The Hong Merchants of Canton

Breaking new ground, this study eschews the uncritical acceptance of secondary sources, returning to and reinterpreting previously neglected primary sources. The work sheds new light on this period and will be of interest to economic historians beyond the field of the old China trade. This study eschews the uncritical acceptance of secondary sources that has characterized studies in this field, going back to and reinterpreting previously neglected primary sources, thereby enabling it to chart linkages between the European and Asian trades that have been regarded as parallel but unrelated (or at best competing) activities. In so doing, the work sheds new light on this crucial period.