Gunboats, Empire and the China Station

Examining Britain's imperial outposts in 1920s East Asia, this book explores the changes and challenges affecting the Royal Navy's third largest fleet, the China Station, as its crews fought to hold back the changing tides of fortune. Bridging the gap between high level naval strategy and everyday imperial culture, Heaslip highlights the importance of the China Station to the British imperial system, foreign policy and East Asian geopolitics, while also revealing the lived experiences of these imperial outposts. Following their immersion into a new world and the challenges they encountered along the way, it considers how its naval officers were perceived by the Chinese populations of the ports they visited, how the two communities interacted and what this meant at a time of 'peace'. Against the changing nature of Britain's informal empire in the 1920s, Gunboats, Empire and the China Station highlights the complex nature of naval operations in-between major conflicts, and calls into question how peaceful this peacetime truly was.

Matthew Heaslipis Lecturer in Naval Historyat the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Contents Table of Illustrations Introduction Part I: Joining the China Station Looking Beyond the Battle-Fleet The Royal Navy's Role in Britain's Interwar Foreign Policy Britain's China Conundrum Part II: Between China and Japan, the China Station's Strategic Balance The Right Warships in the Right Places? China: Friend or Foe? Surplus to Requirements: The China Station Ashore The Hong Kong Question The Cooperation Challenge Europe's Retreat and an Emergent 'Special Relationship' Part III: Adapting to a New China in a Violent Peace Britain's Changing Interests in China The Royal Navy's Growing Piracy Challenge An Exceptional Deployment: the Shanghai Task Force Britain's Global Struggle Against Communism A Changing Role in Protecting British Civilians Part IV: Technological development and imperial policing Maintaining Imperial Prestige: Hermes the Trickster Understanding China Responding to Crises Naval Gunfire at Wanxian and Nanjing Controlling the Violence Part V: Changing Attitudes, Ideas, and Approaches Late-Victorian Gunboat Diplomacy in East Asia A Failed Attempt at Returning to Pre-War Ways The Impact of the May Thirtieth Incident A Double Crisis: Gunboat Diplomacy Living up to its Reputation The Gunboat Retreat Sailing to War Conclusion The Royal Navy's Peacetime Frontline Appendix: Examples of Key Warship Types Bibliography Index