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Horatio Nelson Lay
Horatio Nelson Lay (23 January 1832 – 4 May 1898, Forest Hill, Kent, England) was a British diplomat, noted for his role in the ill-fated "Lay-Osborn Flotilla" during the Taiping Rebellion. Biography Early life Horatio Nelson Lay was born in Forest Hill to George Tradescant Lay, a naturalist and missionary, who served as British consul in the treaty port of Amoy in China. Lay's father inspired him to go to China, but he died in 1845 before Lay had a chance to join him. In 1847, Lay was sent to China to study Chinese under the German linguist and missionary Karl Gützlaff. Lay's proficiency in the Chinese language soon earned him promotion in the British consular service and in 1854 he was appointed acting Vice-Consul in Shanghai. The same year, Lay took part in the founding of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service and he became the first Inspector General of the service the following year. In China, Lay adopted a Chinese name Li Taiguo (李泰國, Lǐ Tàiguó), whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Hill, London
Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south London, south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, London, South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of Greater London, Forest Hill was only sparsely populated until the mid-19th century. The name Forest Hill, originally simply "The Forest",Hibbert, C. ''The London Encyclopedia'', Macmillan, p. 304 referred to the woodland which once covered the areaField, J. ''Place names of Greater London'', Batsford, 1980, p.49 and which was a relict part of the Great North Wood. In 1809, the Croydon Canal opened, however, the large number of locks (28) meant it was not a commercial success, and it was bought by the London & Croydon Railway Company who used the alignment to construct the Brighton Main Line, London Bridge to Croydon railway line opening in 1839. The ponds in the Dacres Wood Nature Reserve and the retaining wall of the footpath opposite the station outside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qiying
Keying (21 March 1787 – 29 June 1858), also known by his romanized Mandarin Chinese name Qiying or Ch'i-ying (Wade–Giles) and his Manchu name Kiyeng, was a Manchu statesman during the Qing dynasty of China. An imperial clansman of the house of Aisin Gioro, he began his career in the Imperial Clan Court. He conducted several peace treaties with Western powers, beginning with the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War with Britain in 1842. Keying was sent to negotiate again in 1858 to settle the Arrow War with Britain and France, but the settlement was repudiated by the Xianfeng Emperor and he was forced to commit suicide. Early career Keying was born on 21 March 1787. A descendant of Nurhaci's ninth son Babutai (Duke Kexi of the First Rank), Keying was a member of the imperial house of Aisin Gioro, and belonged to the Manchu Plain Blue Banner in the Eight Banners. He held several prominent posts in the Qing government and was demoted several times because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Robert Hart
Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, (20 February 1835 – 20 September 1911) was a British diplomat and official in the Qing Chinese government, serving as the second inspector-general of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service from 1863 to 1911. Beginning as a student interpreter in the consular service, he arrived in China at the age of 19 and resided there for 54 years, except for two short leaves in 1866 and 1874.King, Frank H. H.. "Hart, Sir Robert, first baronet". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. . Hart was the most important and most influential Westerner in Qing dynasty China. According to Jung Chang, he transformed Chinese Customs "from an antiquated set-up, anarchical and prone to corruption, into a well-regulated modern organisation, which contributed enormously to China's economy." Professor Rana Mitter of the University of Oxford writes that Hart "was honest and helped to generate a great deal of income for China." Sun Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea denial. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hundred years, has changed its meaning over time. During the Age of Sail, the term ''cruising'' referred to certain kinds of missions—independent scouting, commerce protection, or raiding—usually fulfilled by frigates or sloop-of-war, sloops-of-war, which functioned as the ''cruising warships'' of a fleet. In the middle of the 19th century, ''cruiser'' came to be a classification of the ships intended for cruising distant waters, for commerce raiding, and for scouting for the battle fleet. Cruisers came in a wide variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protected cruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big (although not as powerful or as well-armored) as a pre- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongzhi Emperor
