Battle of Canton (1857)
On October 8, 1856, the Chinese arrested 12 crewmembers of a ship named Arrow. The Chinese authorities believed that the Arrow was smuggling salt. The Arrow was owned by Chinese people, but it was registered with the British. Harry Smith Parkes was the British Consul in Canton. He sent a letter to the Chinese Imperial Commissioner (governor), Ye Mingchen. Ye replied that the Arrow was a Chinese ship. He claimed that Parkes and the British had no jurisdiction (no right to interfere.) Ye offered to return the arrested sailors, but Parkes refused. Parkes demanded an apology for the insult. Ye replied there was no need for an apology because there was no insult. The British decided that the Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue had been broken. On October 27, 1856, the British Royal Navy attacked Canton.