all drugs should be universally legal. Any nation which restricts what it's citizens can put in their body is evil and illegitimate. Any violence, death, or destruction caused by the removal of such evil is the moral responsibility of the despots, not whichever forces endeavour to overthrow them. Now I've justified drug running. Get bent.
Ningbo is in Zhejiang Province btw, not Fujian. Funny how the dreaded Opium War actually triggered the development of Ningbo into a port city, and it’s now the largest/busiest port in the world less than 200 years later
Yes, the Royal Navy officer of the day was nothing if not honourable. They believed in granting quarter to their opponents, and expected as much themselves in return.
@@zeissiez we talking about their treatment on the battlefield, the political crimes that led to the conflict have nothing to do with the people fighting it
agree. a cooperation with someone who had the time and skill to make maps in more detail and some pictures of the persons/units/locations would make it broadcast-worthy.
Thank you Mark, I have been trying to find information on the Opium Wars but there is little out there and what pieces are out there are of poor quality or promoting Chinese propaganda. This is highly detailed and enthralling article (as was part 1.) Looking forward to the next instalment.
@lati long what a load of crap. When reading military history, it’s hard to find contemporary accounts from those involved without nationalist propaganda slipping in. It’s not all Illuminati mental manipulation, slow down there Mr Jones.
And Mark’s version isn’t being told from the British perspective? This is also PROPAGANDA, and you gravitate towards this version because that’s what you’re seeking all along…so enjoy the story but keep your politically fueled opinion strictly to yourself
Just watching this one after watching g first one. And just realised this is a 2nd youtube channel of yours so liked and subscribed good to see history isn't lost.
Thank you very much for your really good documentaries Dr. Felton. I think I listened and seen most of them but will see if some escaped. Just a little point in this one. Ningbo indeed was invaded though the city and Zhenhai are located in Zhejiang province, not Fujian. I actually have seen the "fortress" of Zhenhai which still exist. At the time I was wondering since it is so narrow that one bombshell would have devastating effect on any person who is in it. This documentary put that quite a bit more in perspective. Thank you.
Excellent narration as always, Dr. Felton. It's quite evident from studying British military operations, that they weren't atually conducting a war of conquest (compared to, say, Burma or Zanzibar). Given the massive military disparity, at least during the 1st Opium War, hat was stopping Britain from actually conquering and occupying all of China?
Approximate locations of the battleships wether near the major port city like Hong Kong or somewhere on the rivers delta drawn on a simple map with few arrows pointing movements WOULD add enormously to the imagination of the listener. It is difficult to even picture where about along long China coast these battles had taken place .
Thank you for giving me an insight into my great grandfathers life. At this time he was a sergeant in the 49th and served 3 years in China. Although the war was fought for all the wrong reasons, I can’t but help feeling a bit proud,
@@gentblue The British were legally selling opium to Chinese merchants; barely legally, but still legally. It was the Chinese merchants who imported it illegally into China and pushed it on the population, not the British. This is why the Qing government punished the Chinese merchants.
It's not often understood that until the early 19th century, China was one of the very few countries that were respected as being near equals to the up and coming European countries in terms of technology, prosperity, culture, governance and self confidence, and was looked at in awe by the western trader's and industrialists etc. The fact that the Chinese had been a unified nation for the vast majority of it's almost 3,500 years old recorded history and had been either the world's most advanced and strongest and richest nation for most of its existence had led to a very dismissive attitude towards the rest of the world and the belief that the foreigners could not supply China with anything worth having. This misplaced sense of superiority still exists in part even today but the reality is that they had allowed themselves to become to believe in their own high opinion of themselves and they were hugely shocked and humiliated by their defeats. They were never fully conquered or colonised or ruled by any of the western empires, and they had their own imperial family, their own government and political leaders and military and naval commanders etc etc and they didn't have their own language replaced by a European language, and they never became a colonial territory of any other country, but they did lose several very small but strategically important pieces of land to the British, Portuguese, German empire, Imperial Russia, Japan as well as being coerced into allowing several of the main cities to be semi controlled by coalitions of western countries and were unable to prevent the foreign navies and armies from being stationed in several important places and they were unable to prevent the foreign alliance from sending military forces becoming involved in the domestic affairs of China, which all combined into a major loss of confidence on the national psyche and a sense of vulnerability from being invaded and having foreign countries from being involved and interfering in Chinese affairs and having a negative impact on China's national interests. This is one of the reasons why the Chinese nation has made such an effort to regain its previous international status and world position, and why they have made sure that the majority of the benefits from the economic achievements and successes of the last 40 years or so has been kept by themselves and why they have made sure that they are fully independent in their ability to survive without relying on potentially hostile competitor countries and also explains why they have now some of the most advanced and largest and most powerful military and security forces, they are determined not to ever be in a position of being too poor and weak and technologically and economically backwards and militarily weak to experience the events of the mid 19th century to the mid 20th century again. They have the knowledge of what happens to poor and powerless and defenceless countries, and it is still remembered today.