The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had little influence over state affairs, the events of his reign gave rise to what historians call the " Tongzhi Restoration", an unsuccessful modernization program. The only surviving son of the Xianfeng Emperor, he ascended the throne at the age of five under a regency headed by his biological mother Empress Dowager Cixi and his legal mother Empress Dowager Ci'an. The Self-Strengthening Movement, in which Qing officials pursued radical institutional reforms following the disasters of the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, began during his reign. The Tongzhi Emperor assumed personal rule over the Qing governme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its history, from the early Admiralty in the 18th century, 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty, who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty, rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board (United Kingdom), Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), Navy Department (later Navy Command (Ministry of Defence), Navy Command). Before the Acts of Union 1707, the Office of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensign (flag)
An ensign is a maritime flag that is used for the national identification of a ship. It is the largest flag and is generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. Depending on the ship's origin, it may sometimes be identical with a Jack (flag), jack on the Bow (watercraft), bow of the ship when in a port. Jacks are more common on Warship, warships than on Merchant ship, merchant ships. Etymology The Middle English is derived from the Latin word . Vexillology Vexillologists distinguish between three varieties of ensigns: *A state ensign or government ensign (Vexillological symbol, usage symbol ) is worn by government vessels of official government agencies or civilian equipped auxiliary ships. *A naval ensign (usage symbol ) is worn by a country's navy as a war flag for military ships. The term "war flag" is used irrespective of if a given country is at war. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle. The ensign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherard Osborn
Sherard Osborn (25 April 1822 – 6 May 1875) was a Royal Navy admiral and Arctic explorer. Biography Born in Madras, he was the son of an Indian army officer. Osborn entered the navy as a first-class volunteer in 1837, serving until 1844 on , , and . In 1838, he was entrusted with the command of a gunboat at the attack on Kedah in the Malay Peninsula, and was present at the Battle of Canton in 1841, and at the Battle of Woosung in 1842. From 1844 until 1848, he was gunnery mate and lieutenant on , the flagship of Sir George Seymour in the Pacific. He took a prominent part in 1849 in advocating a new search expedition for Sir John Franklin, and in 1850 was appointed to the command of the steam-tender HMS Pioneer (1850) in the Arctic expedition under Horatio Thomas Austin, in the course of which he performed a remarkable sledge-journey to the western extremity of Prince of Wales Island. He published an account of this voyage, entitled ''Stray Leaves from an Arctic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign, longer than those of any of her predecessors, constituted the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the deaths of her father and grandfather in 1820, she was Kensington System, raised under close supervision by her mother and her Comptrol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zongli Yamen
The ''Zongli Yamen'' (), short for Office for the General Management of Affairs Concerning the Various Countries (), also known as Prime Minister's Office, Office of General Management, was the government body in charge of foreign policy in imperial China during the late Qing dynasty. It was established by Prince Gong on 11 March 1861 after the Convention of Beijing. It was abolished by the Qing government in 1901 and replaced with a Foreign Office of ministry rank. The former site of the ''Zongli Yamen'' is now located in Dongtangzi Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing. Nearly all the buildings are preserved in good condition. Meaning of name ''Zongli Yamen'' is a traditional abbreviation of the official name (), literally meaning "Office in Charge of Affairs Concerning All Nations".The corresponding name in Manchu, the other official language of the Qing Empire, was ''Geren gurun i baita be uherileme icihiyara yamun.'' () A common misconception is that the Zongli Yamen's n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Gong (Qing Dynasty)
Yixin (11January 1833– 29May 1898), better known in English as PrinceGong or Kung, was an imperial prince of the Aisin Gioro clan and an important statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was a regent of the empire from 1861 to 1865 and wielded great influence at other times as well. He was one of the twelve iron cap princes of the Qing Dynasty. Yixin was a man of great talent, excelling in both literature and martial skills, and was among the most capable members of the imperial family. However, he was never favored by his father, the Daoguang Emperor, to succeed to the throne, which meant he spent his life in the role of a political aide rather than a ruler. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, when the British and French forces invaded Beijing, Yixin was entrusted with negotiating peace and signed the Treaty of Beijing on behalf of the Qing court. In 1861, after the death of his elder brother, the Xianfeng Emperor, Yixin, in collaboration with Empress Dowager ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam era In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about length was most typical. Some types of gunboats carried two cannon, or else mounted a number of swivel guns on the railings. The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
