On 21 June 1840, sixteen British ships of war, four armed steamers and twenty-eight transports carrying 4000 soldiers had assembled off Macao. A small force was left behind to blockade Canton while the rest left immediately for Zhejiang. On 5 July, the British fleet reappeared off Chusan and bombarded the island for nine minutes. This image shows the ships attacking the island as British troops preparing to land.