The failure of the Macartney Embassy (1792–94), the first face-to-face diplomatic meeting between Britain and China, has often been understood as a crucial turning point in relations between the two nations. China was recognised by the British as a pre-eminent Asian power, and the embassy was intended to formalise and expand a trading relationship that, since the establishment of British trade at Canton around 1700, had become increasingly lucrative. Planned by the East India Company and the Pitt Government, and led by one of Britain’s most experienced diplomats, George Macartney (1737–1806), the embassy was intended as a lavish and dignified spectacle, designed to “impress the minds of the Chinese with a favourable impression of the Embassy, this Country and its commerce.” 1 Equipped at the huge cost of£ 78,000, 2 it carried a number of gifts intended to demonstrate British scientific

This research was supported by a Commonwealth postdoctoral fellowship from the Government of Canada. I would like to thank the professors, students, and library staff at McGill University’s Burney Centre and McLennan Library. I am also grateful to the anonymous readers of an earlier version of this article for their comments.