China escaped colonization due to bickering among the colonial powers. Being technologically advanced and militarily powerful is not sufficient to prevent being dominated by other powers. The experiences of Germany and Japan illustrate this.
Very intetesing, I thank you. I still deal with the aftermath of a opiate addiction personally and could not imagine another country legally trying to import it for silk, but here we are.
China is not near being one of the most advanced military powers today. they are inexperienced, the military offices are riddled with nepotism and bribes and their tech is a good 20-30 years behind the western powers, save for the junk the Russians chuck their way. The Japanese would waste them easily, for example.
Because it was very well-documented by the Chinese 😂😂😂. Every Chinese student is required to study this painful and humiliating history in school. This is something that engraved within the Chinese psyche forever.
You know you are truly devoted to teaching people about history when you write your own audio books with incredible citations and facts and then hand it out for free to whomever wants learn. For that I want to simply say thank you Mark
But the top comments for this video were from mom's basement brigade. History is now under attack from video game warriors who think a game algorithm is a god given commandment that a useless weapon can compete against a superior weapon, cause call of duty. World of warships and such. And these dickheads have the Gaul to say thank you for your service. Then dishonour them by thinking that they can do better cause they win at cod. Wow. And such I don't need praise from a coward who fights his battles from mom's basement. Sign on the dotted line or learn your place. Well done Dr. Felton.
@@matthewmcintosh4925 what are you taking about, I'm pretty sure nobody who watches this video, has played cod in the last 10years. And history under attack by gamers, ok. Only attack on history comes from far left history revisionists
@@meisterproper8304 you seem to have missed the fact that the comment I was commenting on has been deleted. And this will really mess with your head, I'm a right wing socialist. In fact my country does socialism so well 99.9% of our population don't realise they live in a socialist country. Even better the U.S. will sell us military technology you won't sell to other countries. Your military love being invited to our nation for training and exercises. Your citizens love comming here to study or relax or for business. Long before your previous leader, our freely and fairly elected officials publicly declared, "we will decide who enters our country and under what circumstances the are allowed to enter our country". Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your most cherished document begin with "we the people". Want to guess what that means. Like most you are confused about the difference between communist and socialist. When the world gets back to normal you are welcome to visit us and enjoy our hospitality, unique wildlife, and general relaxed way of life in a safe environment. Fyi the correct name of my beloved nation is The Commonwealth of Australia. Yes we are a socialist country, we just do it so well even our citizens don't realise they live in a socialist country. What do you think by the people for the people actually means.
@@matthewmcintosh4925 nah you're just a stooge
@@matthewmcintosh4925 are you ok!?
So only vets can comment those videos!? They are a special, semigod kind!?
My country hasnt been at war in decades, so..
do streetfights count!? Or criminal related firefights/hits!?...... 🤷🏻♂️🤫
Most youtube contents are made by uninteresing amateurs reading Wikipedia entries. And then there's Dr Mark Felton. Thank you so much!
Le conseil a
Agreed
Bit snobby
@@TheSoonToBePurgedJackMeHoff55 a little bit haha
Felton's writing is top notch but his audio is so-so.
+Anth Roderick. Agreed. Dr. Felton is a true professional and a scholar.
Dr. Felton makes the extra effort to pronounce names and places properly - something the so-called History Channel was abysmal at.
