Lin Zexu

Events

3

Episodes

3

Years

1839–1843

Every event in Historedia whose sources name Lin Zexu, with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

1. Battle of Kowloon: first armed clash of the Opium War

   1839

   Role: Appointed Special Imperial Commissioner in 1839 to eradicate the opium trade

   1. 14 September 1839 · Kowloon PeninsulaBattle of Kowloon

      British vessels fired on Chinese war junks enforcing a food sales embargo on the British community in China.

2. Event of 1839: Destruction of opium at Humen begins, casus belli for Britain to open the 3-year

   1839–1842

   Role: Imperial Commissioner of Qing China

   1. 21839–1842 · Qing ChinaCasus Belli for First Opium War

      The destruction of opium provided the casus belli for Great Britain to declare war on Qing China, initiating the First Opium War.

3. Wei Yuan's Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms published

   1843

   Role: Imperial Commissioner and initiator of translations

   1. 33 January 1843 · Publication sitePublication of the Illustrated Treatise

      The first edition of the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, comprising 50 juan, was published on January 3, 1843.

Sources

1. First Opium War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-02
2. Destruction of opium at Humen Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-31
3. Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-16