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Relationship with the Western Powers
The government of Taiping enforced a heavy ban on opium which was mainly imported by traders from the British empire. However, because of the religious aspect of the rebellion, the government of the Taiping heavenly kingdom still saw people of the western civilizations as “brothers and sisters from oversea”. The Taiping government was especially welcoming for the western missionaries. Most notably in 1853, Hong Xiuquan himself invited American missionary Issachar Jacox Roberts to come to Nanking to help his government. After Roberts arrived in Nanking and met with Hong, he was commissioned by Hong as the director of foreign affair in 1861.

While some Missionaries like Roberts were enthusiastic in the first few years about the Taiping movements, some skepticism did exist from the very start. According to Historian Prescott Clarke, the Anglo-Chinese was separated into two factions on the rebellion, with one side depicting the rebels as mere robbers whose intention was to gather wealth through uprising, and the other side depicting the rebel army as religious fanatics provoked by skillful leaders to fight against the Qing dynasty to the death.

The government officials of the Western power was optimistic towards the rebel government in the early stages. According to historian Eugene P. Boardman, the Qing dynasty's enforcement of the treaty of 1842-44 was frustrating the American and English officials, especially in terms of open up trades. According to Boardman the Christian nature of the Taiping opened up the possibility for a more cooperative trade partnership, many western officials visited the capital of Taiping between 1863 and 1864, with American commissioner Robert Milligan McLane considering grant official recognition of the Taiping government.

According to Clarke the western missionaries soon changed their opinions upon further inspections of the rebellion. Such change was well captured in a letter from American missionary, Divie Bethune McCartee, Upon visiting Nanking McCartee described the situation in the city as "Dreadful destruction of life", as for the actual practice of Christianity in the city, McCartee said "I saw no signs of anything resembling Christianity in or near Nanking..." Similar to McCartee, Hong's director of foreign affair I.J. Roberts wrote, "His Religious toleration, and multiplicity of chapels turns out to be a farce, of no avail in the spread of Christianity–worse than useless."

After the conclusion of the second opium war in 1861, British Royal navy Rear-Admiral Sir James Hope led a expedition to Nanking during February and march. This expedition was the largest party of westerners to visit Taiping territories, with the inclusion of many British military personels, entrepuernuers, missionaries, other unofficial observers and two French representatives. Upon visiting the Capitol Some members of the expedition wrote, "Devastation marked our journey." to describe the expedition. With some reports suggesting a great deal of undiscriminated slaughter of civilians conducted by the rebel army in newly controlled area. In late 1861, Admiral Hope made a brief return to Nanking to come to an agreement on the Rebels to not attack the city of Shanghai, which was refused by the Taiping governments. According to Clarke this refusal of cooperation and Taiping’s December occupation of Ningpo leads to the limited intervention against both the Rebellion by British and French army in the following years.