Under a situation that was too much even for the Cantonese character, renowned for its defiant tendency, the natives could only cause relatively minor disturbances for the British military, and the "shame of changing masters" became deeply embedded in their hearts. Yet the threads of nationalist thinking had not yet come together in the minds of the people.
這下一向生就「英雄樹」（木棉樹）個性、能斷（死）不屈的廣東人，在形勢比人強之下，也只能對英軍作些不成氣候的小騷擾，而將「易主之恥」埋在心底，但民族思緒未嘗稍戢。