Original title: "The big merchants of cross-strait trade in the 117th century: merchant Hambuan documents test "
About the author
Yang Guozhen
Professor of the History Department of Xiamen University , research direction: Ming and Qing social and economic history, maritime history; main research results: " "The Biography of Lin Zexu" "Research on Land Contract Documents of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" "Min in the Sea - Pursuing the History of Marine Development in Fujian" "Dongming Water and Soil - The Key to the Marine and Economic Development of Southeast China" "The Yinghai Equation - China's Marine Development Theory and History and Culture" "wait.
Abstract: In the first half of the 17th century, the trade between Zhangzhou Port Area and the Dutch in Taiwan was an important part of the East-West trade network. Dutch archival documents record that Hambuan was one of the most important Chinese merchants in cross-strait trade in the 1930s. This article points out the mistake of Taiwanese scholars in comparing Hambuan to Lin Hengwan, the gentry of Tong'an. It uses Dutch information and his ten letters to the Dutch Taiwanese governor to reconstruct a free man who was proficient in Dutch, had business skills and public relations abilities in the late Ming Dynasty. A typical case of a businessman, analyzing his role in cross-strait trade and Sino-Dutch negotiations. It is believed that treating pirate merchants and wealthy gentry merchants as ordinary models of maritime merchants in the late Ming Dynasty obliterates the fact that free merchants existed and distorted the history of China's maritime development.
Keywords: Zhangzhou Port Area; Taiwan Dutch Trade; Free Trader;
1. Foreword: Hambuan is not Lin Hengwan
From the second half of the 16th century to the first half of the 17th century, Zhangzhou Haicheng (Yuegang) was an open sea in the Ming Dynasty It was the only legal port for merchants to go abroad for trade between the East and the West. The sea area around Xiamen and Kinmen Island from the mouth of Zhangzhou River (Jiulong River) to the mouth of Anhai River (Shijing River), that is, the Xiamen Bay in a broad sense, although it belongs to Zhangzhou in the administrative division The two prefectures of Quanzhou and Quanzhou are actually a whole in terms of the operation of the East-West trade system, and they both belong to the Zhangzhou Port Area. Maritime traders engaged in east-west trade must hold a ship's license (i.e. certificate of registration) issued by Zhang and Quan Prefectures, go to Yuegang to apply for a ship pilot (i.e. ship pass) from the Governor's Rate Office, pay the pilot tax, and then sail the ship. From Yuegang or Anhai Port to Zhongzuo Institute (Xiamen) for inspection and departure, from Wuyu Island to overseas. The Chinese maritime merchants who were active on the east-west shipping routes were actually a maritime social group composed of Zhangquan maritime merchants in Mansion Bay as the main body and absorbed scattered merchants from coastal areas of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangzhou. Camcheo and Chincheo (Zhangzhou) in Portuguese and Dutch documents are actually not Zhangzhou or Quanzhou in the land administrative divisions, but the Mansion Bay Port area at the intersection of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou.
Among the Hokkien merchants who traded with the Dutch in Taiwan in the first half of the 17th century, there was one most famous figure whose original Chinese name is still unknown. The Dutch called him Hambuan. Information on Hambuan is available only in Dutch archives. In 1986, the National Historical Publishing House of the Netherlands published the Dutch version of "Journal of the City of Relanja" in The Hague. Later, Jiang Shusheng, a Taiwanese scholar in the Netherlands, translated it into Chinese and published it in Tainan in 2000. The original information on the cross-strait trade between Hambuan and the Dutch has been made public.
In Dutch literature, Hambuan was a large merchant who obtained legal permission from Zhangzhou Port to trade in Taiwan in the 1630s. He went to the East and West for trade probably as early as when Zheng Zhilong was a pirate, and had a close relationship with the Xu Xinsu family of "seduce the traitor" in the 1920s. Xinsu's father's brother Jocksim later became his long-term partner. From the "Relanzha City Diary" recorded on August 15, the second year of Chongzhen (October 1, 1629), the earliest time recorded for Hambuan's activities in Taiwan was March 4, the fourth year of Chongzhen (April 1631). On August 5), the Dutch chief merchant Gedeon Bouwers returned to Dayuan (now Anping, Tainan) from the Zhangzhou River and conveyed the words of Zheng Zhilong (first official):
For Chief Hans Putmans The two Chinese sailing ships that Lord Putmans has repeatedly requested before will be handed over to the company, but they must be done in the name of Hambuan, otherwise he will suffer great anger from the high officials.
At this time, Hambuan had great popularity and influence among local officials in Zhangzhou Port District.His merchant ships operated trade between Batavia, Taiwan and Japan. For example, on June 23rd (July 21st) of this year:
Hambuan and Cambingh merchant ships arrived here from Batavia.
Another note on July 24th (August 21st):
His Excellency Governor Putmans and the Parliament decided to let the Chinese merchant Hambuan’s merchant ship sail (the ship is loaded with goods and is going to Japan. I have been waiting here for a month. , only waiting for the ship from Java to carry Governor 's letter to Japan), because there is no ship from Java yet, and the monsoon is almost over... This ship will obviously not be able to make the trip after this time.
On June 27, the fifth year of Chongzhen (August 12, 1632), Putmans and the Parliament confirmed the resolution to allow the merchant ships of Hambuan and Injeywattingn to sail to Japan. In this year, he also signed a contract with the Dutch East India Company and became the company's deerskin supplier. He was responsible for purchasing deerskin in Jingang and other places and transporting it to Daguan for delivery.
After that, he traveled across the Taiwan Strait all the year round, and at the end of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), he came to live in Da Yuan Street. He and Zheng Zhilong have both a trade cooperation relationship and competition and conflicts. He had close contacts with the Dutch in Taiwan. The Taiwanese governor used him to send letters, smoothen the relationship with Zheng Zhilong and local officials in the Zhangzhou Port District, and act as the messenger for Sino-Dutch negotiations. The Dutch called him one of the most important Chinese businessmen. On September 19, the 13th year of Chongzhen (November 2, 1640), Hamburg was drowned in a shipwreck on his way from Dayuan to Anhai.
Hambuan is undoubtedly a southern Fujianese from the Damenwan area of Zhangzhou Port District, but his place of origin is not recorded. Taiwanese scholar Weng Jiayin determined that he was Lin Hengwan, a gentry from Tongan. "His name is 'Heng-ban' (Heng-ban), which happens to be almost consistent with the pronunciation of Ham-buan. There is no doubt that the two are the same person." Since then, some Taiwanese scholars have since said that in their papers and works, Hambuan was directly translated as Lin Hengwan.
I originally admired Ong Jiayin's findings, but after comparing the experiences of Hambuan and Lin Hengwan, and carefully verifying them, I can't help but regretfully point out that this is wrong.
