15. Britain began registering Chinese ships as British in the 1840s
During the late 1840s, Chinese traders with the British found their ships entered into British registry by the port officials, a requirement of engaging in trade with any port of the British Empire. The Qing government, with little experience in the complicated area of international and maritime law, accepted the practice. The acceptance later proved disastrous. The British also encouraged citizens of Great Britain to acquire land in and around the treaty ports, a right they had obtained through the Treaty of Nanking. British enclaves began to crowd out Chinese residents in the treaty ports, and there were incidents of violence between British and Chinese residents.
The British continued to press for the establishment of an embassy in the Chinese capital, with access to the Daoguang Emperor’s court and the Qing government, rather than settling for international affairs being handled by envoys in the treaty ports. The Qing government resisted, concerned that British influence in Chinese affairs was already too strong. By 1850 the British were insisting that their most favored nation status gave them the de facto right to trade anywhere in China, rather than being restricted to the activities in the treaty ports.