Anglo-French expedition to China (1856-1860)
| Second Opium War | |||||||||
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| Part of the Opium Wars | |||||||||
 Palikao's bridge, on the evening of the battle, by Émile Bayard |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United States1
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 Qing China
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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| Strength | |||||||||
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British: 13,127 French: 7,000 |
200,000 Manchu, Mongol, Han Bannermen, and Han Green Standard Army troops | ||||||||
| 1 The U.S. was officially neutral, but later aided the British in the Battle of the Barrier Forts (1856) and the Battle of Taku Forts (1859). | |||||||||
Franco-British victory
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the French Empire against the Qing dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860.
The terms "Second War" and "Arrow War" are both used in literature. "Second Opium War" refers to one of the British strategic objectives: legalizing the opium trade, expanding coolie trade, opening all of China to British merchants, and exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties. The "Arrow War" refers to the name of a vessel which became the starting point of the conflict.
The war followed on from the First Opium War. In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking—the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties—granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to Britain, the opening of five treaty ports, and the cession of Hong Kong Island. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–60). In China, the war is considered to be the beginning of modern Chinese history.
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