Augustus Raymond Margary
Encyclopedia
Augustus Raymond Margary (26 May 1846 – 21 February 1875) was a British
diplomat and explorer. The murder of Margary and his entire staff, while surveying overland Asian trade routes, sparked the Margary Affair
which led to the Chefoo Convention
.
, in British India as the third son of Major General Henry Joshua Margary (d. 1876). Margary was educated in France, at Brighton College
and University College
in London
. Having failed the entrance exam for the foreign service three times, Margary finally passed the exam and was appointed student interpreter in the British consular service in China in February 1867 and left for China the following month. In China, he served in the British Legation in Beijing
, and the British consulates in Taiwan
, Shanghai
and Yantai
.
, Margary was sent from Shanghai
through southwest China to Bhamo
in Upper Burma
, where he was supposed to met Colonel Horace Browne. It took Margary six months to make the 1800-mile journey through the provinces of Sichuan
, Guizhou
and Yunnan
, and he met Browne in Bhamo in late 1874. On the journey back to Shanghai, Margary heard rumors that the return route was not safe and changed the route to Tengyue
, where he and his personal staff were murdered on February 21, 1875.
According to Jonathan Spence
, in his "The Search for Modern China" (p. 220), Margary was part of a survey team exploring routes from Burma into Yunnan. Susan Orlean
gives a different account: "The linguist and plant collector Augustus Margary survived toothache, rheumatism, pleurisy, and dysentery while sailing the Yangtze only to be murdered when he completed his mission and sailed beyond Bhamo
" -- in pursuit of orchids. "The Orchid Thief" (p. 55).
" as it was known, created a diplomatic crisis and gave British authorities an excuse to put pressure on the Qing government on a number of unrelated issues. The crisis was only resolved in 1876 when Thomas Francis Wade
and Li Hongzhang
signed the Chefoo Convention
, which covered a number of diplomatic/political items. The British demanded, and got, according to Spence, an indeminty of 700,000 tael
s of silver
, a mission of apology to Queen Victoria, and four more treaty ports
.
In 1880, a memorial was erected to the memory of Margary, which was moved to the Public Gardens
in 1907. The memorial was removed during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and was never restored after Japan's defeat in World War Two.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
diplomat and explorer. The murder of Margary and his entire staff, while surveying overland Asian trade routes, sparked the Margary Affair
Margary Affair
Margary Affair is the name of a crisis in Sino-British relations, which followed the murder of British official Augustus Raymond Margary in 1875....
which led to the Chefoo Convention
Chefoo Convention
The Chefoo Convention was an "unequal treaty" between the Qing and British Empires, which was signed by Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hongzhang in Chefoo on 21 August 1876...
.
Education and early career
Margary was born in the city of BelgaumBelgaum
Belgaum is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the fourth largest city of the state of Karnataka, the first three being Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad....
, in British India as the third son of Major General Henry Joshua Margary (d. 1876). Margary was educated in France, at Brighton College
Brighton College
Brighton College is an institution divided between a Senior School known simply as Brighton College, the Prep School and the Pre-Prep School. All of these schools are co-educational independent schools in Brighton, England, sited immediately next to each another. The Senior School caters for...
and University College
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Having failed the entrance exam for the foreign service three times, Margary finally passed the exam and was appointed student interpreter in the British consular service in China in February 1867 and left for China the following month. In China, he served in the British Legation in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and the British consulates in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Yantai
Yantai
Yantai is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.The largest fishing...
.
The "Margary Affair"
As part of efforts to explore overland trade routes between British India and ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Margary was sent from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
through southwest China to Bhamo
Bhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
in Upper Burma
Upper Burma
Upper Burma refers to a geographic region of Burma , traditionally encompassing Mandalay and its periphery , or more broadly speaking, Kachin and Shan States....
, where he was supposed to met Colonel Horace Browne. It took Margary six months to make the 1800-mile journey through the provinces of Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
and Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, and he met Browne in Bhamo in late 1874. On the journey back to Shanghai, Margary heard rumors that the return route was not safe and changed the route to Tengyue
Tengyue
Tengyue is a town in Tengchong County, Baoshan Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. It lies close to the border of Myanmar, where it traditionally goes by the name of Momein....
, where he and his personal staff were murdered on February 21, 1875.
According to Jonathan Spence
Jonathan Spence
Jonathan D. Spence is a British-born historian and public intellectual specializing in Chinese history. He was Sterling Professor of History at Yale University from 1993 to 2008. His most famous book is The Search for Modern China, which has become one of the standard texts on the last several...
, in his "The Search for Modern China" (p. 220), Margary was part of a survey team exploring routes from Burma into Yunnan. Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean is an American journalist. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside....
gives a different account: "The linguist and plant collector Augustus Margary survived toothache, rheumatism, pleurisy, and dysentery while sailing the Yangtze only to be murdered when he completed his mission and sailed beyond Bhamo
Bhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
" -- in pursuit of orchids. "The Orchid Thief" (p. 55).
Consequences
The murder of Margary, or the "Margary AffairMargary Affair
Margary Affair is the name of a crisis in Sino-British relations, which followed the murder of British official Augustus Raymond Margary in 1875....
" as it was known, created a diplomatic crisis and gave British authorities an excuse to put pressure on the Qing government on a number of unrelated issues. The crisis was only resolved in 1876 when Thomas Francis Wade
Thomas Francis Wade
Sir Thomas Francis Wade, GCMG, KCB , was a British diplomat and Sinologist who produced a syllabary in 1859 that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles romanization for Mandarin Chinese by Herbert Giles in 1892...
and Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
signed the Chefoo Convention
Chefoo Convention
The Chefoo Convention was an "unequal treaty" between the Qing and British Empires, which was signed by Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hongzhang in Chefoo on 21 August 1876...
, which covered a number of diplomatic/political items. The British demanded, and got, according to Spence, an indeminty of 700,000 tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....
s of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, a mission of apology to Queen Victoria, and four more treaty ports
Treaty ports
The treaty ports was the name given to the port cities in China, Japan, and Korea that were opened to foreign trade by the Unequal Treaties.-Chinese treaty ports:...
.
In 1880, a memorial was erected to the memory of Margary, which was moved to the Public Gardens
Huangpu Park
Huangpu Park is the name of the triangular stretch of green at the northern end of the Bund in Shanghai, the oldest and smallest park of the city...
in 1907. The memorial was removed during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and was never restored after Japan's defeat in World War Two.