China. The new British envoy, Frederick Bruce, arrives in Dagu to implement the declarations of the recent Treaty of Tianjin and take up residence in Beijing as ambassador. But he finds the capital’s main waterway blocked by chains and metal spikes and defended by the military. Chinese soldiers surprise the British, and in the ensuing firefight, 519 British soldiers are killed and 456 wounded. This episode only temporarily halts British ambitions in China: soon, an Anglo-French army marches on the Chinese capital and sets fire to the Emperor’s Summer Palace, causing immeasurable damage.
