6 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 7 so successful was it that in 1878 China was invited to join the Inter- strengthen the Central Government,vis-a-vis the provincial authorities, national Postal Union.That step,however,was deferred,as the I Chan, by making it realize that it,and it alone on the Chinese side,was the Min Chi,and the foreign postal agencies in China had not then responsible for the execution of the treaties.In this latter respect,both been absorbed or eliminated.It was not till March 1896 that an Chinese statesmen and foreign diplomats quickly recognized that the Imperial Decree was issued creating an Imperial Post for all China to instituting of a uniform Customs system at all the open ports was,in be organized on Western lines under the management of the Inspector- effect,the creation for the Central Government of an invaluable General of Customs,and subject to the supervision of the Tsungli unifying and centralizing auxiliary.This was something of a novelty Yamen and later of the Wai-wu-Pu.By 1911 the Postal Service,which in Chinese administrative methods,one of the guiding principles of up till then had been a regular charge on Customs funds,had so which thitherto had been to leave the initiative to the provincial developed as to be able to assume financial independence,and in that authorities whilst the central power contented itself,.in the main,with year the Post Office passed from under Customs control and became registering and criticising all such local administrative actions.As an a department of the Yu-ch'uan Pu.5 organization controlled by the Imperial-and not the provincial- Even high diplomacy and treaty negotiations have been included authorities,collecting revenue at all the open ports for the disposal of in the range of the Service's activities.The treaty of Tientsin (1858) the Central Government,controlling foreign trade in accordance with and its attached Rules of Trade owed much of their comprehensiveness treaties ratified by that Government,and in all other matters carrying and practicability to the experience,skill,and forcefulness of H.N. out the orders of that Government-while remaining on a friendly and Lay,the first Inspector-General.Hart carried on the tradition in helpful footing with the provincial authorities-the Customs Service happier vein by his work for,and unceasing support of,the Alcock acquired throughout the country a special significance and infuence convention (186g)-a convention which,to her own and to China's as an instrument of the central power,and as a unifying agency radical detriment,Great Britain failed to ratify-by his mediation at a critical interference with which by local administrations would spell political moment in 1875 to avert,after the Margary murder,the rupture of disruption.The only political creed which the head of the Service at diplomatic relations between Great Britain and China,by his deft and Peking and his Commissioners at the ports could profess was that of tactful handling,with the invaluable aid of J.D.Campbell,of the unswerving loyalty to the internationally recognized Government of the delicate negotiations which successfully terminated in the Protocol of country;-a loyalty gratefully acknowledged again and again by the Paris (1885)and the Protocol of Lisbon (1887),by his expert advice and late Empress Dowager to her trusted Inspector-General and similarly willing assistance to the representatives of various foreign Governments recognized by subsequent Republican Governments.That creed was at Peking when they were negotiating trade treaties with China,and by always paramount,although at times of civil disorder it had,in certain the agreements,signed by him as China's representative with the districts,to be held with a recognition of temporary de facto local colonial authorities of Hongkong,Lappa,Tsingtau,and Dairen for the administrations in revolt against that Government.Perhaps at no time establishing of Custom houses at these places.Yet other treaty was this more clearly exemplified than during the Revolution of negotiations in which the Inspector-General,through the agency of his 1911-1913.That was an upheaval which threatened chaos,not only Commissioners,took a hand were those which resulted in the commercial political and social but also commercial and financial.In the provinces treaties of 1g02 and 1g03,those for the regulations regarding trade.etc., separatism became the order of the day,and separatism-if allowed free attached to the Sikkim-Tibet convention of 18go,those for the Sungari rein-would have meant the disintegration of the Service as an River trade,those for the agreement relating to through traffic on the organization making for unity and centralization,the choking of the Antung-Mukden and Corean railways,and those for the recently signed channel through which flowed China's foreign trade,and inevitably a Customs agreement with Hongkong.Here,too,should be mentioned default in the service of the foreign obligations secured on the Customs the part played by Hippisley in writing the Memoranda on which John revenue,with the consequent collapse of China's credit in the financial Hay based his“Open Door'”proposals in18g9. markets of the world.That these evils were avoided was largely due From the long-range point of view it may well be that the verdict to the firmness,tact,skill,patience and loyalty with which the Com- of posterity on the many activities of the Chinese Customs Service will missioners at the ports handled the situation,as well as to the be that the greatest benefit it has conferred on the Chinese nation has reasonableness of the majority of the Chinese officials. been through its unifying and centralizing influence.In its early years Finally,the Chinese Customs Service is an outstanding example of the forces of disorder were threatening the dissolution of the Empire, how international diversities can be fused to serve the interests of all. and one of the gravest problems facing not only Chinese statesmen but In the cosmopolitan nature of its staff,in the international character of also the foreign representatives accredited to the Court of Peking was its duties and responsibilities,in the range of its interests,and in its that of maintaining the authority of the Central Government.The ideals of public service,the Chinese Customs Service has not inaptly diplomats,on the principle that union is strength,wished,it is true,by been termed a precursor of the League of Nations,functioning,it is true, a policy of co-operation to pool their diplomatic gains and to resist only in China and as a Chinese institution,but none the less a cosmo- infringement of treaty rights,but they also wished,if possible,to politan league working for the welfare and advancement of the Chinese
6 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS so successful was it that in 1878 China was invited tQjoin the International Postal Union. That step, however, was deferred, as the I Chan, the l\1in: Chil, and the foreign postal agencies in China had not then been absorbed or eliminated. It was not till March 1896 that an Imperial Decree was issued creating an Imperial Post for all China to be organized on Western lines under the management of the InspectorGeneral of Customs, and subject to the supervision of the Tsungli Yamen and later of the Wai-wu-Pu. By 1911 the Postal Service, which up till then had been a regular charge on Customs funds, had so developed as to be able to assume financial independence, and in that year the Post Office passed from under Customs control and became a department of the Yu-ch'uan Pu.5 Even high diplomacy and treaty negotiations have been included in the range of the Service's activities. The treaty of Tientsin (1858) and its attached Rules of Trade owed much of their comprehensiveness and practicability to the experience, skill, and forcefulness of H. N. Lay, the first Inspector-General. Hart carried on the tradition in happier vein by his work for, and unceasing support of, the Alcock convention (1869)-a convention which, to her own and to China's detriment, Great Britain failed to ratify-by his mediation at a critical moment in 1875 to avert, after the Margary murder, the rupture of diplomatic relations between Great Britain and China, by his deft and tactful handling, with the invaluable