Arrival of the Macartney Embassy in Canton
- When
- 1793
- Where
- Macau; Guangdong province, of which Canton was the principal port
- Episodes
- 2
The Macartney Embassy, the first British diplomatic mission to China, reached the China coast in June 1793, arriving at Macau on 19 June. East India Company representatives had already petitioned to land at Tianjin rather than Guangzhou (Canton), and the Qianlong Emperor ordered pilots for the British ships at every Chinese port.
Episodes
- Request to Land at Tianjin
East India Company representatives asked the Guangdong military governor for permission to land at Tianjin rather than Guangzhou.
- Arrival at Macau
The embassy's ships reached Macau on 19 June 1793, the squadron's first arrival on the China coast.
Background and detail
Background. By the late 18th century British traders felt confined by the Canton System and lobbied for an embassy to petition the emperor for changes. Growing trade imbalance, driven by British demand for tea, porcelain, and silk, added urgency. After the failed Cathcart Embassy, Dundas suggested in 1791 that Macartney himself lead the mission.
The Voyage to China. The delegation departed Portsmouth aboard three ships on 26 September 1792. After leaving Rio de Janeiro on 17 December, the squadron rounded the Cape of Good Hope on 7 January 1793 and sailed on to Macau, arriving there on 19 June 1793.
Arrival Arrangements. Before Macartney's arrival, East India Company representatives met the military governor of Guangdong to request permission to land at Tianjin instead of Guangzhou. The Qianlong Emperor had instructed every port in China to supply pilots for the British visitors, and the governor complied.
People involved
- George Macartney · Leader of the embassy and Britain's first envoy to China
- Henry Dundas · Home Secretary who proposed Macartney lead the mission and set its goals
- George Staunton · Macartney's deputy, entrusted to continue the mission if needed
- Qianlong Emperor · Chinese emperor whose ports were instructed to aid the embassy
Sources
- Macartney Embassy Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.