It's not only appreciated, but I think it shows genuine respect for the topic, and especially for the people involved. Well done series.
He did live in china for a a couple of years giving lectures.
Gringo your a bloodthirsty shit.
I think there's been two major ways of translating Chinese to English (wade Giles and pinyin? I don't remember) so instead of encountering one version i frequently encounter two versions of chinese place names and people names, it can be confusing, like the contemporary Tianjin city used to be tientsin on older maps I've seen, the person lin zexu used to be something else in previous times, I remember the one mongol general was spelled something like Sen-Kuo-lin-chin instead of the more recent version mark uses with an r sound in place of the l, it can be confusing so mark definitely put in some effort just to get the names straight lol
@@steventhompson399 Is this possibly todo with the simplified version of Chinese.
@@steventhompson399 you’re correct Wade-Giles is the older romanization system and pinyin is the newer one. And imho pinyin is a much better much more intuitive system. You can teach yourself the phonics in no time.
You da greatest military historian in world history Mark!!!!!!
You nailed it!!!
BatGoat you right fam!!!!
Pc Principle you right fam!!!
And you have lead a very sheltered life. Yes his docs are good but. But dr. Felton is more of a generalist. Recommend you watch drachinfel and others you will learn about if you have a genuine interest in military history. Others will go into every weapon used in this conflict. Video games may give you the impression that you are a soldier but the real world is a lot different than mom's basement.
Matthew Mcintosh thanks fam!!!! You da best too!!!!
BRITISH EMPIRE : -We came to civilize you
CHINESE : We have been civilized for thousands of years
BRITISH EMPIRE : - OK then , how about some high quality opium?
Yup
It’s funny but you often times see the Chinese in movies related heavily with opium dens. And then again who pushed the opium on the Chinese.
Now china exporting fentanly to the US
Let's try to quote the British accurately.. It's more like we are 100 years more advanced than you technologically and have tremendous number of goods that would be extremely useful to you and would help you start your own industrial revolution. China replied no we're the superior race on earth superior to everyone including you and there is nothing an inferior race like you could possibly have that we would care about or that could help us. We are not going to buy anything you have and don't care about this trade imbalance and that you're silver reserves are going down by the day. Meanwhile Admiral Perry of the United states went to Japan with I think only about 10 items to show them and with just ten items Japan reverse engineered it change their society to be one with an industrial revolution like Europe and America and went way past China technologically. Many decades later China had to depend on the West to teach them how to fight a modern war and depend on them for weapons so that Japan did not wipe them off the face of the earth.
@@martinishot Trying to paint the English as the lesser evil here is unacceptable and uneducated. The British knew very well what they were doing and should've left the Chinese alone. Same for Matthew Perry and his violent coercion of the Japanese. It doesn't really matter how much they prospered from this interaction, because the negative impact on their culture and history, and the humilliation of the people living during those times was more than enough to throw those countries in disarray. Would Japan have harnered imperialist ideas in WW2 if Perry had never ordered those cannons to fire that day? Would China have succumbed to the Communist plague had their government not be tampered with by people who absolutely had no regard for the wellbeing of the people and their right to sovereignty over their historical territories? Food for thought, I think. A much more considerate stance than arguing "well, China can now fight wars and Japan invented Sony".
Technological advancement is inevitable in our world. Even a hermit kingdom like Edo-period Japan, with its completely shut borders was a porous enough society that Dutch traders at Dejima port could influence technological advancement there (if you look at some of the treatises on anatomy and mechanics written at the time). Japan's wish here was to rule over its subjects without interacting with the outside interfering (despite an arguably illegitimate claim to sovereignty, since the Emperor was not the de-facto ruler). I very much doubt that this interested the Americans, who were self-interested. The philosophy at the time when it came to international relationships is to balance countries against eachother while protecting one's sphere of influence (real-politik). These satellite countries were little more than glorified vassals who had to endure the abuses of their overlords for little more gain than meager technological advancements. This was the same for China, who was at the mercy of several powers and was eventually destroyed by this interaction. I don't make the case of referring to countries as individual actors, all the people involved in those incidents back then are dead (good riddance) and there's little ammends one can make, but I have to say that the British do own the Chinese a pretty big apology. Same for the other countries dirtying the waters around there like Portugal and Spain.