aid of J. D. Campbell, of the delicate negotiations which successfully terminated in the Protocol of Paris (1885) and the Protocol of Lisbon (1887), by his expert advice and willing assistance to the representatives of various foreign Governments at Peking when they were negotiating trade treaties with China, and by the agreements, signed by him as China's representative with the colonial authorities of Hongkong, Lappa, Tsingtau, and Dairen for the establishing of Custom houses at these places. Yet other treaty negotiations in which the Inspector-General, through the agency of his Commissioners, took a hand were those which resulted in the commercial treaties of 1902 and 1903, those for the regulations regarding trade. etc., attached to the Sikkim-Tibet convention of 1890, those for the Sungari River tr~de, those for the agreement relating to through traffic on the Antung-Mukden and Corean railways, and those for the recently signed Customs agreement with Hongkong. Here, too, should be mentioned the part played by Hippisley in writing the Memoranda on which John Hay based his "Open Door" proposals in 1899. From the long-range point of view it may well be that the verdict of posterity on the many activities of the Chinese Customs Service will be that the greatest benefit it has conferred on the Chinese nation has been through its unifying and centralizing influence. In its e.rrly years the forces of disorder were threatening the dissolution of the Empire, and one of the gravest problems facing not only Chinese statesmen but also the foreign representatives accredited to the Court of Peking was that of maintaining the authority of the Central Government. The diplomats, on the principle that union is strength, wished, it is true, by a policy of co-operation to pool their diplomatic gains and to resist infringement of treaty rights, but they also wished, if possible, to HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 7 strength~n t~e Cer:tral Government, vis-a-vis the provincial authorities, by maI:ing It realIze that it, and it alone on the Chinese side, was res.ponsIble for the executior: of th.e treaties. ~n this latter respect, both ~hI~es~ statesmen .and foreIgn dIplomats qUIckly recognized that the mstltutmg of a ulllform Customs system at all the open ports was, in eff~ct: the creation for the Central Government of an invaluable ~lllfYlI:g and cer:t~alizir:g auxiliary. This was something of a novelty m .Chme~e admll;llstratIve methods, one of the guiding principles of whIch . t~lther~o had been to leave the initiative to the provincial authOrItIes whIlst the central power contented itself. in the main with regist~rin~ and criticising all such local administra;ive actions. As an orgalll~a~IOn cont~olled by the Imperial-and not the provincialauthormes, collectmg revenu~ at all the open ports for the disposal of the <?entra~ Government, controlling foreign trade in accordance with treatIes ratIfied by that Government, and in all other matters carryinrr out the orde~s of t.hat Government-while remaining on a friendly and. help~l footmg WIth the provincial authorities-the Customs Service acqUIr~d throughout the country a special significance and influence ~s an mstrume.nt of t~e central power, and as a unifying agency radical lI~terfer.ence WIth whIch ~y. local administrations would spell political dISr~ptIon. The only polItIcal creed which the head of the Service at Peking ~nd his Commissi?ners at. the ports could profess was that of unswervmg loyalty to the mternatIOnally recognized Government of the country;-a loyalty gratefully acknowledged again and again by the late E:upress Dowager to her trusted Inspector-General and similarly recoglllzed by subsequent Republican Governments. That creed was a~ways paramount, although at times of civil disorder it had, in certain distr~c~s, to. be .held with a recognition of temporary de facto local admmI~tratIOns m revolt against that Government. Perhaps at no time was thIS more clearly exemplified than during the Revolution of 191. 1-?9 12. Tha~ was an upheaval which threatened chaos, not only pOhtIC~1 and SOCial but also commercial and financial. In the provinces se.paratIsm became the order of the day, and separatism-if allowed free rem--::wo~ld hav~ meant the disintegration of the Service as an orgalllzatIOn makmg. for unity and centralization, the choking of the channel. through ~hIch flowed China's foreign trade, and inevitably a default m :he serVIce of the foreign obligations secured on the Customs revenue, With the consequent collapse of China's credit in the financial markets of the world .. !hat ~ese evils· were avoided was largely due to. ~e firmness, tact, skIll, patIence and loyalty with which the CommISSIOners at the ports handled the situation, as well as to the reasonableness of the majority of the Chinese officials. 6 ~inally, ~he Chi~ese. ~ustoms Service is an outstanding example of how mternatIOnal dIVersitIes can be fused to serve the interests of all. ~n the .cosmopolitan nature of its staff, in the international character of ~ts dutIes and .respor:sibilities, i~ the range of its interests, and in its deals of publIc serVICe, the Chmese Customs Service has not inaptly ~erme~ a precursor of the League of Nations, functioning, it is true, m Chma and as a Chinese institution, but none the less a cosmoleague working for the welfare and advancement of the Chinese
HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS people,and for the benefit of every nation of the earth having trade relations with that people.Here is the very heart of its uniqueness.For over eighty years the Service stood as a signpost on the road to inter- CHAPTER I national understanding and co-operation.It has been a powerful agent The coming of the traders of the West:Trading under monopoly at in helping to break down old prejudices and conservatisms,and in Canton in pre-treaty days. strengthening those human sympathies which rise superior to all ties of race,nationality,class,and creed.In a world to be purged from the evil What,then,was the origin of this unique Service,and what were aggressiveness of perverted nationalism the example and experience of the circumstances causing and attending its birth To answer that China's Customs Service indicate inspiring possibilities for the future. question we must first look backward at the conditions under which The Service has had its detractors both Chinese and foreign,but it stands China permitted foreign trade to be carried on in the days before she by its record."Do men gather grapes of thorns,or figs of thistles ? concluded trade treaties with the strangers from afar;days when China's ruling classes still believed that the proper policy to be adopted towards these strangers was one of self-satisfied isolationism. NOTES TO INTRODUCTION Macaulay's schoolboy knows,or ought to know,that the Portuguese 1.The Times,London,loth January,1899:No.35.723:p.5,cols.1-8. -the most daring seamen of their day-were the first of the maritime 2.Including Paris (1867.1878,1889,and 1goo).Vienna (1873).Philadelphia (1876). nations of the modern world to reach China by sea,and to enter into Melbourne (1880),Berlin (1880),Amsterdam (1883),London (1883,1884).Nuremberg commercial relations with her.It was early in the sixteenth century that (1885),Barcelona (1887),Brussels (1888 and 18g7),Madrid (18g2),Chicago (18g3). Lyons (18g4),Antwerp (1894),San Francisco (1894),Atlanta (895: Nashville(t8g7): they crushed Arab trade supremacy in the Indian Ocean,and made them- Omaha (1898),Glasgow (1go1),Hanoi (1g02),Osaka (1gog),St.Louis (1904),and selves the commercial intermediaries between India and Europe.Having Liege (1905). established themselves at Goa in 1510,it was inevitable that they should 3.T.R.BANISTER:The Coastwise Lights of China,Shanghai,1932. turn their eyes to Malacca,the gateway to the Pacific,and the great 高好Revee since the Reotution o时g1:grd cdition, entrepot on the straits of that name for the spices produced in Malaya 5.For detailed account,vide An Historical Survey of the Quarter Century and the East India islands.The much coveted trade in spices,so far as (18g6-1921),in the Report on the Chinese Post Office for the year 1921(Shanghai,1933). their carriage from India and Malacca was concerned had been for long 6 "I think something ought to be said about the