Lin Hengman’s original name was Wei Yan, but he changed his name to Zongzai after passing the imperial examination. Hengwan was his nickname. He Qiaoyuan "Book of Fujian" Volume 91 "Ying Jiu Zhi" narrates Tong'an County Ming Dynasty's Kedi, there are the Jiyou (1609) in the 37th year of Wanli, Lin Fuyan (conversion record), 40th In the fourth year of Bingchen (1616), Lin Zongzai, who was a Jinshi, recorded the records. From the Kangxi edition to the Republic of China edition of "Tong'an County Chronicle", there are records of Lin Hengwan. Perhaps Weng Jiayin did not know the inside story, failed to observe carefully, and missed the easily visible and crucial information. The biography of Lin Hengwan in Volume 28 of "Tong'an County Chronicles" "Records of Characters·Xiang Xian" briefly states:
Lin Zongzai, courtesy name Yunkun, nickname Hengwan, Wanli Jiyou (1609) Juren... Bingchen (1616) Year) Jinshi. At the beginning of Fuliang... At the beginning of the Apocalypse, punishment was assigned to the military department, and all the affairs were assigned to the household punishment department. When entering the household department, all the affairs were assigned... Enter the Taipuqing, and take photos of the common things. Emperor Zhuang Lie came to the throne... He was promoted to Minister of Taichang Temple, and he begged for support until the end. He returned to Lilu with the name of Chun. He traveled around Quanshi for more than ten years and died at the age of seventy.
In Volume 15 of the same book, "Selection·Ming Jinshi", it is said that he is from Jiahe Tatou. Jiahe is Jiaheli, Tong'an County, that is, Xiamen; Tatou Village is located on the east coast of Xiamen Island today, beside the island road, and belongs to Siming District, Xiamen City. In today's Nanputuo Temple, there is an inscription titled "Tian Ren Rui Entering the Temple" written by Lin Zongzai, a Jinshi, Jiayi doctor, and Taichang Temple minister (the stone was removed in March of Gengchen in the 13th year of Chongzhen [1640]). There is a huge stone next to the stone chamber in the back mountain. The stone inscription is in cursive script signed by Hengwan and titled "Feiquan". The Tong'an Museum houses the "Stele Notes on the Four Matters of Si Li Jiang's Office Donating Salary and Zhenzhi" written by Cai Xianchen in the 13th year of Chongzhen (1640) and written by Lin Zongzai Dan.
When Lin Heng was in Fuliang, he wrote "Guanhaitang Pingping Edition", which was prefaced by Cai Fuyi and included in Volume 9 of Daoguang's "Xiamen Chronicles". Cai Xunei said: "Yunkun studied in the hall and looked at the sea, and I talked about the sea with him. I and Yunkun are both people from the sea." Comparing Hambuan's experience, the Dutch never mentioned that he had an official background. Instead, he repeatedly mentioned his difficulty in bribing officials with money and gifts, and even Zheng Zhilong, who had a rough background, did not take him seriously.This bears no resemblance to Lim Hyung Man.
Weng Jiayin quoted Cao Lutai in his letter to Zhu Dadian of Daotai: "Lin Xiancai's evil deeds have always been recorded, and this spring the sea robbed barbarians and hooked thieves... Futai was interviewed, and he was strictly ordered to keep it secret and not to let him escape. He asked the question in February "The official knew that this evil man was not easy to capture, but he didn't know that he was Lin Hengwan's cousin. On the day he was captured, Hengwan went to the county gate and took the servants to his house and beat him severely." It is indeed the same person as Lin Zongzai recorded in "Tong'an County Chronicle". According to Cao Lutai, "If Lin Xiancai was involved in the case, he would be ordered by the court to...severely urge him several times, hesitate for two months and then take action." Lin Xiancai was considered to be imprisoned in April of the first year of Chongzhen (1628). Lin Hengwan was promoted to minister of Taichang Temple in August of the seventh year of Tianqi (1627) after Zhu Youjian ascended the throne. He was begging for support and was in his hometown at this time. Although he is a retired bureaucrat, his official power is still there, so it is not surprising at all that he would do such illegal things. Without this kind of status as a gentry, it would be impossible for ordinary people and gentry to humiliate the county magistrate and beat the gentry at home. Is it necessary for such a person to retire and go to sea to do business? In fact, Lin Hengman did not do this. Instead, he "spent more than ten years in the spring and died at the age of seventy." This is even more similar to Hambuan who was drowned in the sea. Horses and cows are no longer relevant. Although the Chinese information of
Hambuan has not yet been found, and his original name and place of origin are not yet clear, this does not prevent us from researching his deeds. The following article will focus on the introduction and analysis of Hambuan’s letter to the Dutch Governor of Taiwan, and explore the cross-strait trade in the 1730s and the role played by maritime merchants in the Zhangzhou port area. There are ten letters from Hambuan to the governor of Taiwan in the Netherlands. Three letters in the seventh year of Chongzhen (1634) only have excerpts of the content, four letters in the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637) and three in the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639) The entire letter was translated into Dutch. Because the original Chinese version has not been found so far, and I don’t know Dutch, Jiang Shusheng’s back-translation is used here. Some of the words and expressions are slightly modified according to the customary expressions at the time to conform to the historical context.
2. 1634: Sino-Dutch negotiations after the Battle of Kinmen
On the seventh day of June in the sixth year of Chongzhen (July 12, 1633), Putmans, the Dutch governor of Taiwan, followed the instructions of the Batavia Council, "to "China launched a cruel war" to "obtain the desired free Chinese trade." Zheng Zhilong pursued Liu Xianggang's return, led his ships to raid Xiamen, and destroyed 15 Ming Dynasty naval warships that were being repaired. Then, he proposed peace conditions to China: Dutch merchant ships were allowed to berth in Xiamen, Gulangyu , Lieyu, Wuyu and other harbors, and build buildings and quarters on Gulangyu Island for trade; Chinese merchant ships were allowed to go to Batavia, but not to Manila. , chicken coops or other places where the Spaniards are entrenched; the Netherlands sends personnel to Fuzhou to handle civil disputes between the two parties. While Zheng Zhilong negotiated letters with Putmans, he revitalized his weapons and ships to prepare for war. On the eighth day of July (August 12th), the Dutch ship attacked Xiamen again, but failed. On July 26th (August 30th), it attacked Tongshan, and returned to sail on the sixth day of August (September 8th). They gathered outside Daedaomen Bay, waiting for Liu Xiang's fleet to come to meet, in an attempt to use force again to coerce China into agreeing to the Dutch market. At this time, the Ming court had ordered the governor of Fujian Zou Weilian to station in Xiamen to command and dispatch. Zheng Zhilong's navy and about 500 warships converted from civilian ships were mobilized and parked in Weitou Bay. On September 4th (October 6th), a huge typhoon hit Xiamen Bay. Both fleets suffered heavy losses, but neither had any intention of retreating. A sea battle was inevitable. On September 20th (October 22nd), the Ming Dynasty Navy went out to Weitou Bay and launched a counterattack. They launched a fierce naval battle with the Dutch fleet outside the Liaoluo Bay of Kinmen. They used fire attack tactics to burn the Dutch ships and captured more than 100 people. People have achieved unprecedented success at sea in decades. Liu Xiang's fleet collapsed without a fight. Putmans fought and retreated, and fled back to Taiwan with the remaining defeated soldiers.
