>>6437338 TYB
… Kek
>>6437986 Medieval
Rabban Bar Sauma from China visited France and met with King Edward I of England in Gascony.
William of Rubruck encountered an English bishop's nephew in the Mongol city of Karakorum.
Between England and the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
See also: Levant Company, Kingdom of Tungning, and Zheng Jing
English ships sailed to Macau in the 1620s, which was leased by China to Portugal. The Unicorn, an English merchant ship, sank near Macau and the Portuguese dredged up sakers (cannon) from the ships and sold those to China around 1620, where they were reproduced as Hongyipao.
27 June 1637: Four heavily armed ships under Captain John Wendell, arrived at Macao in an attempt to open trade between England and China. They were not backed by the East India Company, but rather by a private group led by Sir William Courteen, including King Charles I's personal interest of £10,000. They were opposed by the Portuguese authorities in Macao (as their agreements with China required) and quickly infuriated the Ming authorities. Later in the summer they easily captured one of the Bogue forts, and spend several weeks engaged in low-level fighting and smuggling. After being forced to seek Portuguese help in the release of three hostages, they left the Pearl River on 27 December. It is unclear whether they returned home.
ca. 1820-1830 - British merchants turn Lintin Island in the Pearl River estuary into a centre of opium trade.
1839-42 First Opium War
>>6438025 Kek
>>6437815 Kek