part the Service played in the in the hands of the Arabs,who conveyed them in their ocean-going dhows Revolution.That marked a turning point so to speak,and I do niot think the to Egypt,whence they were carried to the European markets by the Service has ever had sufficient recognition,as a Service,for the very efficient manner in which China's foreign obligations were saved from disaster.The Blue Books,as Venetians.The Portuguese were determined to monopolize this is natural,dwell mainly on the hand the Legation had in the matter,but it was the enormously lucrative trade,and this,for a time,they succeeded in doing Commissioners who took hold and carried on to whom the credit is mainly due.If in 1511 when Albuquerque captured Malacca,and-after building a the Customs had gone to pieces,the change of regime would not have gone through so smoothly,and it was the Customs link that was never broken or seriously impaired strong fortress there-made the place a Portuguese trade depot.In doing that played an important,though unseen,part in those events.Chinese officials have so he accomplished much more than he had dreamed,for at Malacca he admitted so much to me.The Service was the one central organ that remained intact came in friendly contact with the Chinese traders who brought thither throughout China when the country was upside down."C.A.Aglen to King; grd February,1916;and C.A.I.G.S/O Circ.No.4,Aglen to Commissioners;14th in their junks the produce of south China,silks,satins,brocades,china- March,191;vide also China's Customs Revenue since the Revolution of 1911, ware,musk,rhubarb,pearls,and tin to be exchanged mainly for spices, op.cit.,pp.3 and 4. pepper,nutmegs,cloves,ginger,mace,incense,aloes,and gold thread. This contact gave the Portuguese the desired opportunity of becoming the discoverers of the all sea route to China,and the first Europeans to embark on direct sea-borne trade with that country.After a couple of pioneer trips from Malacca to south China purely for trading purposes,the King of Portugal,in 1515,despatched his first Ambassador to China Thome Pires,who,after numerous adventures,finally set sail from Malacca in June 1517,and reached Canton in September of that year. His mission,which began with great promise,-thanks largely to the tactful personality of Fernao d'Andrade,the commander of the squadron which had brought the mission to China-was doomed to end in tragic failure,due partly to the piratical activities of Simao d'Andrade, brother of Fernao,along the China coast,activities which naturally alarmed and prejudiced the Chinese,and partly to the evil reports from tributary Malay sultans on the doings of the Portuguese at Malacca and in the islands of the East Indies.After having been summoned to Peking 9
8 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS people, and for the benefit of every nation of the earth' having trade relations with that people. Here is the very heart of its uniqueness. For over eighty years the Service stood as a signpost on the road to international understanding and co-operation. It has been a powerful agent in helping to break down old prejudices and conservatisms, and in strengthening those human sympathies which rise superior to all ties of race, nationality, class, and creed. In a world to be purged from the evil aggressiveness of perverted nationalism the example and experience of China's Customs Service indicate inspiring possibilities for the future. The Service has had its detractors both Chinese and foreign, but it stands by its record. "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ?" NOTES TO INTRODUCTION 1. The Times, London, 10th January, 1899: No. 35, 722: p. 5, cols. 1-3. 2. Including Paris (1867, 1878, 1889, and 1900), Vienn,a (1873), Philadelphia (1876), Melbourne (1880), Berlin (1880), Amsterdam (1883), London (1883, 1884), Nuremberg {1885), Barcelona (1887), Brussels (1888 and 1897), Madrid (1892), Chicago (1893), Lyons (1894), Antwerp (1894), San Francisco (1894), Atlanta (1895), Nashville (1897), Omaba (1898), Glasgow (1901), Hanoi (1902), Osaka (1903), St. Louis (1904), and Liege (1905). '3., T. R. BANISTER: The Coastwise Lights of China, Sbanghai, 1932. 4. S. F. VVAIGHT: China's Customs Revenue since the Revolution of 1911: 3rd edition, Shanghai, 1935: pp. 47-59. 5. For detailed account, vide An Historical Survey Of the Quarter Century (1896-1921), in the Report on the Chinese Post Office for the year 1921 (Shanghai, 1922). 6. ' .. I think something ought to be said about the part the Service played in the Revolution. That marked a turning point so to speak, and I, do not think the Service has ever had sufficient recognition, as a Service, for the very efficient manner in which China's foreign obligations were saved from disaster. The Blue Books, as is natural, dwell mainly on the hand the Legation had in the matter, but it was the Commissioners who took hold and carried on to whom the credit is mainly due. If the Customs had gone to pieces, the mange of regime would not have gone through so smoothly, and it was the Customs link that was never broken or seriously impaired that ,played an important, though unseen, part in those events. Chinese officials have admitted so mum to me. The Service was the one central organ that remained intact throughout China when the country was upside down."-C. A. Aglen to King; 3rd February, 1916; and C.A.I.G. S/O Circ. No. 4, Aglen to Commissioners; 14th March, 1912; vide also China's Customs Revenue since the Revolution of 1911, op. cit., pp. 3 and 4. CHAPTER I The coming ot the traders ot the West: Trading under monopoly at Canton in pre-treaty days. What, then, was the origin of this unique Service, and what were the circumstances causing and attending its birth? To answer that question we I)lUSt first look backward at the conditions under which China permitted foreign trade to be carried on in the days before she concluded trade treaties with the strangers from afar; days when China's ruling classes still believed that the proper policy to be adopted towards these strangers was one of self-satisfied isolationism. Macaulay's schoolboy knows, or ought to know, that the Portuguese -the most daring seamen of their day-were the first of the maritime nations of the modern world to reach China by sea, and to enter into commercial relations with her. It was early in the sixteenth century tlut they crushed Arab trade supremacy in the Indian Ocean, and made themselves the commercial intermediaries between India and Europe. Having established themselves at Goa in 1510, it was inevitable that they should turn their eyes to Malacca, the gateway to the Pacific, and the great entrepot on the straits of that name for the spices produced in Malaya and the East India islands. The much coveted trade in spices, so far ;:.s their carriage from India and Malacca was concerned had been for long in the hands of the Arabs, who conveyed them in their ocean-going dhows to Egypt, whence they were carried to the European markets by the Venetians. The Portuguese were determined to monopolize this enormously lucrative trade, and this, for a time, they succeeded in doing in 1511 when Albuquerque captured Malacca, and-after building a strong fortress there-made the place a Portuguese trade depot. In doing so he accomplished much more than he had dreamed, for at Malacca he came in friendly contact with the Chinese traders who brought thither in their junks the produce of south China, silks, satins, brocades, chinaware, musk; rhubarb, pearls, and tin to be exchanged mainly for spices, pepper, nutmegs, cloves, ginger, mace, incense, aloes, and gold thread. This contact gave the Portuguese the desired opportunity of becoming the discoverers of the all sea route to China, and the first Europeans to embark on direct sea-borne trade with that country. After a couple of pioneer trips from Malacca to south China purely for trading purposes, the King of Portugal, in 1515, despatched his first Ambassador to China Thome Pires, who, after numerous adventures, finally set sail from Malacca in June 1517, and reached Canton in September of that year. His mission, which began with great promise,-th~mks largely to the tactful personality of Fernao d'Andrade, the commander of the squadron which had brought the mission to China-was doomed to end in tragic failure, due partly to the piratical activities of Simao d'Andrade, brother of Fernao, along the China coast, activities which naturally alarmed and prejudiced the Chinese, and partly to the evil reports from tributary Malay sultans on the doings of the Portuguese at Malacca and in the islands of the East Indies. After having been summoned to Peking 9
