# HMS Nimrod Bombards Keelung (October 1841)

URL: https://allhistories.com/taiwan/timeline/1841-hms-nimrod-bombards-keelung
Location: Keelung harbour
Themes: Opium War, Shipwreck

In October 1841 HMS Nimrod, under Captain Joseph Pearse, bombarded Keelung harbour and destroyed 27 cannon. Pearse had offered a payment of 100 dollars for each survivor of the wrecked Nerbudda, and attacked after learning that the prisoners had been moved south. Earlier in 1841, according to Wikipedia, British forces had failed three times to take the heights above Keelung. The attack was a limited reprisal during the First Opium War rather than an attempt to conquer the island. The Royal Navy never landed a force to take Taiwan. The Qing officials responsible later claimed a successful defence of Keelung, a claim that was later discovered to be false, and in 1842 the survivors would be executed. The bombardment gave the harbour a place in the story of the war. In the next decades Keelung grew in importance because of its coal, and in 1863 it was opened to trade. In 1884-85 it was the site of a French invasion attempt during the Sino-French War, when Qing forces held it for eight months. At this point in the timeline (1841), Qing-ruled Taiwan, then administered as part of Fujian Province, was under the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing (1820 – 1850).

## Why it matters
The bombardment was the only direct British attack on Taiwan during the First Opium War and foreshadowed Keelung's later strategic importance.

Ruler at the Time: [Daoguang Emperor](https://allhistories.com/taiwan/rulers/daoguang-emperor)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Keelung](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keelung)
- [Wikipedia — Nerbudda incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerbudda_incident)