Journals Kept by Mr. Gully and Capt. Denham during a Captivity in China in the Year 1842

Published in 1844, this book contains the journals of two Englishmen during their imprisonment in China in 1842.

Robert Gully (Author), Denham (Author)

9781108045711, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 August 2012

212 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.2 cm, 0.28 kg

Published in 1844, this extraordinary book consists of the diaries of Robert Gully and Captain Denham, the Commander of the merchant vessel Ann, who were imprisoned in China in 1842, and notes exchanged between the two men (who were held captive in separate places). After some months of imprisonment, Gully was murdered, but Denham survived and was eventually released. The book, edited by 'a barrister', was designed to inform the British public of 'matters of which hitherto they have had slender but doubtful accounts', and to apply political and diplomatic pressure on the Chinese government, whose official account of the incident denied any wrong-doing by its representatives. Gully had distinguished himself in the taking of Ningpo during the Opium War of 1841–2, and later boarded the Ann to return to Macao. The vessel was subsequently wrecked off Formosa (Taiwan), where events related in the book occurred.

Note
Journal kept by Mr Gully
Journal kept by Captain Denham
Letters written by Mr Gully to Captain Denham
Glossary of terms used in the diaries.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]