10 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 11 Thome Pires was sent back in disgrace to Canton,where he died as a taken service with King Charles V of Spain,and who in 1519 set sail state prisoner. with five ships,cruised down the eastern coast of South America,and Nevertheless,Portuguese trade took root and flourished.Technically, after passing through the strait which has ever afterwards borne his name, such trade had been declared illegal;but as it yielded rich returns to the emerged on the Pacific.Setting his course north-west he finally,in 1531, Chinese officials as well as to the traders themselves,it throve especially reached what are now known as the Philippine Islands,and there the at the ports of Changchow,Chiianchow,and Ningpo.At the two last- intrepid explorer lost his life in a local brawl.From the Philippines the named places the Portuguese succeeded in making settlements,only to be spice islands were within easy call,but the Portuguese had no intention expelled from both before the middle of the century.But fortune was of allowing the newcomers to establish themselves there,even on the soon to smile on them.They could,and did,often enough act as pirates, pretext that by so doing they would be within their rights by the Treaty but in self-defence they also acted as the suppressors of the native corsairs of Tordesillas of 1494,the treaty which ratified the Papal Decree of the China Sea.It was for their services in this respect that the Canton authorizing Spain and Portugal to divide the undiscovered world between officialsforbidden to permit their residence at Canton,but avid for the them.The conquest of Mexico (New Spain).by Cortes had provided the material gains from their trade-finally gave them permission in 1557 Spaniards with the port of Acapulco on the Pacific coast,and from here, to rent land on the peninsula at Ama Ngau,known later to the world as in 1545,Ruy Lopez de Villalobos was sent with a fleet to drive the Macao,and to develop the place for residence and trade.The territory Portuguese,if possible,out of the Moluccas.The attempt,however, was not ceded;China retained her sovereignty,and stationed there not ended in total failure.This reverse cooled Spanish ardour for a time, only a magistrate,but also a Custom house to control the steadily until in 1564 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was commissioned by Philip II growing foreign trade.Into the chequered history of this famous to proceed with a fleet from Mexico to attack and annex the Luzon,after- Portuguese outpost it is not necessary to enter here,but up to the middle wards renamed the Philippine Islands. of the eighteenth century,when Canton was made the centre for foreign trade,Macao-in spite of Spanish opposition,Dutch and English Legazpi did his work well,though it took him the better part of ten aggression,internal discord and misgovernment,the loss of trade with years.While accomplishing it,Manila,where Legazpi had made his Japan,and the fall of Malacca-retained the proud position of being, headquarters in 1571,was attacked in 1574 by a Chinese pirate fleet of thanks to Chinese toleration,the strongest connecting link between China 72 vessels.The Spaniards repulsed these corsairs,followed them up, and the outside world,and the foothold on China without which the burned their fleet,and captured those that tried to escape by land.In trading powers of the West would have found it much more difficult gratitude the Chinese admiral,who should have done the job,consented than it was to carry on their commercial enterprises. to sponsor a deputation of two Augustinian friars-one of them Martin Sixty years after the arrival of the Portuguese their great trade rivals, de Rada,who spoke and read Chinese-to the Governor of Fukien.The the Spaniards,appeared on the scene.Columbus,who was probably friars were well received by the Governor,and although the deputation, more of a self-seeking adventurer than a high-minded scientific explorer, in the absence of credentials from Madrid,could not proceed to Peking, set out in September 1493 from the Canaries to reach the spice islands, it was successful in establishing Spain's first official contact with China. and by sailing due west,believed that he could not fail to strike the Unlike Portugal,Spain did not acquire a foothold in China itself,but mainland of Cathay,where he could deliver to the Grand Khan the letter the Chinese trade from the Fukien ports of Foochow,Amoy,and he bore from his patrons the Spanish Sovereigns,and where,above all, Ch'tianchow to Manila and through Manila to Mexico and,finally,to he could acquire the information necessary to enable him to get to his Spain soon attained large proportions,thanks to the vigour with which desired goal.He sought China by sailing due west as the surest way to the Spanish suppressed Chinese piracy on the sea and local wars in the reach the East Indies,and in failing to achieve that goal re-discovered islands.To pay for these trans-shipped Chinese goods both Mexico and America.As a source of material profit the discovery was for many years Peru had to fall back on their precious metals,which were their chief a bitter disappointment.It was not until the Spanish conquerors wealth.Hence there came to China a steady and welcome flow of bar stumbled upon the fabulously rich silver and gold mines of Mexico and silver and later of Spanish,Mexican,and Peruvian dollars,a fow which Peru that America began to answer their expectations as a land worth perturbed not a little the monarchs of Spain but which they could do exploitation,while in the meantime Columbus had died an embittered nothing to check.What also perturbed them and what also they were man,beset by enemies,and a victim of hallucinations. powerless to prevent was the fact that Manila soon became for the officials and colonists of Mexico and Peru a cheaper market than Spain Before these mines,however,had swum into the ken of the rapacious itself in which to purchase Spanish goods. Spaniards,Portuguese flotillas had been coming back to Lisbon year after year with fortune-making cargoes from Malacca and the East Indies,and A factor which brought the Spanish colonists of the Philippines into the sight of this made the Spaniards determined to reach those islands, unusually close contact with the Chinese trading classes was the existence holding correctly enough,that they could do so by skirting the land-mass and growth of Chinese immigration.The law prohibiting Chinese to of America and rounding it at is southernmost point.The first to do this settle abroad was not enforced in the province of Fukien-an exemption was Ferdinand Magellan,an experienced Portuguese navigator who had won in the middle of the sixteenth century in the successful struggle of
