Lord Napier
Royal British official sent to replace the merchant
taipan of the defunct
East India Company in
Guangzhou after they lost their royal monopoly in 1834.
Napier attempted to address the
Chinese as equals, ending their patience with the
Cohong merchant/official bullshit; he wanted to talk to the man in charge. The misunderstanding arose because the
Chinese had traditionally viewed their dealings with all other nations as "tribute" exchanges with vassal states. How could they have known that the Brits were in charge of the world?
Napier's predecessor had been a merchant, and the
Chinese would not allow him to address the officials with a "letter" but only with a "petition." As a Royal British Representative,
Napier could not accept this arrangement. After his courier was left in the rain all day and no one would even receive his "letter," it was all over.
Napier's show of naval force against
Guangzhou (he subjugated the city from sea in a day) shaped Western policy in Asia:
use guns first.