George Anson At Canton

Anson's global voyage has been one of the most unforgettable glories in British Naval history.The expedition was remembered by countless news reports,personal letters,and accounts written and published after the voyage.Their stay at Canton is important to the studies of Sino-English relations in the 18^th century as the Centurion is the first English man-of-war to have appeared in China.Without provisions and assistance provided by Canton,Anson could not have captured the Manila Galleon that saved him from failing his country.By looking at the first hand materials from the 17^th and 18^th centuries,the research aims to understand our voyagers'experiences in China and what impact their perceptions may have on attitudes towards the Chinese after the voyage free from Saidian paradigm as done by many previous studies.The first chapter mainly deals with literature that may have influenced popular opinions on China and the Chinese before the voyage.The second chapter lays out four narratives whose authors or main informants were eyewitnesses of Canton affairs.And the third chapter analyzes the impact that the voyage may have on people's later perceptions.The research finds that despite the negative narrative about China and the Chinese,Anson's voyage did not necessarily change general English perceptions.