10 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS Thome Pires was sent back in disgrace to Canton, where he died as a state prisoner. Nevertheless, Portuguese trade took root and flourished. Technically, such trade had been declared illegal; but as it yielded rich returns to the Chinese officials as well as to the traders themselves, it throve especially at the ports of Changchow, Chiianchow, and Ningpo. At the two lastnamed places the Portuguese succeeded in making settlements, only to be expelled froni both before the middle of the century. But fortune was soon to smile on them. They could, and did, often enough act as pirates, but in self-defence they also acted as the suppressors of the native corsairs . of the China Sea. It was for their services in t~is respect dlat the Canton ·o£ficials-forbidden to permit their residence at Canton, but avid for the material gains from their trade-finally gave them permission in 1557 to,rent land on the peninsula at Ama Ngau, known later to the world as Macao, and to develop the place for residence and trade. The territory ,,,as not ceded; China retained her sovereignty, and stationed there not only a magistrate, but also a Custom house to control the steadily growing foreign trade. Into the chequered history of this famous Portuguese outpost it is not necessary to enter here, but up to the middle of the eighteenth century, when Canton was made the centre for foreign trade, Macao-in spite of Spanish opposition, Dutch and English aggression, internal discord and misgovernment, the loss of trade with Japan, and the fall of Malacca-retained the proud position of being, thanks to Chinese toleration, the strongest connecting link between China and the outside world, and the foothold on China without which the trading powers of the West would have found it much more difficult than it was to carry on their commercial enterprises. Sixty years after the arrival of the Portuguese their great trade rivals, the Spaniards, appeared on the scene. Columbus, who was probably more of a self-seeking adventurer than a Mgh-minded scientific explorer, set out in September 1492 from the Canaries to reach the spice islands, and by sailing due west, believed that he could not fail to strike the mainland of Cathay, where he could deliver to the Grand Kha,n the letter he bore from his patrons the Spanish Sovereigns, and where; above all, he could acquire the information necessary to enable him to get to his desired goal. He sought China by sailing due west as the surest way to reach the East Indies, and in failing to acllieve that goal re-discovered America. As a source of material profit the discovery was for many years a bitter disappointment. It was not until the Spanish conquerors stumbled upon the fabulously rich silver and gold mines of Mexico and Peru that America began t9 answer their expectations as a land worth exploitation, while in the meantime Columbus had died an embittered man, beset by enemies, and a victim of hallucinations. Before these mines, however, had swum into the ken of the rapacious Spaniards, Portuguese flotillas had been coming back to Lisbon year after year with fortune-making cargoes from Malacca and the East Indies, and the sight of this made the Spaniards determined to reach those islands, holding correctly enough, that they could do so by skirting the land-mass of America and rounding it at is southernmost point. The first to do this was Ferdinand Magellan, an experienced Portuguese navigator who had HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 11 taken service with King Charles V of Spain, and \vho in 1519 set sail with five ships, cruised down the eastern coast of South America, and after passing through the strait which has ever afterwards borne his name, emerged .on the Pacific. Setting his course north-west he finally, in 1521, reached what are now known as the Philippine Islands, and there the intrepid explorer lost his life in a local brawl. From the Philippines the spice' islands were within easy call, but the Portuguese had no intention of allowing the newcomers to establish themselves there, even on the pretext that by so doing they would be within their rights by the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, the treaty which ratified the Papal Decree authorizing Spain and Portugal to divide the undiscovered world between them. The conquest of Mexico (New Spain) by Cortes had provided the Spaniards with the port of Acapulco on the Pacific coast, and from here, in 1545, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos was sent with a fleet to drive the Portuguese, if possible, out of the Moluccas. The attempt, howeyer, ended in total failure. This reverse cooled Spanish ardour for a time, until in 1564 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was commissioned by Philip II to proceed with a fleet from Mexico to attack and annex the Luzon, afterwards renamed the Philippine Islands. Legazpi did his work well, though it took him the better part of ten years. While accomplishing it, Manila, where Legazpi had made his headquarters in 1571, was attacked in 1574 by a Chinese pirate fleet of 72 vessels. The Spaniards repulsed these corsairs, followed them up, burned their fleet, and captured those that tried to escape by land. In gratitude the Chinese admiral, who should have done the job, consented to sponsor a deputation of two Augustinian friars--one of them Martin de Rada, who spoke and read Chinese-to the Governor of Fukien. The friars were .well received by the Governor, and although the deputation, in the absence of credentials from Madrid, could not proceed to Peking, it was successful in establishing Spain's first official contact with China. Unlike Portugal, Spain did not acquire a foothold in China itself, but the Chinese trade from the Fukien ports of Foochow, Amoy, and Ch'iianchow to Manila and through Manila to Mexico and, finally, to Spain soon attained large proportions, thanks to the vigour with which the Spanish suppressed Chinese piracy on the sea and local wars in the islands. To pay for these trans-shipped Chinese goods both Mexico and Peru had to fall back on their precious metals, which were their chief wealth. Hence there came to China a steady and welcome flow of bar . silver and later of Spanish, Mexican, and Peruvian dollars, a flow which perturbed not a little the monarchs of Spain but which they could do nothing to check. What also perturbed them and what also they ,,'ere powerless to prevent was the fact that Manila soon became for the officials and colonists of Mexico and Peru a cheaper market than Spain itself in which to purchase Spanish goods. A factor which brought the Spanish colonists of the Philippines into unusually close contact with the Chinese trading classes was the existence and growth of Chinese immigration. The law prohibiting Chinese to settle abroad was not enforced in the province of Fukien-an exemption won in the middle of the sixteenth century in the successful struggle of
12 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 13 the junk guilds and well-to-do traders of that province against the over- defeated Dutch headed for the Pescadores,where without permission from zealous smuggling suppression activities of the Viceroy Chu Huan.The the Chinese they established a settlement.But the Chinese authorities result was that Fukien traders from the coastal towns of that province refused to permit them to trade,and ordered them to quit the Chinese streamed abroad in their thousands to the Philippine Islands,Java, territory they had captured.The Dutch then resorted to armed violence, Sumatra,and the Malay Peninsula.So rapidly did these immigrants intercepting Chinese vessels trading with Manila and the South Sea increase in the Philippine Islands that the Spanish authorities,in 1608, Islands,and attacking Chinese shipping in the Fukien ports.As Brinkley growing alarmed at what they had reason for believing was a threat to puts it-"The Dutch introduced themselves to the Chinese in the guise their dominance,carried out a ruthless massacre in which,it is said, of international freebooters."The Chinese accepted the challenge, nearly 20,000 Chinese perished.A generation later,another massacre equipped a fleet of war junks,and so harried the Dutch in their small was decreed in which even more were slaughtered.In spite of these island settlements that the latter were glad at last to abandon the drastic measures,and in spite of capitation fees and of banishment of Pescadores and to settle on the no-man's land of Formosa,where they those who refused baptism,the number of Chinese in the Philippines built blockhouses at Taiwan,Tamsui,and Kelung.Evacuation from the steadily increased.The growing disorder in the province of Fukien Pescadores and occupation of Formosa was a stroke of good fortune for during the closing years of the Ming dynasty contributed not a little to the Dutch:it brought them closer to the mainland than were the Spanish this increase;but by that time Spanish power was definitely on the wane. at Manila,and gave them convenient ports of call for their own trade Hard on the heels of the Spaniards came the Dutch,and their between Japan and Java,where the Dutch were now firmly established. coming was in answer to an act of Spanish tyranny.In 1594 in retaliation For thirty-seven years the Dutch more or less ruled Formosa,and during for the revolt which had overthrown the Spanish dominion in the that time practically ousted the Portuguese and the Spanish from their Netherlands,Philip