Research On The Coastal Defense Of Hainan Island In Qing Dynasty

The coastal defense of Hainan Island is not only an island defense,it exists as the first barrier along the coast of Guangdong Province,but also an important link area of the southern coastal defense.According to the time clues,the coastal defense situation of Hainan Island in Qing Dynasty can be divided into three stages:early stage,middle stage and late stage.In the early Qing Dynasty,the situation on Hainan Island was chaotic.The main targets of coastal defense were the residual forces of Ming Dynasty with clear political purposes,followed by the coastal civilians who were forced to steal by the disaster.In the early Qing Dynasty,marine defense was not paid attention to,and the focus of defense was only "anti-theft".There were two naval divisions in Hainan Island,Haikou and Yazhou,which formed a "two-point company line" defense of one north and one south to defend the whole island.In fact,only Haikou naval division was on patrol.Although there were garrisons in ports in other places,they were mainly on land.In the middle of Qing Dynasty,the evolution of Hainan Island’s coastal defense was closely related to the trend of China and Vietnam,especially Vietnam’s maritime forces.The targets of coastal defense were Vietnam’s maritime armed forces and the flag Gang maritime armed groups active in the ocean of Guangdong and Guangxi,especially the blue flag gang led by Wushier.To this end,the Qing government and Vietnam jointly pursued across regions and across borders,and further played the role of militiaman,and continued to improve the defense system.In the late Qing Dynasty,the coastal defense situation faced the threat of local pirates and the situation of internal and external troubles surrounded by the powers.In the aspect of coastal defense construction,after the establishment of Danzhou navy camp,the original two areas of division were subdivided,and a "three-pointsurface" island defense system of Haikou,Danzhou and Yazhou navy camp was finally formed.Under the leadership of Zhang Zhidong,civil defense and official defense have been further strengthened,and officials have a clearer understanding of the status of Hainan Island.Yazhou’s coastal defense status has risen sharply.Haikou and other places have deployed modern advanced artillery systems and communication methods,and conducted military training of the whole island.At this time,Hainan Island’s defense has reached its peak,and gradually moved towards the door of modern coastal defense.However,with the change of political situation,Hainan Island’s coastal defense has been back to the era of shortage.In the Qing Dynasty,the characteristics of Hainan Island’s coastal defense situation,from the perspective of the coastal defense object,are mainly from the export-oriented source,and have a distinct era;from the perspective of coastal defense construction,Hainan Island’s coastal defense first has the integration of land and sea defense,followed by the defense deployment of point to area,and its overall construction trend is shifted from north to south.