After the Battle of Kinmen between China and the Netherlands, both sides were spying on each other's attitude and planning policy adjustments. Hambuan, who has connections with Zhangzhou Port District officials and the Dutch authorities in Taiwan, attracted the attention of all parties.On October 22nd (November 23rd), Zheng Zhilong sent businessman Sidnia to the chief minister with a letter to businessman Paulus raudenius, condemning Putmans for launching a war and proposing that Putmans He wrote a letter to plead guilty and promised to resume trade with Danguan on the premise of compensating some of the losses of Chinese ships. To this end, Sidnia secretly asked businessman Hambuan and other reliable Chinese people to learn about the Dutch's intentions. On the 25th (26th), people sent by Liu Xiang also arrived to contact the Dutch authorities. Due to the inability to use troops, on the first day of November (February 1), Putmans and the Parliament decided to write a letter in the name of the Dutch Governor of Taiwan, "replying to a letter with gradual hints and stern advice to allow us to have peaceful and free trade." "On the fifth day of the lunar month (December 5), he also decided to send a ship to meet Liu Xiang near the Pearl River estuary in Guangdong to conduct trade, "and assured Liu Xiang that as long as his people would not hinder the communication between the Zhangzhou River and the officials. "We will be very good to him"
On the ninth day of the lunar month (December 9), Putmans and the Parliament "in order to attract more businessmen to come here as soon as possible and make the company's affairs obtain official status as soon as possible." With their understanding, we decided to send Hambuan to China with a message and decided to release twenty Chinese captured by us. On the 18th (December 18), the speedboat B1eyswijck escorted eight small sailing ships to Penghu . , Chinese merchant Hambuan also took one of the small sailing boats, carrying letters to the official and the captured Chinese people to the coast of China. "On the 30th (December 30), "a [merchant ship] came from China. Come, bring me the news that Hambuan, a Chinese businessman living in Taiyuan who set out on the 18th of this month to pave the way for peaceful and free trade with China, has arrived in Suytau on his boat...Hambuar We will return here in the next few days with other merchant ships we can find (after talking to the official who stayed in Anhai and the governor)."
Hambuan wrote his first letter to Putmans in Anhai. This letter was written by the brother of Bendiock (Note: Bendiock, Zheng Zhilong’s agent and business representative.) on a merchant ship carrying about 120 loads of raw silk and a batch of silk fabrics, on December 23, the sixth year of Chongzhen (1634) He arrived in the afternoon of January 22nd and brought a message from Hambuan: He would lead three or four richly loaded merchant ships to the commander within 12 to 15 days. "Relanja City Diary" recorded the summary of this letter on the same day:
[Letter 1]
Hambuan mentioned in the above letter that he had met with several high-ranking officials and one official. They said that they were ready Let a lot of goods be shipped here, enough to supply the company's needs for a year. However, according to Chinese customs, everything has not been done much; he also said that when he arrived, the speedboat Vemloo had already disembarked from Japan to Kinmen. At anchor, they encountered great danger to their lives. The officials believed that the arrival of the speedboat would cause trouble to them, so they allowed any speedboat to go there... and did not allow them to trade with any Chinese.
At noon on the sixth day of the first lunar month of the seventh year of Chongzhen (February 3, 1634), Hambuan's merchant ship arrived at Danguan from the Anhai River carrying 40 loads of raw silk, 200 baskets of sugar and some ginger, and brought the first message to Putmans. Two letters, "Relanja City Diary" recorded the summary of this letter on the same day:
[Letter 2]
The negotiations with the Chinese officials there could not proceed as quickly as hoped, so when the ship returned, , he still needs to stay there. So please sir, please bear with me a little longer, because according to Chinese custom, things go very slowly and many gifts must be given. But everything will be handled carefully, so that a large amount of silk and other goods can be obtained in a short period of time. In addition, it was also suggested that we should not let those Chinese pirates [note: Liu Xiang's subordinates] leave, but should keep them in the senior officials; we should allow the merchants who came to trade in a reasonable way, and pay them with Japanese silver. Make them profitable.
Hambuan met with Zheng Zhilong in Anhai, and Zheng Zhilong introduced the Quanzhou Sea Channel twice, and presented Putmans' letters to the officials respectively, conveying the Dutch's request for an early decision to allow Chinese merchant ships to transport goods to the officials."If the cargo is not shipped out before the end of this season, our (Dutch) people will report the matter to Batavia, and then they will be attacked by us (Dutch) again next season, although several prisoners were captured. We have no shortage of soldiers in Batavia." At this time, the governor of Fujian, Zou Weilian, resigned and was succeeded by Shen Youlong, who was planning to relax the maritime ban. Hambuan came at this opportunity and the negotiations went smoothly. Through Hambuan’s communication, “those senior officials now...understand our (Dutch people’s) situation better than other officials, and have more support from them.” They “have tasted the taste of war, and they are willing to let us (Dutch people) trade with the Dutch, as long as our ships do not go to their coast and help them share a little bit of the great damage caused by the loss of their warships to the country, even as long as a thousand taels of silver, ah, as long as a thousand lire, we will This gave them an excuse to report to their emperor that his damage had been compensated. They also said that this would also be helpful in releasing the prisoners on our side. Whether to release them or not is not within their authority.” The key point expressed by Hambuan in these two letters is that Chinese officials have loosened their stance on allowing merchant ships to trade with Dawei, but they have not yet made any commitments and must wait patiently. , and conveyed the request of Chinese officials that Dutch ships should not sail to the Chinese coast. It is worth noting that Hambuan put forward two important suggestions in the second letter. One is to prevent Liu Xiang’s pirate ship from going to sea to eliminate maritime merchants’ doubts about navigation safety; Merchants came to Daguang to trade and paid in Japanese silver, making them profitable. This book is not the content of Sino-Dutch negotiations, but reflects the interests of private maritime merchants. In fact, before Hambuan left Taiyuan, the merchants who came to Taiyuan for trade were worried about the possibility of encountering pirates on their return journey. After Hambuan left, two more pirate ships belonging to Liu Xiang docked below the sandbank area in the north of Da Yuan. Several drunken Japanese among them caused trouble at the end of the northern line at night, causing panic among Chinese fishermen. The Dutch always lowered the purchase price, harming the interests of Chinese maritime merchants. The maritime merchant who carried Hambuan's first letter to the official was dissatisfied with the Dutch lowering the purchase price of silk goods, and negotiated with Putmans. After six days of bargaining, The fine silk was sold at 143 taels per load, and the inferior silk was sold at 139 taels. The Dutch suspected that Nouoe, Hambuan's partner, encouraged the merchants to shout out their goods so high, but Nouoe denied it. It was very wise for Hambuan to choose the moment when he was entrusted with mediation to put forward the reasonable demands of the Chinese maritime merchants.
