Paul Methuen (diplomat) gained valuable diplomatic experience and the esteem of King Pedro. During two absences of his father he became chargé d'affaires, rising to Minister on his father's appointment as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1697. He was unable to prevent a Portuguese-French alliance in 1701. When his father returned to Portugal a special envoy in 1702, they were successful in breaking the alliance in 1703. The led to the Methuen commercial treaty between England and Portugal, the basis of Britain's monopoly of Portuguese trade for much of the 18th century. His father remained in Portugal as ambassador. In 1705, Methuen served
Treaty of Whampoa China. Treaty of Whampoa The Treaty of Whampoa () was a commercial treaty between France and China, which was signed by Théodore de Lagrené and Qiying on October 24, 1844 aboard the warship "L’Archimède". It is considered an unequal treaty by many sources. Based on the terms of the accord, China granted the same privileges to the Kingdom of France as it had done to Britain in the Treaty of Nanking and subsequent treaties. These privileges included the opening of five harbors to French merchants, extraterritorial privileges French citizens in China, a fixed tariff on Sino-French trade and the right