And this ladies and gentlemen is why you don't defund the research and development wing of your military
not research brought them there..but pure war experience...
@@oddballsok and technical superiority
* Civ III playthrough flashbacks*
@@tuga_ace Pain... pain changes you
Militarily you're correct. But why were the british and indian forces in china in the first place. To protect british government endorsed drug trading. I listened to a lecture on why the ccp acts the way they do meaning they still want to avenge the treatment the chinese received during the opium wars. Interesting opinion
Chinese Emperor : How goes the battle with the foreign devils?
Chinese Official: We are fighting so hard we lost 5000 men !
Chinese Emperor : How many foreign devil have perished?
Chinese Official: well....hard to say...
Chinese official: “Well, now we get into that dispute ‘is zero is a number’…“
"is his imperial majesty familiar with imaginary numbers?"
Chinese Emperor: That many huh? Very good, we'll have them gone in no time.
Well I think one hurt his leg getting off a boat
Really it was like a sci-fi horror show to the Chinese:
Your weapons are useless! Take me to your leader!!
Some of these casualty numbers for the Chinese make the British Soldiers seem like they're doing Dynasty Warriors-esque amounts of damage
Or it's like one of those action movies where the bad guys can't hit the broad side of a barn. Passive leadership+being outranged was probably the lethal combination.
This could be made into a video game.
You have to consider the historical background.
The Qing Dynasty at the time was still a feudal society, most of the military were farmers they gathered from nearby regions.😅😅
If a Military campaign fails to achieve its goal or is defeated. It would have been an absolute nightmare for these "part-time soldiers. " This was the time even just traveling 100 miles in the wild could kill you.
Therefore, many casualties were caused by simply traveling back to their villages without supplies. Many body counts were conducted by tax collectors in these villages after the war and counted the number of people missing from the regions where the troops were gathered.
As you can imagine, many people couldn't make it back. So all these missing persons were also added to the list of war casualties by historians.
This is one of the reasons why the numbers were so high.
I want to let you know how much I am enjoying this series. My university major was history and my concentration was Chinese economic history so I know something of this period. That said, this is an extremely detailed and well-done piece, I don't often encounter a standard this high. Thank you
Mark Felton carries the torch of history alone and for free
Unexpected Mark Felton quality to accompany my breakfast is always a welcome. Cheers for continuing to be a gem with these videos!
It amazes me how good you write and narrate your war stories Mark Felton. Keep up this amazing work on your war stories.
how well
Always a "movie" playing in my mind when I listen. I can picture all of it... next best thing to being there. Not just information, but stories. That's why I enjoy the channel.
This is amazing history never before examined in such detail! The history of those times which I am a decendent of is indeed priceless. Thank you so much Dr Felton. Cheers from Canada👋
Amazing amount of detail! This must have taken forever to research. Truly impressive.
Its from a book I wrote years ago called 'China Station'.
@@WarStorieswithMarkFeltonhow long did that book take?
This is a fantastic series Mark. A depth dive into a unique part of history. Excellent work.
What a great small victory capturing the forts in only 30 minutes you got to love the enthusiasm during in the British Empire 🇬🇧
You are a amazing story teller. Sir Mark. Now I can’t wait for part 3 🇬🇧🇺🇸
I'm always torn between listening to these as they come out or waiting for the complete series
Then settle in and enjoy 2 hours of proper history
Went to a boarding school in the uk, named and dedicated to a general who also served in the Chinese Arrow war, general Charles G. Gordon. I believe that this was where his career began.
Yes, he was known as "Chinese Gordon".
Yes, that’s the one. Although little was actually taught about him in China, I do remember seeing two long Chinese flags in the Rec hall. Still very interesting.
I’ve learned more from your videos than I ever did in college. Your voice, the way you deliver… so engaging. Bravo sir. Thank you for your exquisite work.
