Peter said:
"Later the emperor had his government exiled or executed. It was one of the few examples in history where the rulers of a nation paid for their sins themselves, and only them."
Paul, I've read about the Old Summer Palace, Weiyang Palace and the battles involved in their looting and destruction and the only real "sins" I can recall of is the torture (and thus not holding to the Qing's governments word of safe conduct) of those 20 something British diplomatic envoys (correct me if I'm wrong).
Skiping ahead a bit, the Opium (and following) wars had both negative and positive effects on China. But I find the Anglo-French attacks on China pety. The opium is crutial for medicine but it made some 2 million plus citizens herion addicts and the effects of the wars were further destructive.
In my opionion the destruction of the Old Summer Palace is unforgivable. It outmatches the misconduct of the envoys by far and just seems so unecessary. Sure the Emperor DID need to be taught a lesson as far as though those envoys went but destroying the palace destroys citizens hard work and labour. Sure the palace was the Xianfeng Emperor's home but he did not make it and so does not suffer from it's destruction. The people who suffer are the citizens.
Besides, the British and French forces had recieved more than enough compensation for the damages of their forces.
The Anglo-French demands of the Emperor and the treaties they physically forced the Emperor and Qing Government to abide by are completely unjust and totally biased and unfair.
It seems to me as if Lord Elgin decision to burn the Old Summer Palace was out of spite and fear (I would imagine seeing a palace of its magnitide would be threatening).
Charles George Gordon, a 27-year-old captain in the Royal Engineers explains it well:
"We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying in a vandal-like manner most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money….I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large , and we were so pressed for time , that we could not plunder then carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralising work for an army."
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