II,king for the nonce both of Spain and of Portugal, pride of place as the premier European traders in the Far East.Then the had closed the port of Lisbon against the Dutch,thereby depriving them tide turned.In 1661 Koxinga,the leader in South China of the adherents of any share in the produce of the East Indies.For several years the to the dying cause of the Ming dynasty,finding his foothold on the main- Dutch tried to find a route to the golden East by way of the Arctic;but, land precarious,and being stronger on sea than on land,turned his eyes heartened by the accounts of some.of their own countrymen-notably to Formosa as the most suitable base for his operations.This brought Dirck Gerritoz Pomp-who had already visited China by the all-ocean him into confict with the Dutch,whom he eventually succeeded in route,they decided to follow the beaten track via India.In 16o1 van driving from the island in 1663.After that the Dutch fell back on Amoy, Neck's fleet,which had unsuccessfully attacked the Portuguese fortress at where they traded side by side with the English,but during the eighteenth Tidore in the Moluccas,sailed across to China and anchored outside century their trading,and colonial interests centred more and more on Macao in September of that year.In the consequent affray the Dutch the islands of the Malay archipelago. lost out;but two years later,after the formation of the Netherlands East Of the three Dutch diplomatic missions to Peking to obtain,if India Company,Admiral Jacob van Heemskirck paid off the score by possible,trading privileges,little need be said.The first,under Pieter de capturing in the Straits of Malacca the Portuguese carrack Catharina Goyer and Jacob de Keyser,reached Peking in 1655,the second under with a rich cargo,the sale of which brought in nearly three and a half Pieter van Hoorn,came ten years later,and the third,under Isaac million guilders.In the following year,1604,Admiral Wijbrand van Titsingh and A.E.van Braam,made its undignified entry and Waerwijck decided to pay a visit to China in person.Leaving Patani in ignominous departure in 1795.So eager were these Dutch embassies to Siam in June he was in the neighbourhood of Canton by the middle of secure officially recognised trading rights that they were willing to be July,but there inefficient pilots and a storm brought him up to the regarded,and treated,as if they were tribute-bearers from a subject- Pescadores,where attempts to negotiate with the Fukien officials to carry and therefore in Chinese eyes an inferior-nation.In spite,however, on trade ended in failure.Another attempt made in 1607 was also un- of their rich and lavish gifts and in spite of profuse genuflexions and successful,on each occasion Portuguese intrigue proving too strong even prostrations-or perhaps it was because of this obsequiousness-all three for Dutch determination. missions failed entirely in their object. For fifteen 'years no further attempt was made;but during that Next came the English.They,too,wanted their share of the spices, interval,in 1609,a twelve-year truce with Spain was concluded,which but the Dutch were not at all inclined to help them in getting it.That virtually recognized the independence of the seven provinces of the encouraged the Elizabethans,to whom the whole world was their oyster, United Netherlands.It was then agreed that the Dutch could carry on and the sword the quickest way of opening it.Even before the Great trade outside Europe,except at those ports and places in the possession Armada year Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish in separate of the Spanish or the Portuguese.The truce having expired,the Dutch expeditions had voyaged into the Pacific through the Straits of Magellan, decided to attempt the capture of Macao,and for this purpose a fleet of and had returned to England laden with spoil,much of it loot from some sixteen or seventeen vessels was despatched from Batavia under the Spanish prizes.Drake brought back also a treaty into which he had command of Cornelis Reijerszoon.The assault took place on the 24th entered with the sultan of Ternate in the Moluccas,a fact of which much June,1622,and ended in the repulse of the invaders with heavy loss.The was made on the founding of the East India Company.British interest
12 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS the junk guilds and well-to-do traders of that province against the overzealous smuggling suppression activities of the Viceroy Chu Huan. The result was that Fukien traders from the coastal towns of that province streamed abroad in their thousands to the Philippine Islands, Java, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula. So rapidly did these immigrants increase in the Philippine Islands that the Spanish authorities, in 1603, growing alarmed at what they had reason for believing was a threat to their dominance, carried out a ruthless massacre in which, it is said, nearly 20,000 Chinese perished. A generation later, another massacre was decreed in which even more were slaughtered. In spite of these drastic measures, and in spite of capitation fees and of banishment of those who refused baptism, the number of Chinese in the Philippines steadily increased. The growing disorder in the province of Fukien during the closing years of the Ming dynasty contributed not a little to this increase; but by that time Spanish power 'was definitely on the wane. Hard on the heels of the Spaniards came the Dutch, and their coming was in answer to an act of Spanish tyranny. In 1594 in retaliation for the revolt which had overthrown the Spanish dominion in the Netherlands, Philip II, king for the nonce both of Spain and of Portugal, had closed the port of Lisbon against the Dutcll, thereby depriving them of any share in the produce of the East Indies. For several years the Dutch tried to find a route to the golden East by way of the Arctic; but, heartened by the accounts of some. of their own countrymen-notably Dirck Gerritoz Pomp-who had already visited China by the all-ocean route, they decided to follow the beaten track via India. In 1601 van Neck's fleet, which had unsuccessfully attacked the Portuguese fortress at Tidore in the Moluccas, sailed across to China and anchored outside Macao in September 'of that year. In the consequent affray the Dutch lost out; but two years later, after the formation of the Netherlands East India Company, Admiral Jacob van Heemskirck paid off the score by capturing in the Straits of Malacca the Portuguese carrack Catharina with a rich cargo, the sale of 'which brought in neady three and a half million guilders. In the following year, 1604, Admiral Wijbrand van Waerwijck decided to pay a visit to China in person. Leaving Patani in Siam in June he was in the neighbourhood of Canton by the middle of Tuly, but there inefficient pilots and a storm brought him up to the Pescadores, ·\V·here attempts to negotiate with the Fukien officials to carry on trade ended in failure. Another attempt made in 1607 was also unsuccessful, on each occasion Portuguese intrigue proving too strong even for Dutch determination. For fifteen 'years no further attempt was made; but during that interval, in 1609, a twelve-year truce with Spain was concluded, which virtually recognized the independence of the seven provinces of the United Netherlands. It was then agreed that the Dutcll could carry on trade outside Europe, except at those ports and places in the possession of the Spanish or the Portuguese. The truce having expired, the Dutch decided to attempt the capture of Macao, and for this purpose a fleet of some sixteen or seventeen vessels was despatched from Batavia under the command of Cornelis Reijerszoon. The assault took place on the 24th June, 1622, and ended in the repulse of the invaders with heavy loss. The HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 13 defeated Dutch headed for the Pescadores, where without permission from the Chinese they established a settlement. But the Chinese authorities refused to permit them to trade, and ordered them to quit the Chinese territory they had captured. The Dutch then reso.rted to armed violence, intercepting Chinese vessels trading with Manila and the South Sea Islands, and attacking Chinese shipping in the Fukien ports. As Brinkley puts it-UThe Dutch introduced themselves