Fascinating to get the full story, thank you. I have been around the Humen Opium Wars Museum and several of the fortresses a couple of times, plus several of the other places mentioned here, the Huangpu Naval Base and Forts in and around Guangzhou (my wife from Guangzhou and we visit ever year). Most of these forts and bases are accessible and well worth a visit if you get a chance. Really amazing to see the huge fortresses and gun emplacements around Humen, the terrain and think how strong they should have been if they'd been well organised and had good guns, the guns they had shipped in from Krupps are still on show in a few places, but all pointing out to sea and the river, the British sent in raiding parties down the coast, circled and took them with barely a shot fired.
I did a few full 360 degree Panoramas of a couple of the guns and emplacements and fortresses, or what is left of them at Humen, Shajio and Weiyuan. View here, look for the arrows to the others within each of these 2 links.
www.360cities.net/image/shajiao-fort-1-humen-guangdong-province Shajio Fortress Krupp Gun
www.360cities.net/image/weiyuan-fort-9-humen-guangdong-province Weiyuan Fortress
One can zoom in and drag the images around to view. Think there are about 9 or 10 images to view.
Please delete this if it detracts from your video / talk.
this tactic of not facing the coast fortresses head on, but via landing parties miles further down the coast/behind the fortress is nothing new..already happend in Cuba by the british in 17th c...dare say also many other smart nations during roman/greek times.
So strange then that the brits lost this "epiphany" during singapore 1942
@@oddballsok My understanding from visiting the Fortresses and emplacements at Humen, Weiyuan and Shajiao was that after the first war, they went to Krupps in Germany to buy modern breach loaders rather than their ancient bronze ad irom muzzle loading cannon, but they still used the same fortresses and tactics. When the British came in the Second Opium War, despite the Krupps guns, the British used the same tactic, dropped off a party ashore just down the coast, circled round the back and took them all out again. The terrain is very steep, many hundreds if not thousands of steps from the base camp in the hills down to the gun emplacements and fortresses in particular at Humen / Weiyuan. Doubt if the troops would have been in much of a healthy state to fight after running up and down those steep hills and thousands of steps.
Yes, as you say, forgot their own lessons and tactics when it came to Singapore.
69 British Deaths. Thats a Rule Britannia moment if ever I heard one! XD
Died of defending the rights of smuggling drugs
How glorious of an empire it is!
@@monkeylee4818 Perhaps not our most glorious moment, certainly not our worst.
But compared to many modern empires and rulers Britain is far from the worst.
@@archstanton6102 Not sure about that.
@@alvaro701 Which part?
@@archstanton6102 yeah tell that to the Irish
This audiobook is such a treat, thanks
Nice! Now I can finally pronounce "sinecure" and "desultory" appropriately...anyway, many thanks for the usual excellent narration Dr. Felton!!
I am absolutely delighted at the idea of Richard Simmons commanding a warship.
Fire a broadside!! Is everybody having a wonderful day??
I have one minor critique, and I only mention it because I really enjoyed and appreciated this audio series. It would have been nice to have a closer and more detailed map as the background to allow active following the series of battles progression. The larger Chinese map may be useful at the introduction, but the more detailed close in map would have added to the audio's stories setting.
On my phone, these days, I can zoom in on videos (and leave it zoomed in) using the app. Very good for something like this.
I'm so glad we've got you to help us all get through the lockdowns, will make it so much easier to deal with. Keep calm and learn about history.😉
Mate keep these up ! The longer episodes are great ! I suffer with PTSD and struggle to sleep ... you complete this struggle , i just dim the lights and ‘alexa play mark felton war stories ‘ ❤️big respect from a fellow english man 🇬🇧
what from?
@@theGENIUSofART-understood not the kinda question you go around asking . its a-bit personal to be throwing around on the internet 👏🏻
@@kooperativekrohn819 bugger ya the
@@theGENIUSofART-understood 😂sorry i don’t wanna spurt personal info over the internet for the world to see mate
I’m binge watching these 🎯 I’ve always wanted to learn more about this exact subject. Much gratitude 🙏
absolutely love these longer form works!
Thank you for those Mark. I never really knew anything about these wars until now. Happy New Year.
Love ya mark, keep going during this pandemic your content is my entertainment
😮dr. Felton. You're work is unparalleled. Thanks so much for the quality of your work. Love your vocabulary!!
