詹姆斯·布魯斯，第八代額爾金伯爵與第十二代金卡丁伯爵，KT，GCB，PC（James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine，（「額爾金伯爵」的另譯）十九世紀英國殖民地官員。
1860年第二次鴉片戰爭時作為英國談判代表，全權公使隨軍至北京，談判北京條約，並下令焚燬圓明園，作為英國外交人員被虐至死的報復。香港中環有伊利近街紀念其訂立之北京條約割讓九龍半島。
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine KT GCB PC (20 July 1811 – 20 November 1863) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. He served as Governor of Jamaica (1842–1846), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847–1854), and Viceroy of India (1862–1863).[1] In 1857, he was appointed High Commissioner and Plenipotentiary in China and the Far East to assist in the process of opening up China and Japan to Western trade. In 1860, during the Second Opium War in China, he ordered the destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in retaliation for the torture and execution of almost twenty European and Indian prisoners.
In June 1860, Lord Elgin returned to China to assist with additional attacks, which were initially led by his brother. On 18 October 1860, not having received the Chinese surrender and wishing to spare the imperial capital of Peking (Beijing), he ordered the complete destruction of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan) outside the city in retaliation for the imprisonment, torture, and execution of almost 20 European and Indian prisoners, including two British envoys and The Times journalist Thomas Bowlby. The Old Summer Palace was a complex of palaces and gardens eight kilometres northwest of the walls of Beijing; it had been built during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and was where the emperors of the Qing dynasty resided and handled government affairs. An alternative account says that Lord Elgin had initially considered the destruction of the Forbidden City. However, fearing that this act might interfere with the signing of the Convention of Peking (Beijing), which was where it was being negotiated, he opted for the destruction of the Old Summer Palace in its stead.[6]
The Old Summer Palace was set aflame by 3,500 British troops and burnt for three days. Lord Elgin and his troops looted many treasures from the palace and took them to Britain. Attacks on the nearby Summer Palace (Qingyi Yuan) were also made, but the extent of destruction was not as great as to the Old Summer Palace. On 24 October 1860, Lord Elgin signed the Convention of Beijing, which stipulated that China was to cede part of Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong in perpetuity to Britain.
有史料記載，下達火燒圓明園指令就是英軍指揮官額爾金，也就是火燒圓明園的罪魁禍首.
額爾金，英國貴族封號，蘇格蘭王國把這個貴族封號頒賞給聲名顯赫的布魯斯家族，布魯斯家族承襲這一封號共有11人，其中廣為人知的，一是劫掠希臘派特農神廟的第七代傳人湯瑪斯·布魯斯，二是火燒中國圓明園的第八代傳人詹姆斯·布魯斯，這對父子因劫掠希臘派特農神廟和火燒中國圓明園而惡名昭著，詹姆斯·布魯斯也就是中國近代史上所提到的“額爾金”。
1857年12月，他指揮英法聯軍攻打並佔領廣州，次年5月，又率領英法聯軍北上，炮擊大沽口，脅迫清政府簽訂《中英天津條約》，此後，他“榮歸故里”，擔任郵政大臣
英國為進一步制服清廷，於1860年2月派遣他以英國駐華公使身份重返中國。他統領英法聯軍於8月攻陷大沽口，佔領天津城。10月13日攻入北京城，咸豐皇帝聞聽英法聯軍已向京城逼近，頓感不妙，驚慌失措，急忙帶著慈禧，慈安及皇子等，由圓明園出長春園大門後向東而行，如喪家之犬般倉皇地逃出京城。額爾金攻入北京城後，知道圓明園是一座舉世罕見的皇家園林，於是以額爾金為首的四個英法聯軍侵華頭目在圓明園正大光明殿開分贓會，隨後，侵略軍開始了瘋狂的掠奪，幾天之內，園內的黃金、白銀、瓷器、刺繡、書畫等就被洗劫一空，這些凝聚著中國人民智慧和血汗的珍寶，成為英法聯軍的“戰利品”，有的被拍賣，有的進獻給英法兩國帝王，有的則輾轉流落到歐洲各大博物館。
英法聯軍只是對園中的金銀財寶和名貴的藝術品掠奪，但很快額爾金覺得掠奪並不能徹底摧毀這座華麗的宮殿，於是藉口英法被俘“僑民”受到大清朝廷的“戕害”，公然聲稱“只有焚毀圓明園一法，最為可行，此舉足以使中國及其皇帝產生極大的震動。
1860.10月18日晨，額爾金正式下達火燒圓明園的指令，英軍騎兵團一大隊率先開赴圓明園放火，火焰升起後，天色顯得分外暗淡，隨後3500名聯軍沖入園中各處任意縱火，縱火焚燒圓明園，大火連燒三天，圓明園及附近的清漪園、靜明園、靜宜園、暢春園及海澱鎮均被燒成一片廢墟，最為悲慘的是圓明園安佑宮中，近300名太監、宮女、工匠葬身火海，成為世界文明史上罕見的暴行，有著100多年歷史的皇家宮苑立即化為廢墟。
在圓明園陷入一片火海的時候，額爾金得意忘形地宣稱：“此舉將使中國與歐洲惕然震驚，其效遠非萬裡之外之人所能想像”。放火的主謀竟把這種行徑看作了不起的“業績”，額爾金可恥到如此地步，令國人憤慨。
火燒圓明園後，大清朝廷被迫與列強簽訂了《北京條約》，不久，額爾金便南下香港，依約劃割九龍。1861年初他率英軍“凱旋”歸國，並得到主子維多利亞女王的嘉獎，隨後他被委任為印度管轄區總督，就職只有短短的一年多，就暴死他鄉，
據英國出版的《詹姆斯·額爾金評傳》稱：在一個雷電交加之夜，他居住的房間突然被雷電擊中失火，額爾金心臟病復發，來不及逃生，便葬身於火海之中，死時只有52歲。額爾金對其祖國來說可能是個貴族功臣，但對中國人來說，他是一個罪行累累的竊賊和強盜，中國有句俗言：“多行不義必自斃” “玩火者必自焚” ，額爾金正應驗了中國這句老話，罪有應得。