to the Chinese in the guise of international freebooters." The Chinese accepted the challenge, equipped a fleet of war junks, and so harried the Dutch in their small island settlements that the latter were glad at last to abandon the Pescadores and to settle on the no-m an's land of Formosa, where they built blockhouses at Taiwan, Tamsui, and Kelung. Evacuation from the Pescadores and occupation of Formosa was a stroke of good fort~ne for the Dutch: it brought them closer to the mainland than were the Spanish at Manila, and gave them conver:ient ports of call for their own trade between Japan and Java, where' the Dutch were now firmly established. For thirty-seven years the Dutch more or less ruled Formosa, and during that time practically ousted the Portuguese and the Spanish from their pride of place as the premier European traders in the Far East. Then the tide turned. In 1661 Koxinga, the leader in South China of the adherents to the dying .cause of the Ming dynasty, finding his foothold on the mainland precarious, and being stronger on sea than on land, turned his eyes to Formosa as the most suitable base for his operations. This brought him into conflict with the Dutch, whom he eventually succeeded in driving from the island in 1662. After that the Dutch fell back on Amoy, where they traded side by side with the English, but during the eighteenth century their trading, and colonial interests centred more and more on the islands of the Malay archipelago. Of the three Dutch diplomatic missions to Peking to obtain, if possible, trading privileges, little need be said. The first, under Pieter de Goyer and Jacob de Keyser, reached Peking in 1655, the second under Pieter van Hoorn, came ten years later, and the third, under Isaac Titsingh and A. E. van Braam, made its undignified entry and ignominous departure in 1795. So eager were these Dutch embassies to secure officially recognised trading rights that they were willing to be regarded, and treated, as if they were tribute-bearers from a subjectand therefore in Chinese eyes an inferior-nation. In spite, howeYer, of their rich and lavish gifts and in spite of. profuse genuflexions and prostrations-or perhaps it was because of this obsequiousness-all thp~e missions failed entirely in their object. \ Next came the English. They, too, wanted their share of the spices, but the Dutch "were not at all inclined to help them in getting it. That encouraged the Elizabethans, to whom the whole world was their oyster, 'and the sword the quickest way of opening it. Even before the Great Armada year Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish in separate expeditions had voyaged into the Pacific through the Straits of Magellan, and had returned to England laden with spoil, much of it loot from Spanish prizes. Drake brought back also a treaty into which he had entered with the sultan of Ternate in the Moluccas, a fact of which much was made on the founding of the East India Company. British interest
14 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 15 in India and the Far East had been thoroughly awakened.In the year So far as the furthering of British trading interests with China were after the Armada,application was made to the Privy Council by a group concerned,the voyage of the London was a complete failure.The of London merchants for a licence to send a trading expedition to the Portuguese saw to that. Far East:that expedition consisted of three ships under James Lancaster, It was in the same year (1635)that King Charles I-trying all means which set said in 1591,rounded the Cape,visited Ceylon,Malacca,and to.fill his empty coffers without convening Parliament-issued to Sir Sumatra,and returned four years later,greatly decimated,but with much William Courteen and others a licence authorizing them to fit out a valuable information about the rich possibilities in trade with India and fleet "to undertake a voyage to Goa,the parts of Mallabar,the coast of the islands of the Pacific,and about the doings of the Spanish and the China and Japan,there to trade."By virtue of this authority-granted in Dutch,especially the latter.It was decided to form a company to make defiance of the Company's monopoly-a fleet of four ships and two the most of the opportunity,and to be in a better position to meet pinnaces were fitted out,and placed under the command of Captain aggression and competition.A sum of f73,ooo was subscribed,and on John Weddell.It reached Goa in October 16g6,where it had a frosty the 31st December,1600,Queen Elizabeth issued a charter of reception,and Macao in June of the year following,where it was as incorporation,granting a concession for fifteen years to the Earl of welcome as if it had been a fleet of Dutch privateers.Like all the traders Cumberland,and 315 knights,aldermen,and merchants for the develop- of that age the Portuguese believed in free trade only in so far as it ment of trade with the East Indies,under the title of "The Governor provided an opportunity of creating a monopoly.They had acquired and Merchants of London trading into the East Indies."A fleet of five such a monopoly of the China trade,and they were determined at all ships was commissioned under James Lancaster,with John Davis of costs to retain it,if not by force,then by intrigue,trickery,and the pay- Arctic fame as second in command,and in February 1600 this fleet set ment of bribes and blackmail.Growing tired of their obstructiveness, sail for Sumatra and Java:that fleet was the harbinger of the British Weddell sailed for the Bogue to get into direct touch with the Chinese Empire in India,and of British trade in China and the Far East. authorities at Canton.After many remonstrances from the Chinese that After this,voyages followed each other in quick succession,'and he should delay a little,he finally reached Amunghoi,where he was agencies were established at strategic points,until after fifteen years' requested to wait for six days for authorization from Canton to proceed trading the Company had seven factories,or agencies,in India-the further.On expiry of the time limit he requested permission to trade, principal one being at Surat,-two in Siam,three in Sumatra,two in and on receiving no reply,.weighed anchor,silenced the batteries whicn Java,two in Borneo,one at Macassar,one at the Banda islands south of had opened fire on him,and sent up letters to Canton defending his the Moluccas,and one at Hirado to the north-west of Nagasaki in Japan. action and stating that his only desire was permission to trade.Then This expansion brought with it steadily growing friction with the Dutch, followed negotiations through the mediation of a Portuguese of doubtful who naturally strove to maintain the monopoly of the trade with the character,payment of douceurs to the local officials,some desultory East Indies,and with the Portuguese,who held the monopoly of the trading transactions,seizure and detention at Canton of the fleet's super- direct trade with China.The Dutch and the English might be allies in cargoes,attempts by the Chinese to burn the fleet by fire-junks,energetic Europe as champions of Protestantism,but in the Far East where com- reprisals by Captain Weddell,resumption of negotiations with the mercial interests were predominant the Protestant English were as much Chinese,again through Portuguese intermediaries,and,finally,per- rivals-and to be treated as such-as the Catholic Spanish and mission to trade on condition that Weddell would admit that he had Portuguese.No one fact illustrates this more clearly than the sinned through ignorance,and that his fleet would then depart and never continuance undisturbed of friendly relations between London and the return.So ended the first venture of the British to open up direct trade Hague after the massacre of the English at Amboyna in 1628 by the with China. orders of J.P.Coen,the Dutch Governor-General of Batavia,who,like It was not till 1644 and 1664-this latter date being seven years Essex,believed that"stone dead hath no fellow."That event,however, after Cromwell had granted a new charter to the Company-that the brought about the momentous decision of the Company that they should next attempts were made,when the ships Hinde in the first case and concentrate on settlements on the mainland of India. Surat in the second were despatched to Macao to be