Love the turn of the century history! Please do more historical events from the late 1800's!
Brilliant
Le Mao
Wonderful presentation of how the British Empire established a colony in China over drugs and trade and away to get their Silver back, not sure the conversion of Silver dollars to Kilograms of Silver. Cheers and stay safe
Believe a silver dollar is 1 oz
Most of the Chinese op___ users were not add_cts.
Thank you for covering the opium wars, european conquests of these throwback empires are my favorite
>Chinese army dug in on river bank, knowing the British are coming.
>British arrive, fire at the entrenched cannons and launch an amphibious attack
>3 British wounded, 100s of enemy casualties, enemy forces routed, dozens of guns captured
HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN
Confidence and modern technology. Imagine two British divisions, and the modern RAF replacing the British forces at the Battle of the Somme. And I'm not even sure that's a fair comparison given that the German Mausers could outrange the current British assault weapons
@@ronmaximilian6953 You’d think that during an assault the Chinese’d at least get a few volleys of fire off before running, its like they were using rubber bullets or something
@@maxkennedy8075 The cannon gunpowder and the honeycombed cannons did not help their effectiveness.
@@maxkennedy8075 discipline. Steel your nerves, steady your rifle, shoot to kill, and your enemy will often obligingly panic and run.
@@sheldoniusRex The only way I can see these sorts of results happening is the Chinese literally routing and running from the naval guns before the marines get into musket range.
But then even in urban combat, where the British advantages in firepower are massively curtailed they still tear though a vastly numerically superior foe with minimal losses.
I know at this point China hadn’t had a big war in ages and had mass corruption in the army vs the British army and navy, flush with triumph and experience from across the globe, with legends leading them and veterans fighting its still insane to see loss numbers like that.
You speak for the War nerd in all of us thank you Mr Felton.
Love this format! I just finished your last book and it was great, nice way to support your work!
Born and raised to adult life in British Hong Kong, then Chinese Hong Kong. Moved to New York. With grandparents originally from different parts of Canton east and west of the pearl river delta. I know these places so much.
Interesting detailed commentary as expected from Dr Felton! I had heard of the opium wars and this comprehensive sequence of events filled in a lot of gaps! The war stories series should be exported to a podcast channel!
Gripping presentation. This episode in history is clear evidence of what disciplined professional soldiers with battle tempered leadership can accomplish when given only an objective and sure assurance of political support at home.
He mentioned in part 1 that there wasn't sure political support, William Gladstone thought it was an immoral war and there was considerable opposition to it in the public sphere.
@@jaythompson5102 there were no crowds spitting on soldiers calling them baby killers. No generals were ever going to be called traitors by serious journalists or politicians for winning battles. No one's career choices were going to be limited or curtailed by participating in this action.
So professional drug running is justified by disciplined military forces??
@@gardnep I was talking about the magnificent performance of a professional military force in the field. How the flying fuck you turned that into a statement of principle on the issue of drugs mystifies me. I literally said nothing about them.
So, just to piss you off further, all drugs should be universally legal. Any nation which restricts what it's citizens can put in their body is evil and illegitimate. Any violence, death, or destruction caused by the removal of such evil is the moral responsibility of the despots, not whichever forces endeavour to overthrow them. Now I've justified drug running. Get bent.
@@sheldoniusRex lol he proved your point
Your next video should be on the USS Liberty incident or the Lavon Affair
Finding this channel was a blessing
Looking forward to the rest of the series, Mark. I listen while riding my bike. Great to have something else upon which to focus.
Thank you! I've been looking for a long time for a clear, concise, and informative video series on this often forgotten conflict in the west
I believe China would be the far east before the west lol
The man himself. Great job mark. Your the best history channel on youtube
Getting warmly fired at sounds like peak brittish officer! Great content as always Dr.Felton!
Many thanks Dr Felton ,you are an enciclopaedia of knoledge
Happy New Year to you family and assistans
Happy new year!
Ningbo is in Zhejiang Province btw, not Fujian.
