Background
Alcock was born in May 1809 in London. Alcock was the son of the physician, Dr. Thomas Alcock, who practised at Ealing, near London. He was named John Rutherford Alcock, but dropped the John very early.
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( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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(The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. I ...)
The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. I (of 2) As Illustrated in the Career of Sir Rutherford Alcock, K.C.B., D.C.L., Many Years Consul and Minister in China and Japan by Alexander Michie PREFACE. Reminiscences of the Far East called up by the death of Sir Rutherford Alcock in November 1897 prompted the writer to send a contribution on the subject to 'Blackwood's Magazine.' Being appreciated by the family, the article suggested to them some more substantial memorial of the deceased statesman, a scheme with which the writer fell in the more readily that it seemed to harmonise with the task which friends had been already urging upon himthat of writing some account of occurrences in the Far East during his own residence there. For there was no other name round which these events could be so consistently grouped during the thirty years when British policy was a power in that part of the world. As Consul and Minister Alcock was so interwoven with the history of the period that neither the life of the man nor the times in which he lived could be treated apart. And the personal element renders his connection with Far Eastern affairs particularly instructive, for, combining the highest executive qualities with a philosophic grasp of the problems with which he had to deal, he at the same time possessed the faculty of exposition, whereby the vital relation between the theoretical and the practical sides of Far Eastern politics was made plain. The student may thus draw his lessons equally from the actions and the reflections of this great official. The life history of Sir Rutherford Alcock is that of the progressive development of a sterling character making in all circumstances the most of itself, self-reliant, self-supporting, without friends or fortune, without interest or advantage of any kind whatsoever. From first to last the record is clear, without sediment or anything requiring to be veiled or extenuated. Every achievement, great or small, is stamped with the hall-mark of duty, of unfaltering devotion to the service of the nation and to the interests of humanity. A copious and facile writer, he has left singularly little in the way of personal history. The only journal he seems ever to have kept was consigned by him to oblivion, a few early dates and remarks having alone been rescued. When in recent years he was approached by friends on the subject of auto-biography, he was wont to reply, "My life is in my work; by that I am content to be remembered." We must needs therefore take him at his word and judge by the fruit what was the nature of the tree. In the following work the reader may trace in more or less continuous outline the stages by which the present relation between China and foreign nations has been reached. In the earlier portion the course of events indicated is comparatively simple, being confined to Anglo-Chinese developing into Anglo-Franco-Chinese relations. In the latter portion, corresponding roughly with the second volume, the stream becomes subdivided into many collateral branches, as all the Western nations and Japan, with their separate interests, came to claim their share, each in its own way, of the intercourse with China. It is hoped that the data submitted to the reader will enable him to draw such conclusions as to past transactions as may furnish a basis for estimating future probabilities. OPIUM, China, England, WAR, history, HONGKONG, SHANGHAI CONTENTS. I. THE ARMY SURGEON I. YOUTH II. THE PENINSULA, 1832-1837 III. ENGLAND, 1838-1844 II. SENT TO CHINA FOREIGN RELATIONS WITH CHINA III. ANTECEDENTS OF THE WAR I. THE OPIUM TRADE II. THE SEQUEL TO THE SURRENDER OF OPIUM IV. THE FIRST CHINA WAR, 1839-1842 V. THE TREATY OF 1842 VI. THE FRUITS OF THE WAR AND PROSPECTS OF PEACE VII. THE NEW INTERCOURSE: CANTON, 1842-1847 VIII. THE NEW TREATY PORTSFOOCHOW, AMOY, NINGPO IX. SHANGHAI I. THE TSINGPU AFFAIR II. REBELLION III. THE CHINESE MARITIME CUSTOMS IV. CREATION OF THE FOREIGN
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Alcock was born in May 1809 in London. Alcock was the son of the physician, Dr. Thomas Alcock, who practised at Ealing, near London. He was named John Rutherford Alcock, but dropped the John very early.
In 1863 received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Oxford University.
As he grew up, Alcock followed his father into the medical profession. In 1836, he became a surgeon in the marine brigade which took part in the Carlist War, gaining distinction through his services. Alcock was made deputy inspector-general of hospitals. He retired from this service in 1837.
In 1844, he was appointed consul at Fuchow in China. He was able to work on restoring peace and order and in doing so, he earned a promotion to the consulate at Shanghai.
Alcock, along with his wife, Henrietta, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law, moved to Shanghai in the fall of 1846, where they were part of a burgeoning community of expats, merchants and missionaries from England, France, and North America.
Shortly after these events he returned to England on leave in March 1862, and was replaced in Japan by Colonel Neale. Alcock had already been made a Commander of the Bath (CB) (1860). In 1862 he was made a Knight of the same order (KCB), and in 1863 received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Oxford University.
In 1864, he returned to Japan, and after a year's further residence he was transferred to Peking, where he represented the British government until 1869, when he retired.
Although no longer in official life, he remained active.
Alcock was the author of several works, and was one of the first to awaken in England an interest in Japanese art. He tried hard to learn the language and even wrote a textbook. His best-known book is The Capital of the Tycoon, which appeared in 1863, whilst the Mikado's Seat was at Kyoto.
He died in London on 2 November 1897.
(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
(This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a...)
(The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. I ...)
He was for some years president of the Royal Geographical Society, and he served on many commissions.
He was for some years president of the Royal Geographical Society.
He was twice married, first in May 1841 to Henrietta Mary Baco, and second (on 8 July 1862) to the widow of the Rev. John Lowder.