HISTORICAL SOUVENIR. Bronze Chinese cannon captured during the capture of Hanoi on 25 April 1882 by the troops of frigate captain Henri Rivière. Bronze 1-pound calibre barrel, breech plate engraved: "HANOI 25 APRIL 1882", one of the trunnions engraved: "Zhòngshou Jiujiang Binggongchang (???????): "Jiujiang Military Arsenal". Dimensions: overall length: 79 cm, diameter of the muzzle: 10 cm, of the base: 12 cm, diameter of the trunnions: 37 mm, calibre: 43 mm, weight: 50 kg approx. Beautiful brown patina. BE The Jiujang arsenal was a regional arsenal that produced small-calibre guns in bronze or iron like our example between 1870 and 1910. Commissioned by Jules Ferry's government to combat banditry in the Red River valley, Frigate Captain Henri RIVIÈRE overstepped his mission and on 25 April 1882 took the citadel of Hanoi. He was killed a year later on 19 May 1883 by the Black Flags. France then embarked on a larger expedition and its troops completely occupied the Tonkin Protectorate. Despite the Convention of Tien-Tsin in 1895 and China's recognition of the French conquests, unrest remained omnipresent in Tonkin, fuelled in particular by Admiral Courbet's attacks on the Chinese coast. The campaign to pacify Tonkin continued until 1891.