Funny how the dreaded Opium War actually triggered the development of Ningbo into a port city, and it’s now the largest/busiest port in the world less than 200 years later
It's really interesting just how restrained the British were in terms of trying to prevent civilian casualties
Yes, the Royal Navy officer of the day was nothing if not honourable. They believed in granting quarter to their opponents, and expected as much themselves in return.
The Navy were honourable, the Army though was something else
Absurdity. The Chinese were doped for silver. You call that humility?
@@zeissiez its the beta order followers in the military and then the secret societies that have controlled the world for a while now
@@zeissiez we talking about their treatment on the battlefield, the political crimes that led to the conflict have nothing to do with the people fighting it
a great documentary, cheers Mark and keep up the great work.
I have been looking for documentarys onnthe opium wars literally for years thank you so much for your work
I love this series
Absolutely superb detail Mark, It feels like you were there as a reporter recording the stramashes. 😝🤣😜
Thank you again Dr Felton.
My only observation is that a more relevant map would enhance the production.
agree. a cooperation with someone who had the time and skill to make maps in more detail and some pictures of the persons/units/locations would make it broadcast-worthy.
I always learn from your productions. Thanks, and looking forward to part 3!
Thank you. Dr. Felton
You narrate so good that it feels as if I am there !
Thank you Mark, I have been trying to find information on the Opium Wars but there is little out there and what pieces are out there are of poor quality or promoting Chinese propaganda.
This is highly detailed and enthralling article (as was part 1.) Looking forward to the next instalment.
@lati long what a load of crap. When reading military history, it’s hard to find contemporary accounts from those involved without nationalist propaganda slipping in.
It’s not all Illuminati mental manipulation, slow down there Mr Jones.
@lati long EXACTLY ~
And Mark’s version isn’t being told from the British perspective? This is also PROPAGANDA, and you gravitate towards this version because that’s what you’re seeking all along…so enjoy the story but keep your politically fueled opinion strictly to yourself
I had no idea about any of this. Thanks Mark! Keep 'em comming!
Thank you, great detail!!!
Really enjoying this series so far. Thank you.
I think the British were playing this campaign on Easy
They're still in tutorial lol
Just watching this one after watching g first one. And just realised this is a 2nd youtube channel of yours so liked and subscribed good to see history isn't lost.
Always interesting, thank you.
Thank you very much for your really good documentaries Dr. Felton. I think I listened and seen most of them but will see if some escaped. Just a little point in this one. Ningbo indeed was invaded though the city and Zhenhai are located in Zhejiang province, not Fujian. I actually have seen the "fortress" of Zhenhai which still exist. At the time I was wondering since it is so narrow that one bombshell would have devastating effect on any person who is in it. This documentary put that quite a bit more in perspective. Thank you.
Love your content mark~! gonna keep watching and listening, really appreciate your hard work!!
Excellent narration as always, Dr. Felton.
It's quite evident from studying British military operations, that they weren't atually conducting a war of conquest (compared to, say, Burma or Zanzibar). Given the massive military disparity, at least during the 1st Opium War, hat was stopping Britain from actually conquering and occupying all of China?
@@OttomanSultana and it cost a shit ton of money manpower and logistics
WOW...Thanks very much.....!
2 pretty long videos done very well. Very well indeed! 👍👍
Thanks for all your hard work
Absolutely wonderful!
Sailed the back passage! That's not a euphemism is it. It was the Navy after all.
Well you know what they used to say about the navy; rum, bum and the lash.
sailed the back passage with a cargo of seamen
@@ForelliBoy That's a cracking joke.
When and where did you serve. Ya mom's basement don't count.
@@matthewmcintosh4925 I see you have left your sense of humour--behind
Terrific history lesson! Fascinating!
Approximate locations of the battleships wether near the major port city like Hong Kong or somewhere on the rivers delta drawn on a simple map with few arrows pointing movements WOULD add enormously to the imagination of the listener.
It is difficult to even picture where about along long China coast these battles had taken place .
Once again! Excellent video Mark!
I’m guessing Chinese cannon are really small ...?
Probably poorly made and crewed
Wass waiting for my second Fix of this story .
Fascinating stuff, though even a handful of more detailed maps or illustrations would have helped a lot.
google?
You should do one on the Taiping Rebellion
Another fantastic episode!