Putmans sensed the prospects of improving relations and developing trade with China from these two letters, so he discussed with the parliament on the seventh day of the first lunar month of the seventh year of Chongzhen (February 4, 1634) and decided to detain Liu Xiang's personnel. , until Hambuan returned to Da Dang. On the 10th day of the lunar month (February 7), two Chinese sailing ships sailed to Xiamen Bay, carrying a letter to Hambuan, telling him to ship back a lot of ordered goods. The merchant ships of Hambuan and Noucoe were scheduled to sail to Amoy Bay on the 13th (February 9th). Putmans and the Parliament made a resolution on the 12th (February 8th) to "lend pepper worth about four thousand riels to Hambuan and Noucoe, together with the pepper they had purchased before but still stored in the company's warehouse, moved to their homes and boats in order to sell the pepper that was in low demand as quickly as possible. "
Sure enough, on the 24th, (February 21st), two small sailing ships sailed from the Zhangzhou River, bringing three passes to the military gate for trading. Hambuan’s merchant ships are now busy loading in Anhai, and will ship goods in a short period of time. Good news about the arrival of large quantities of various goods. On the 29th (February 26), Putmans and the Parliament decided that the Oudewaater, a Dutch ship arriving from Japan, would unload its cargo to the Bredamme and stay there to wait for the shipment of a large amount of silk cargo from Hambuan.
On the eighth day of February (March 7), Hambuan returned to his post. He brought four merchant ships with him, carrying about 130 loads of raw silk and various silk goods and cloth, with a total value of more than 30,000 riels, including goods worth 133,721.1.14 (this expression in the original book) Dutch guilders. It was immediately loaded onto the Oudewaater and shipped to Batavia the next day. Later, two merchant ships came with about 100 loads of raw silk and silk goods, porcelain and sugar.
Hambuan brought a letter from Zheng Zhilong to the Dutch Taiwan governor, commander and Traunius. "The first official did not say anything special in his letter, and only partially confirmed Hambuan's report, saying that the officials were very happy to accept our gifts, and there was no doubt that they would gain trade... Although he expressed his general concern to the superiors. I understand the letter of Sir Termans completely, but I still don’t understand why your Excellency wants to launch a war against the Chinese government. But everything can be forgotten.” Hambuan conveyed Zheng Zhilong’s private conversation and said: “There is no benefit to be gained from war. "What he meant by saying this (if he had the ability to allow us to trade already) was to make us give up the idea of asking for reinforcements."
Through Hambuan's mediation, "Zhangzhou Seaway has temporarily issued three passes to several merchants." , those merchants will come to make a solid contract with us"; "Tingia who lives in Zhangzhou should have reported to the emperor for us that we once helped defeat Li Kuiqi. In short, we have now (according to them) gradually been completely destroyed. We have known each other in China, and they have a better view of us." For this reason, Hambuan gave advice: "Write several letters and send them to the three Taoist priests in Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, and also send them to Xiamen. Haiphong, magistrates and guerrillas, according to Chinese customs, should use a more polite and polite tone of request, otherwise they will be angry with us and refuse to interact with us peacefully."
The result of this negotiation made Putmans. Changed the policy of uniting Liu Xiang to confront the Ming Dynasty. On February 16 (March 15), Liu Xiang's fleet robbed ten foreign ships bound for Batavia, Manila and Cambodia in Xiamen Bay, docked in Penghu, and wrote a letter to Putmans. Signed a sales contract and fought side by side with Zheng Zhilong and the Ming army. On the 19th (18th), Putmans sent a letter to Penghu, asking Liu Xiang's fleet to evacuate Penghu as soon as possible, and promised not to attack or damage Chinese merchant ships going to Dayuan for trade, otherwise he would be treated as an enemy. On the 23rd (22nd), Liu Xiang sent someone to meet Putmans and requested that his fleet be repaired, buy or rent some cannons, and equip the newly captured foreign ships. Putmans and Parliament He refused the next day. On the first day of March (March 29), Liu Xiang once again sent a letter to Putmans, requesting that his fleet be moved to Sing Port for repairs. Putmans and the parliament believed that this would definitely cause the company to suffer greater losses, and firmly disagreed. They sent a letter to Penghu and urged Liu Xiang's fleet to be ready to leave within ten days.
Liu Xiang's fleet was in a dilemma, so it made a sneak attack on the city of Relanja on the night of March 11th (April 8th). However, it failed and moved to the end of the sand line in the north of Dayuan, Yaogang and other places, and spread the word. Capture the castle of Geranze, and he will live in the castle, his captains in the town, in the houses of Hambuan and other merchants, and then the rest of his troops will come down from the north.
Hambuan did not want to associate with pirates, so he had to seek protection from the Dutch authorities. On March 20 (April 17), Putmans and the Parliament resolved to allow Hambuan to live in the castle while the chaos continued. But the Dutch did not regard him as one of their own, but used him and sent him as an interpreter when needed. So he secretly monitored him: "He is a man who has been in contact with the Dutch for a long time, so he will not cause any difficulties. However, he still cannot leave the city gate without the consent of your Excellency, and we will allow him to write letters." The merchant ship that was handed over to him (which will probably sail within two or three days) will be taken to China, but he must also politely ask him to give us the letter so that we fully know what he wrote. "
Liu Xiang saw that the Dutch were prepared and gave up. He made a siege plan and retreated to the coast of Guangdong. From then on, the Dutch parted ways with Liu Xiang, focusing on developing relations with the Ming Dynasty officials and Zheng Zhilong, and attracting Chinese maritime merchants to free trade with Da Yuan.The "Batavia City Diary" on April 10th (May 6th) recorded, "According to Putmans's advice, as a preliminary or temporary experiment, free trade in Daguang was allowed, although the reasons for success are not clear. , but if it can bring benefits to the company, whether it is merchants in Taiyuan, Batavia, or from Taiyuan to Guangnan , Cambodia, Siam and Pattani, all Chinese who import goods from China All can engage in free trade."
