Battle of the Barrier

Battle of the Barrier
Part of the First Opium War

View of the Barrier Gate on the isthmus connecting the Macao Peninsula to the mainland (published 1844)
Date19 August 1840
Location
Macao, China
22°12′53″N 113°32′56″E / 22.21472°N 113.54889°E / 22.21472; 113.54889
Result British victory
Belligerents

 United Kingdom

Qing China
Commanders and leaders
Henry Smith Yi Zhongfu[1]
Strength
2 sloops
1 frigate
1 steamer
1 transport ship
380 troops (land force)		 2,000 troops[2]
8 junks[2]
Casualties and losses
4 wounded[3] 50–60 killed[3][4]
100–120 wounded[4]

The Battle of the Barrier (Chinese: 澳門之戰) was fought between British and Chinese forces at the boundary separating Macao from the Chinese mainland on 19 August 1840 during the First Opium War. Located in modern-day Portas do Cerco, the Macao Peninsula was connected to Xiangshan Island by a narrow isthmus about 100 m (330 ft) wide and 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long.[5] A wall called the Barrier was built across the isthmus in 1573, and it served as Macao's border.[6]

  1. ^ Fei 1996, p. 226
  2. ^ a b Bingham 1843, p. 397
  3. ^ a b Bingham 1843, pp. 400–401
  4. ^ a b Hughes 1841, p. 354
  5. ^ Bingham 1843, p. 395
  6. ^ Garrett 2010, pp. 18–19