met by obstruction It was natural,then,that English traders should turn their eyes to and procrastination on the part of the Portuguese,and by demands for China.For more than twenty years after the founding of the Company's heavy measurement charges on the part of the Chinese.Having failed factory at Surat there had been intermittent hostilities with the at Canton the English now turned their attention to ports further north, Portuguese,but in January 1635 the English President at Surat and the and entered into friendly relations with Koxinga by selling him arms to Portuguese Viceroy at Goa agreed on a truce and to permit their nationals enable him to carry on his struggle against the Manchu invaders.In return in India to trade with each other.An immediate result of this agree- Koxinga permitted them to establish two trading stations,one at Amoy ment was the chartering by the Portuguese Viceroy of the Company's and the other at Taiwan.At last the Company had got a foothold on ship London for a round trip from Goa to Macao and back,Portuguese Chinese soil,but it was a precarious one.The Taiwan station proved to shipping having been temporarily driven from the high seas by the be a flash in the pan,but between 1673 and 1699 fifteen of the Company's Dutch following the renewal of hostilities between Holland and Spain. ships traded to and from Amoy.Eventually,they abandoned it for three
14 HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS in India and the Far East had been thoroughly awakened. In the year after the Armada, application was made to the Privy Council by a group of London merchants for a licence to send a trading expedition to the Far East: that expedition consisted of three ships under J ames Lancaster, which set said in 1591, rounded the Cape, visited Ceylon, Malacca, and Sumatra, and returned four years later, greatly decimated, but with much valuable information about the rich possibilities in trade with India and the islands of the Pacific, and about the doings of the Spanish and the Dutch, especially the latter. It was decided to form a company to make the most of· the opportunity, and to be in a better position to meet aggression and competition. A sum of £72,000 was subscribed, and on the 31st December, 1600, Queen Elizabeth issued a charter of Incorporation, granting a concession for fifteen years to the Earl of Cumberland, and 215 knights, aldermen, and merchants for the development of trade with the East Indies, under the title of "The Governor and Merchants of London trading into the East Indies." A fleet of five ships was commissioned under James Lancaster, with John Davis of Arctic fame as second in command, and in February 1600 this fleet set sail for Sumatra and Java: that fleet was the harbinger of the British Empire in India, and of British trade in China and the Far East. After this, voyages followed each other in quick succession,' and aa-encies were established at strategic points, until after fifteen years' t~adihg the Company had seven factories, or agencies, in India-t~e principal one being at Surat,-two in Siam, three in S~matra, two III Java, two in. Borneo, one at 1vIacassar, one at the Banda Islan~s. south of the Moluccas, and one at Hirado to the north-west of Nagasaki III Japan. This expansion brought with it steadily growing friction with the .Dutch, who naturally strove to maintain the monopoly of the trade WIth the East Indies, and with the Portuguese, who held the monopoly of the direct trade with China. The Dutch and the English might be allies in Europe as champions of Protestantism, but in the Far East where commercial interests were predominant the Protestant English were as much rivals-and to be treated as such-:-as the Catholic Spanish and Portuguese. No one fact illustrates this more clearly than the continuance undisturbed of friendly relations between London and the Hague after the massacre of the English at Amboyna in 1623 by the orders of J. P. Coen, the Dutch Governor-General of Batavia, who, like Essex, believed that "stone dead hath no fellow." That event, however, broua-ht about the momentous decision of the Company that they should conc;ntrate on settlements on the mainland of India. It was natural, then, that English traders should turn their eyes to China. For more than twenty years after the founding of the Company's factory at Surat there had been intermittent hostilities with the Portuguese, but in January 1635 the English President ~t Su:at ar:d the Portuguese Viceroy at Goa agreed on a truce and to permIt theIr natIOnals in India to trade with each other. An immediate result of this agreement was the chartering by the Portuguese Viceroy of the Company's ship London for a round trip from Goa to Macao and back, Portuguese shipping having been temporarily driven from the high seas by t?e Dutch following the renewal of hostilities between Holland and SpaIll. HART AND THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 15 So far as the furthering of British trading interests with China were concerned, the v(?yage of the London was a complete failure. The Portuguese saw to that. It was in the same year (1635) that King Charles I-trying all means to fill his empty coffers without convening Parliament-issued to Sir William Courteen and others a licence authorizing them to fit out a fleet "to undertake a voyage to G-oa, the parts of Mallabar; the coast of China and Japan, there to trade." By virtue of this authority-granted in defiance of the Company's monopoly-a fleet of four ships and two pinnaces were fitted out, and placed under the command of Captain John Weddell. It reached Goa in October 1636, where it had a frosty reception, and Macao in June of the year following, where it was as welcome as if it had been a fleet of Dutch privateers. Like all the traders of that age the Portuguese believed in free trade only in so far as i.t provided an opportunity of creating a monopoly. They had acquired . such a monopoly of the China trade, and they were determined at all costs to retain it, if not by force, then by intrigue, trickery, and the payment of bribes and blackmail. Growing tired of their obstructiveness, Weddell sailed for the Bogue to get into direct touch with the Chinese authorities at Canton. After many remonstrances from the Chinese that he should delay a little, he finally reached Amunghoi, where he was requested to wait for six days for authorization from Canton to proceed further. On expiry of the time limit he requested permission to trade, and on receiving no reply,. weighed anchor, silenced the batteries whicn had opened fire on him, and sent up letters to Canton defending his action and stating that his only desire was permission to trade. Then followed negotiations through the mediation of a Portuguese of doubtful character, payment of douceurs to the local officials, some desultory trading transactions, seizure and detention at Canton of the fleet's supercargoes, attempts by the Chinese to burn the fleet by fire-junks, energetic reprisals by Captain Weddell, resumption of negotiations with the Chinese, again through Portuguese intermediaries, and, finally, permission to trade on condition that Weddell would admit that he had sinned through ignorance, and that his fleet would then depart and neyer return. So ended the first venture of the British to open up direct trade . with China. It was not till 1644 and 1664-this latter date being seven years after Cromwell had granted a new charter to the Company-that the next attempts were made, when the ships Hinde in the first case and Sumt in the second were despatched to Macao to be met by obstruction and procrastination on the part of the Portuguese, and by demands for heavy measurement charges on the part of the Chinese. Having failed at Canton the English now turned their attention to ports further north, and entered into friendly relations with Koxinga by selling him arms to enable him to carry on his struggle against the Manchu invaders. In return Koxinga permitted them to establish two trading stations, one at Amoy and the other at Taiwan. At last the Company had got a foothold on Chinese soil, but it was a precarious one. The Taiwan station proved i:O be a flash in the pan, but between 1673 and 1699 fifteen of the Company's ships traded to and from Amoy. Eventually, they abandoned it for three