On May 9th (June 4th), maritime merchants brought an official document from Haidao, which read: "Are the Dutch not ready to admit their mistakes for their bad behavior, or do they still want to? Continuing the war? If you want to gain high-level trade, you need to spend some money, just one thousand taels of silver, to compensate the country's navy for serious losses. If you want to do this, you must write to the military, maritime and other senior officials. "On the 11th (June 6), Hambuan came to Dayuan from Xiamen and reported the news that Zheng Zhilong's navy went south to pursue Liu Xiang. On June 5th (June 29th), news came from Xiamen that the fleets of Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang encountered in the waters of Nan'ao. Zheng Zhilong was defeated and returned to Anhai. Xiamen Bay was once again controlled, and trading ships were not allowed to leave the port. People from the Hambuan merchant ship also wrote to say that they were almost ready and loaded with silk. If the ship did not arrive three days after setting sail, it was likely that it was in trouble.
On June 19th (July 13th), Putmans and the Parliament decided to send two representatives and Hambuan to China with letters to continue negotiations on the release of Dutch prisoners, carry out trade and other matters, and provide each person with 5 dan pepper and 5 feet of red woolen cloth to compensate them for their expenses. Free those Chinese captured by Bruyn in Champa and return with Hambuan. Because Hambuan's maritime business seemed not to be in good shape and he was still in debt, Putmans and the Assembly resolved to lend Hambuan 130 dans of pepper, and if he asked, he would be allowed to lend him up to 2,000 riels. On the 24th (July 18), Hambuan and others set sail from Dayuan.
The Governor of Batavia and the Council agreed that Putmans should contact Zheng Zhilong and ordered him to forward the letter written by the Governor to Zheng Zhilong. Before hearing any news from Hambuan, on August 17 (September 8), Putmans and the Parliament decided that "the letter written by His Excellency the Governor to the First Officer should be sent to Hambuan for his consideration and decision. The letter should be placed in a secret box and sent to the magistrates and other high officials at night, or should be handed over to them openly, but if it is perceived that the letter will cause unrest, then the letter should be "Bring them back here." It was also decided, "The two Chinese on the merchant ship who were captured by the Zeeburch and came here with Mr. Deckard decided to let them carry their cargo back to China, which was of very little importance." ”
Trade is showing signs of improvement. On the seventh day of leap August (September 28), Putmans reported to the Governor of Batavia:
Trade is indeed carried out more freely than before, and merchants from Haicheng and other places who did not dare to come to Dadan in the past, Many people have arrived with goods... In addition, the goods brought back to China from Daguan can be sold completely freely. In the past, secret trade was only carried out by an official in Anhai. The chief was confident that the company would be able to obtain the desired supply of Zhangzhou's fine goods and groceries.
On the afternoon of leap August 30th (October 21st), a merchant ship from Hambuan carrying 160 loads of silk anchored in front of Da Yuan Commercial House, bringing Hambuan’s letter to Putmans, "Journal of Relanja City" 》The summary of this letter was recorded on the same day:
[Letter 3]
From Hambuan’s letter to His Excellency, we learned that the Dutch who were captured and imprisoned in Fuzhou will be sent to the emperor in five months. ... In his letter, Hambuan obviously wanted to emphasize that as long as we obtain a license from the military to allow free trade, we should be satisfied. He also stated that when applying for this license, he replied to the military that as long as transactions can be carried out, We were satisfied, so it seems that the Chinese did not decide to enter into a firm alliance or any contract with us, but only allowed us to trade (just like the Spanish in Manila and the Chicken Coop and all the rest trade like that).He also complained in his letter that the official's close confidants were squeezing him out and competing for business with him, so that businessmen Jocksim and Jocho did not want to apply for a pass. The pass must be renewed every three months, because most ordinary businessmen They tend to take the merchant ships of Yiguan instead of their merchant ships (half the benefit), because if they take the merchant ships of Yiguan, they do not have to pay the taxes payable in China. But Hambuan finally persuaded the above-mentioned businessman [to continue applying for the pass].
He therefore requested that the goods of merchants who came on their ships should be purchased at a better price than those of merchants who came on other authorized ships, and should be paid in silver, while those who came on unlicensed ships should be bought at a better price. Merchants who arrived on a ship or an official's ship paid in lilles, especially since all goods (according to him) were very expensive this year.
In addition, he also complained that because of the seizure of the merchant ship in Guangnan by the Zeeburch, he was severely scolded by officials and several private individuals, saying that he was lying and that the Dutch were doing unfair things. But now They had somewhat figured it out, because when the principal leaders of the above-mentioned merchant ships (who were allowed to leave with their cargo by Lord Putmans and the Council after Mr. Deckard brought them here) returned to China, they confirmed that it was due to a mistake. And it happened without the knowledge of the chief. Only then did the commotion subside. He asked that this kind of mistake should not happen again to any merchant ship in the future (even to merchant ships heading to Manila and Chicken Coop). Because that only breeds anger and disdain for trade.
The letter written by His Excellency the Governor to the Yiguan has been openly handed over to the largest official in Fuzhou Province and the Yiguan. What results this will produce remains to be seen in time. He also requested two passes, intending, he said, to send a foreign ship to Batavia with several other merchants, and the merchant Bendiock was also to send one to Batavia.
In this letter, Hambuan conveyed the attitude of local officials in Fujian, which would only allow the issuance of ship guides to allow trade to Dayuan, but would not conclude any written trade agreement. There was nothing they could do to free the Dutch prisoners. This accurately expresses the authority of the Ming Dynasty system. The opening of Fujian local officials to overseas trade can only be modified within the imperially-established East-West trade system, and allocate quotas for senior officials in the quota for issuing East-West shipping quotas. The distribution of ship pilots was an exchange of interests between local officials and maritime merchants. Zheng Zhilong monopolized Quanzhou Prefecture's ship-guiding quota, and could also use his power to grant tax exemptions to maritime traders who boarded his ships, and even indulged and protected smuggling ships. If ordinary maritime merchants want to conduct legal overseas trade, they have to pay a greater price to obtain the ship's pilot, and they have to take the risk of Chinese and foreign pirates and robberies during the voyage. Hambuan's complaints about Zheng Zhilong's monopoly on trade, and his complaints about the Dutch blocking ships bound for Guangnan, are a true portrayal of the situation of maritime merchants. He asked Putmans to treat the legitimate maritime merchants who received the ship's pilot well and provide preferential price compensation, which was motivated by his feelings.
