Sir John Bowring (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, linguist and free-trade advocate who served as the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. Born in Exeter, he learned many languages as a youth and long studied commercial and tariff questions. He edited the Westminster Review, was a friend of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham and the editor of his collected works, argued for free trade and against the Corn Laws, and built a reputation through economic and linguistic writings before sitting in the House of Commons. In 1849 he became British consul at Canton and superintendent of trade in China, and in April 1854 was appointed Governor of Hong Kong. The gravest episode of his term was the Arrow incident of October 1856, when Cantonese authorities seized a Chinese-owned vessel registered in Hong Kong and arrested its crew; Britain used the affair as a pretext for force, it became the spark of the Second Opium War, and Hong Kong briefly became a front line of Anglo-Chinese conflict. In 1855 he led a mission to Siam and signed the Bowring Treaty, opening British trade with the kingdom. In January 1857 the poisoned-bread case followed, in which hundreds of Europeans fell ill after eating tainted bread from a bakery, spreading panic and prompting many Chinese residents to leave the colony. His administration also introduced licensing measures and handled the military and policing demands of the Anglo-French expedition, though relations with the Chinese community stayed tense. He left office in 1859 and died in 1872.
The Arrow incident and the poisoned-bread case that erupted during Bowring's term made Hong Kong a front line of Anglo-Chinese conflict in the 1850s and exposed the deep tensions between the colonial government and the Chinese community, while the Bowring Treaty he signed with Siam opened up a trading network for Britain in Southeast Asia.
Achievements
- 1854 · Became the fourth Governor of Hong Kong.
- 1855 · Led a mission to Siam and signed the Bowring Treaty for Britain.
- 1856 · The Arrow incident occurred during his term, becoming the spark of the Second Opium War.