Alexander Dalrymple was once described as the man who, after Hakluyt, had done most for the spread of Britain’s commerce. In this important new work, Dr. Fry discusses Dalrymple’s extensive contribution to knowledge about New Guinea and his pioneer attempt to establish a free port on Balambangan, and shows that his interest in the possibility of a North-West Passage and his influence in government circles were to be a major factor in bringing about Vancouver’s survey. Dalrymple’s research and theories about the great Southern Continent led to his appointment by the Royal Society as commander of the 1768 expedition, and though the Admiralty countermanded this decision and appointed instead Captain Cook, Dalrymple’s geographical researches were the motivating force behind the initiation of the search for Terra Australis. Dr. Fry throws interesting new light on Dalrymple’s relations with Cook, which, he argues, have been consistently misrepresented. Dalrymple became an expert navigator and surveyor during his years as captain of East India snows, and he became in turn hydrographer of the East India Company and the Admiralty. His work in this field revolutionised chart-making and was a contribution of incalculable value to Britain’s maritime supremacy in the nineteenth century. This classic book was first published in 1970.

Creating the Opium War examines British imperial attitudes towards China during their early encounters from the Macartney embassy to the outbreak of the Opium War – a deeply consequential event which arguably reshaped relations between China and the West in the next century. It makes the first attempt to bring together the political history of Sino-western relations and the cultural studies of British representations of China, as a new way of explaining the origins of the conflict. The book focuses on a crucial period (1792–1840), which scholars such as Kitson and Markley have recently compared in importance to that of American and French Revolutions. By examining a wealth of primary materials, some in more detail than ever before, this study reveals how the idea of war against China was created out of changing British perceptions of the country.

A penetrating and sophisticated 2003 account of the relationship between China and imperial Britain.

Covering a period of about four centuries, this book demonstrates the economic and political components of the opium problem. As a mass product, opium was introduced in India and Indonesia by the Dutch in the 17th century. China suffered the most, but was also the first to get rid of the opium problem around 1950.