Hambuan’s involvement in the Sino-Dutch negotiations after the Kinmen Naval War demonstrated his public relations skills and talents, and also reflected the special role of maritime merchants in mediating the conflicts of maritime interests between the government and the private sector, and between China and foreign countries. During this mediation, he contributed to the reopening of Sino-Dutch trade and also secured certain legal trade benefits for maritime merchants.
3. 1637: Coordinating the trade interests of maritime merchants and Dutch Indian companies
On April 8, the eighth year of Chongzhen (May 23, 1635), Zheng Zhilong eliminated Liu Xiang in Tianweiyang, Guangdong, and controlled the coastal waterways. After that, "ships on the sea were not allowed to travel with the flag of Zheng's order, and each ship was worth three thousand gold." "Foreign goods were sold in the country, and foreign merchants all used the flag of Feihuang (Zhilong). There was no danger of doing anything, such as "The Dutch use of Daguan as a transit base for trade between Batavia and China and Japan has become increasingly important. In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), the total value of goods shipped from China to Daguang exceeded 2 million guilders, and the total value of Chinese goods and Guangnan silk shipped from Dajan to Japan was 1.362 million guilders. Trade between Xiamen Bay and Da Yuan flourished, so much so that the Dutch Da Yuan merchant house experienced a shortage of working capital during the peak trade season.On October 18, the ninth year of Chongzhen (November 15, 1636), Putmans left office and set off back to Batavia. Johannes van der Burch took over as the Governor of Taiwan in the Netherlands and continued to expand cross-strait trade business.
On the ninth day of December in the ninth year of Chongzhen (January 4, 1637), Hambuan took a boat back to his hometown to take care of his personal affairs. Vanderbilt asked him to "go to the high officials and all the merchants to ensure the company's prosperity and trade with China." With sincerity, we can continue to deliver the silk, silk cloth, gold and other commodities we need according to the quantity and quality told to him, etc. "On the twenty-sixth day of the first month of the tenth year of Chongzhen (February 20, 1637). , "Batavia City Diary" records:
Chinese businessman Hambuan returned to China from Dayuan on January 4. At Vanderbilt's request, he purchased white and yellow raw silk, gauze raw silk and other goods ordered by Couckebacker, the director of [Hirado] Merchant, with a total value of 1,774,268 guilders, 5 stifas and 8 pennies. Prepare to use four Chinese sailing ships to quickly transport Da Yuan and transport it from Da Yuan to Japan in August. After
Hambuan arrived, he wrote four consecutive letters to Vanderburg, and the full text was translated and included in the "Relanja City Diary".
[Letter 4]
A letter written by merchant Hambuan to Governor Vanderbilt, brought by Jochoo's silk ship and received on March 4, 1637.
I know and am convinced that you care about me very much. It has been 10 days since I said goodbye to you, but I still miss you in my heart. A merchant ship arrived here two days ago, and I am relieved to learn from the ship that you are doing well.
We negotiate with the officials every day about trade issues there [referring to Da Yuan]. After these things are settled, I plan to go to Da Yuan. Your Excellency wrote to me, asking me to go back as soon as possible, but there are many important things that prevent me from going back yet. I am also very happy to learn from your letter that nine merchant ships have arrived there.
I would like to advise you that if the goods you send to Japan are of good quality, please pay a slightly higher price. This will encourage merchants to ship goods away. Moreover, the prices of cloth and silk have increased than before. , otherwise, merchants would ship the above goods to Manila, or even to Japan.
And you also know that the length of those 1ancKins is not as good as the previous ones, for which you can pay a little less. After receiving your letter, I immediately announced to all merchants that we will cease operations and no longer transport this kind of goods. However, because this kind of goods must be purchased inland, and before receiving your letter, the merchants have ordered several batches of 1ancKins, so that your words and mine will continue to be respected, so that the trade can continue to develop.
For those merchants who must pay taxes, such as Limbing, Jocksim, Jochoo and Lunsong, please give priority to purchasing their goods rather than smuggled goods. Not much raw silk has been shipped here this year. Limbing's merchant ship has been loaded and berthed there. It will go to you in the near future, that is, within 8 days. You will receive about 200 tons of raw silk. I have requested this, because recently The severe cold in China not only killed many silkworms, but also killed many people traveling north and south, making goods more expensive. Your Excellency
will also get a batch of red and white shrunken Burma, Sha Ling and Jing Ling from the above Limbing, but the quantity will not be as large as expected for the reasons mentioned above.
The Jochoo merchant ship that sailed today did not have a particularly large amount of goods. It only had 50 to 60 dans of yellow silk and 20 to 25 dans of white raw silk, as well as a batch of black cangan cloth, red and white shrunken Burma, gauze silk and Jing silk. .
Your Excellency suggested that we should purchase the fine and rough porcelain that Persia needs. After arriving in China, I immediately went to all areas where these porcelains could be obtained. Now I have purchased a lot of them, including a batch of exquisite types. It will be shipped by Jochoo's merchant ship, and the remaining stoneware will also be sent within four or five days. Please pay for all these porcelains at the previously agreed price.
Jocksim's merchant ship has also been loaded with goods, half of which are coarse porcelain and half of which are fine porcelain, and they are still anchored here.In order to find timber for you, I have sent two merchant ships to Fuzhou, and I am confident that they will arrive there soon. Regarding the pot, since I don’t have time to purchase it, Jacomey and my half-brother Panjang will assist you. Regarding the required ginger candy, you will receive 300 dan in the near future. Jochoo's merchant ship shipped a batch of Fuzhou sea yellow that belongs to me. If you can't accept it, please keep it in your warehouse until I go back. I ask your Excellency to allocate me 20 loads of woody incense.
All the merchants complained that the pepper coming from there [referring to Daguan] was very impure and mainly adulterated with sand, causing them to lose about 10%. They told me that the Dutch should not do this, but I answered them that it was not done by the Dutch, but by the suppliers in the East India, and therefore I beg you to write to the Batavia authorities to prevent it as far as possible. this matter. Your Excellency
wrote to us saying that the goods needed by Batavia are exceeded, and that the goods to be shipped to Japan should be as large as possible. This matter has been notified to the merchants, but in view of the past suggestions, I should use all feasible methods. The expansion of China's trade has long been communicated to all merchants in China, asking them to collect the goods that Batavia needs and the goods that Japan needs. If you suddenly cancel the goods from Batavia now, you will need Batavia again in the future. They will not be able to assist immediately when we need Davia's goods. The goods we need must be purchased some time in advance, because several kinds of goods need to be purchased from distant places.