Ningbo is not part of Fujian Province. It is a major city in Zhejiang Province. Thought I point it out Mark.
I realised I read the wrong province after I published on UA-cam. I should know as I lived in China for 10 years and I've been to Ningbo!
Thank you for giving me an insight into my great grandfathers life. At this time he was a sergeant in the 49th and served 3 years in China.
Although the war was fought for all the wrong reasons, I can’t but help feeling a bit proud,
Yes, it differs from being a vicious drug baron's enforcer because of the flag: for Queen and Empire!
@@gentblue The British were legally selling opium to Chinese merchants; barely legally, but still legally. It was the Chinese merchants who imported it illegally into China and pushed it on the population, not the British. This is why the Qing government punished the Chinese merchants.
@@gentblue Op__ legalization did not increase op___ use
It's not often understood that until the early 19th century, China was one of the very few countries that were respected as being near equals to the up and coming European countries in terms of technology, prosperity, culture, governance and self confidence, and was looked at in awe by the western trader's and industrialists etc.
The fact that the Chinese had been a unified nation for the vast majority of it's almost 3,500 years old recorded history and had been either the world's most advanced and strongest and richest nation for most of its existence had led to a very dismissive attitude towards the rest of the world and the belief that the foreigners could not supply China with anything worth having. This misplaced sense of superiority still exists in part even today but the reality is that they had allowed themselves to become to believe in their own high opinion of themselves and they were hugely shocked and humiliated by their defeats.
They were never fully conquered or colonised or ruled by any of the western empires, and they had their own imperial family, their own government and political leaders and military and naval commanders etc etc and they didn't have their own language replaced by a European language, and they never became a colonial territory of any other country, but they did lose several very small but strategically important pieces of land to the British, Portuguese, German empire, Imperial Russia, Japan as well as being coerced into allowing several of the main cities to be semi controlled by coalitions of western countries and were unable to prevent the foreign navies and armies from being stationed in several important places and they were unable to prevent the foreign alliance from sending military forces becoming involved in the domestic affairs of China, which all combined into a major loss of confidence on the national psyche and a sense of vulnerability from being invaded and having foreign countries from being involved and interfering in Chinese affairs and having a negative impact on China's national interests.
This is one of the reasons why the Chinese nation has made such an effort to regain its previous international status and world position, and why they have made sure that the majority of the benefits from the economic achievements and successes of the last 40 years or so has been kept by themselves and why they have made sure that they are fully independent in their ability to survive without relying on potentially hostile competitor countries and also explains why they have now some of the most advanced and largest and most powerful military and security forces, they are determined not to ever be in a position of being too poor and weak and technologically and economically backwards and militarily weak to experience the events of the mid 19th century to the mid 20th century again.
They have the knowledge of what happens to poor and powerless and defenceless countries, and it is still remembered today.
China escaped colonization due to bickering among the colonial powers. Being technologically advanced and militarily powerful is not sufficient to prevent being dominated by other powers. The experiences of Germany and Japan illustrate this.
Very intetesing, I thank you. I still deal with the aftermath of a opiate addiction personally and could not imagine another country legally trying to import it for silk, but here we are.
China is not near being one of the most advanced military powers today. they are inexperienced, the military offices are riddled with nepotism and bribes and their tech is a good 20-30 years behind the western powers, save for the junk the Russians chuck their way.
The Japanese would waste them easily, for example.
Already part 2 out? Nice :)
Thank you for this mark, i found it very interesting and informative. Keep up the good work and ill catch you next time, Ray
Excellent video as always.
Great job Doc
Very well presented very interesting
Great documentaries, but I would like to see more on the western front as my father served in the South Pacific in WWII.
First Mark! Love this series
Yo he really dropped 2 parts in 2 days
Fantastic. Ty.
How does Mark collect all these details?! He's literally doing a play by play. Amazing!
Because it was very well-documented by the Chinese 😂😂😂.
Every Chinese student is required to study this painful and humiliating history in school.
This is something that engraved within the Chinese psyche forever.
The Chinese military leadership reminds me of the Jamaican work place
28:52 - Please note, Ningbo is in Zhejiang Province, not Fujian Province.
Keep up the great work.