The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 541
574 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
to a China post, he rose to become Senior Superintendent of the
Trade of British Subjects in China. Faced with China's growing
opposition to the importation of opium and left without clear or
explicit directives, the superintendent was forced to make major
commercial, political, and even military decisions. In January,
1841, Elliot concluded a treaty with the Chinese which clearly
protected and even expanded British influence in the Pacific.
With his action repudiated by Melbourne, Palmerston and even
by young Victoria, Elliot was recalled in August, 1841.
As charge d'affaires and consul-general to the Republic of
Texas between 1842 and 1846, Elliot enjoyed his last opportunity
to project his own convictions into British foreign policy. He
emphatically stressed the commercial and political advantages
which Britain would accrue from an independent Texas. On the
one hand, he assured Texas leaders of Britain's friendly support
and on the other, advised the British Government to force Mexico
to grant Texas diplomatic recognition. The latter action suppos-
edly would preclude any necessity for the young republic to seek
protection from the United States. Caught up in a web of intrigue
preceding annexation, Elliot rather unwittingly hurried to Mexico
in a vain attempt to secure that country's recognition of Texas.
This action, like his negotiations in China, was repudiated by
the British Government. He was, however, soon appointed to the
governorship of Bermuda and later served as Governor of Trin-
idad and St. Helena.
Since Elliot's activities in the West Indies, China, and Texas
are handled as independent essays and with only three pages
devoted to the last twenty years of his life, perhaps a more accu-
rate title would have been, Incidents in the Public Career of
Charles Elliot. The work is not a biography in that no attempt
is made to draw a word picture of Elliot the man. His actions
are described but seldom explained or interpreted. Neither his
private life, his personality, nor his social and family relationships
are discussed. Of course, these deficiencies can be explained as
outside the author's frame of reference; nevertheless, some pull-
ing together of Elliot's forty years of foreign service, a critical
summation, an hypothesis, or a conclusion would have provided
the work with deeper meaning.541
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961, periodical, 1961; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101190/m1/584/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.