Regarding yarn and damask, I would like to advise you carefully. If it is made of good silk and twisted well, and weighs 10 taels or even 9 taels, you should pay 2 per [horse] as others paid before. . 5 riels, do not reduce the price of 9 taels, otherwise, it will make the merchants go elsewhere in the future, but on the contrary, if the goods are poor, let those merchants bring them back.
The situation of sailing from China to various places this year is as follows:
8 foreign ships going to Batavia
1 foreign ship going to Pattani
1 foreign ship going to Siam
2 foreign ships going to Cambodia
going 8 foreign ships from Guangnan
20 foreign ships heading to Manila
A total of 40 foreign ships
The goods shipped to Manila this year are not as much as last year, because there is very little profit there, and the merchants have limited abilities and cannot Preparing goods to go there is also one of the reasons.
In addition, I would like to tell you that because I told the senior official some things that were detrimental to the company's situation and that there were some pirates and robbers among the senior officials, the above-mentioned senior official appointed Limbing as an official and ordered him to come here to inspect the place as an official. Everything and go back and file a report. Please your Excellency, when the above-mentioned Limbing arrives, receive him according to his status, entertain him well, and let him do everything he wants to do, because this will only produce better results for the company and ensure the progress of the trade. Jocksim and I both plan to send two foreign ships to the northern end of Luzon, a place the Chinese call Toacan [Big Port], to purchase a large amount of deer skins, where we can purchase a lot of deer skins so that we can purchase them in May this year. , handed over to the company before June, so please send me two passes required by the above two foreign ships, so that you can avoid being tortured when encountering the company's ships.
You also mentioned that the merchants still have a considerable amount of gold in storage and will ship it to you. If you purchase it reasonably and satisfy the merchants, I am sure it will continue to be shipped, and you must assure them that the company will not be short of cash for transactions.
In Jochoo's merchant ship, there are goods sent by me personally: 30 loads of yellow silk, 1,000 pieces of red and white shrunken yarn, 500 pieces of gauze, 4,000 pieces of brown and blue cangan cloth, and about 10,000 pieces of linen yarn. Please send me your usual price acquisition.
If you think that the stoneware required by Persia is suitable, you will be notified of the relevant prices and transactions in a separate letter.
In China, due to the entreaties of the high officials, the emperor has agreed that his ships can go to all foreign areas. We have high hopes for this. However, because the high officials did not list the names of those areas, it caused the small boats on the seaside to The officials are discussing whether those merchants can also transport goods to Da Yuan. There is no doubt that it will be successful. As long as the goods are paid at a higher price first, it will be successful, because trading with Da Yuan is a new thing. trade.
Because it is our New Year's Day, I can't do anything for you now. I can only send you 2 loads of chestnuts, 1 load of pears and 2 pieces of yarn to express my greetings to you and wish the company prosperity.
Hambuan
Translated by the company's translator Jacomey
March 5, 1637. The people present were Paul Traudenio and Cornelis Fedder.
[Letter 5]
[February 11th of the 10th year of Chongzhen, March 7, 1637] Today, Limbing, who was newly appointed as an official, also arrived here from Xiamen by boat. Hambuan wrote another letter to the above-mentioned Limbing leader. Come, I sincerely suggest that I receive Limbing well upon his arrival and during his stay, in accordance with his status. What is certain is that after the above-mentioned Limbing returns to China and reports to the high officials, the trade between the Chinese and the high officials will be improved and promoted.
After I arrived in China, I was introduced to local officials to hear about the company's trading status and felt that the situation was good.
Your Excellency understands that last year, a Chinese foreign ship was captured by the Dutch on its way back from Jambi to transport pepper. This caused great indignation among the officials and people here. In order to prevent such things from happening again in the future. , please your Excellency to strictly order the [Dutch] ships coming and going not to engage in such behavior again, so as not to cause disaster to the company's trade in the future; and as for the emperor's issue of a ship's permit to sail there, it has not yet been decided, and everything must be commerce is carried on secretly; therefore it is also necessary that you please petition the Batavia authorities not only to issue the above orders to all Dutch ships entering or leaving that place, but also to send those captured on board the above-mentioned foreign ships to Batavia [ The Chinese] were released so that the Chinese would be happy to continue trading with the company, especially since the senior officials were not yet convinced of the company's sincere trade, so this could cause obstacles in advance.
The person who carried this letter was the official Limbing. The cargo he carried in his ship, because the goods are now very expensive in China, he only carried 200 loads of white raw silk, 50 to 60 loads of yellow silk, and the same red and White shrunk Burma, 50 to 60 boxes of Jing Ling.
The high officials here are trying to prepare the way for trade with Da Yuan. For this purpose, the above-mentioned Limbing was made an official and sent to Da Yuan to investigate the trade situation. Therefore, please your Excellency, please receive him in his capacity as the above mentioned Limbing, and treat them as well as if they were personally so treated. And please Your Excellency, after purchasing the goods shipped by the merchants, let them sail as soon as possible so that the above-mentioned Limbing can submit a more detailed report to the satisfaction of the senior officials as soon as possible.
It is also necessary to ask you to send a letter in the near future, written in a requesting tone, saying that you are willing to entrust me to negotiate for the company's business, so that it can be carried out like other areas, and things will be more mature.
Signature: Ambuam
Translated by the company's translator Jacomey
The committee members present were: Paul Traunius, Cornelis Fedder.
[Letter 6]
[On February 27, the 10th year of Chongzhen, March 23, 1637] The following merchant ships arrived here this afternoon, namely: 3 ships from Xiamen... 2 ships from Lieyu... The above mentioned merchant ships arrived here together. One of the three merchant ships mentioned, whose owner was named Limsongh, brought a letter from the merchant Hambuan from Amoy to the governor, His Excellency Vanderbilt.
Because you are a gentle man, God also wishes you prosperity.
Since we came here, we have hardly rested for a moment and have been entangled in many things. This has also prevented us from greeting you as quickly as we hoped, which makes us feel sad and ashamed. Although we are in a different place, we hearts are united.
We sent a friend named Tauzan aboard Limsongh's merchant ship, carrying 400 loads of ginger candies and several baskets of cloth. The ginger and cloth and a few other things were obtained with all our might. About five months ago, some unpleasant things happened between the officials and Limsongh due to some jealous words, which prevented the merchant ship from setting sail as early as possible (and caused us to sadly postpone the sailing until today). Since our New Year Since then, we have been pleading with the officials with gifts and gifts to let the merchant ship sail. Today, we finally got permission from the officials to sail.
Previously we wrote to you to announce that you will receive the above mentioned ginger in the near future and have time to ship it to Batavia. However, it has been delayed until today (as mentioned above). Please do as we have done with Sir Putmans before. You will purchase and pay at the agreed price, and please hand over the ginger money to our people.
We learned from a Chinese that one of your ships from Japan was in trouble on the north side of Penghu Islands. This makes us very sad. May God enable the company to obtain compensation from other places.
Although these gingers could not be shipped in time, we are extremely sad about this, but we believe and request that if you want to purchase these gingers, please do not return them. In this way, we will be particularly honored and deeply friendly. The merchant ships of Jochoo and Limbing have already shipped the coarse and fine goods from Dazhan. Please purchase them as soon as possible. We also request you to purchase the merchant ships that arrive first. We also transported some goods on Jochoo's merchant ship. We also learned that the ship arrived first, so we once again request you to make her sail back here as soon as possible so that we can use the money to buy goods as soon as possible. , after purchasing the goods, we will transport them to you by merchant ship.
was written on the tenth day of the second new moon in the tenth year of our emperor [the tenth day of February in the tenth year of Chongzhen, March 6, 1637]
Undersigned: Hambuan
[Letter Seven]
[April in the tenth year of Chongzhen] 28th, May 22, 1637] Two merchant ships arrived here from Amoy together... One of the merchant ships brought a letter from the merchant Hambuan from China to the governor, His Excellency Vanderbilt.
The captains of Jochoo and Limbingh, who have returned from China, and all the other merchants who have gone there, are pleased to learn that your Lordship has purchased the goods shipped to them to their satisfaction, and made them Very happy.
I believe and have heard that some of the fabrics shipped to you, such as silk damask and shrunken Burma, are worse than the previous ones. This is because the situation of sericulture this year is not good, because many silkworms died, which also makes the silk The price has soared. You have to pay 130 taels [silver] for a load of ordinary silk now, and you can't receive a lot of silk. In addition, there is a big difference between the Chinese scale and your scale (daetche), so you can easily understand it. , the profit of the goods they shipped there was very small. This situation caused the silk ship, which was already full of goods and planned to be shipped to Jocksim, to stay longer than scheduled. Therefore, I kindly ask you, merchants to ship goods in the future. The goods are given to you. If the goods are good, you must buy them at a reasonable price and in a timely manner. Only in this way can the merchants be retained and continue their voyage to Dangang.
Regarding the velvet shipped to you recently, the merchant complained that not only did he not make any profit, he also lost money. You should consider this carefully in the future.
When I was saying goodbye, Your Excellency told me very carefully that I wanted to purchase 20,000 quintals of sugar. Although I have exhausted all possible methods, I still guess that I will not be able to collect such a large amount because of the recent winter here. The severe cold killed many sugar canes and prevented us from receiving such large quantities. However, in order to satisfy you as much as possible, we have sent several sailing ships to Guangzhou and nearby areas to purchase sugar. For this reason, they have even lost funds. They hope to be able to transport these sugars to you soon. Until then, please follow the instructions The price of those sugars was paid, so that one could sail safely and be loaded again as before.
Your Excellency wrote to say that the Dutch were brought to China from Jambi by the Chinese in a foreign ship carrying pepper. You asked me to investigate secretly, but I could not find out the real situation. Therefore, someone should come to you in the future. New information on the matter is available there, and their messages can then be carefully listened to.
Since I arrived here, I have repeatedly dealt with the high officials on whom trade depends, and tried my best to explain the benefits of trade. They have obviously been happy to continue trading, and there will be no change. There is no doubt that trade will progress successfully, as long as it is carried out by merchants. Go to the goods and give a reasonable profit.
Due to the shortage of silk and silk fabrics, the merchant ship of the owner Jocksim was unable to quickly collect the goods to be transported to Dangman as expected. He was looking forward to it every day, believing that in the coming new moon, he would be able to sail with a full load. At that time, I also planned to take the ship to Dangyuan and have further face-to-face discussions with you on trade matters. What is being transported to you on this merchant ship is: a batch of yellow silk, rolled up sea yellow silk, Beijing damask, black velvet, mercury, poplin (simtuans), damask, red gauze damask, gold gauze, white cangan cloth, White shrinkage, borax. I would be happy if this merchant ship sailed quickly.
mentioned before, you will receive a sailboat to transport wood in the near future.
was written on the twenty-first day of the fourth month of the tenth year of the emperor's government [April 21, the tenth year of Chongzhen, May 15, 1637].
is signed under: Hambuan
Hambuan was entrusted by Vanderbilt to recruit maritime merchants to trade in Da Yuan. The letter mainly reports on the progress and problems in this area. He summarized the main obstacles to expanding maritime trade to Daguang: First, the Dutch Indian Company's low-price acquisitions made the raw silk trade profits very small, and velvet could not even make money; second, arbitrarily changing the prior agreement, canceling the order, or using the color to , The quality did not meet the standards and was returned, and the pepper sold by the Dutch Indian Company also did not meet the standards and was adulterated with sand, causing double losses to the maritime merchants; third, the Dutch robbed cargo on the east-west routes, and there were pirates and robbers among them. The haunting affected the confidence of maritime merchants, and the Ming Dynasty officials sent people to investigate. Vanderbilt had to make some concessions to satisfy the maritime merchants and continue to ship large quantities of goods.
The above-mentioned letter also provides the supply situation of the Maritime Organization, which enables us to understand that the operation of cross-strait trade is not a blind transaction, but a market-guided behavior. The official provided demand information from Batavia and Japan and made reservations in the previous trading quarter. Zhangzhou Port District Maritime Merchant was responsible for purchasing or organizing production according to the buyer's requirements. The development of the silk weaving, ceramics and sugar industries in southern Fujian was driven by overseas markets. There is a stable business network behind the maritime merchants, which is connected with the production areas to ensure sufficient supply of goods. Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the main raw silk production areas, and Guangdong, the sucrose production area, are both its hinterland. Maritime commerce is regulated by production and market. For example, if profits in Manila decrease, the number of goods going there will decrease. If raw silk production decreases, the price will increase. If the purchase price of large merchants is low, merchants will ship to Manila or Japan. The maritime merchants in Zhangzhou Port Area have advantages in the supply of goods and market information, so Vanderbilt has to rely on Hambuan's coordination. There is also a professional division of labor in the export of goods in Zhangzhou Port. As far as trade with Taiwan and the Netherlands is concerned, Xiamen Port exports bulk goods such as silk goods and sugar. Anhai Port is its auxiliary port, and Lieyu (Little Kinmen) is a fishing port and building materials. , daily necessities and other large, low-value goods export port.
Hambuan In the six months since he returned to Zhangzhou Port Area, the ships and goods arriving in Dayuan from Xiamen, Anhai, and Lieyu are as follows.
On December 19, the ninth year of Chongzhen (January 14, 1637), a ship from Xiamen carried 400 dans of sugar, 200 dans of rock sugar, 2.5 dans of raw silk, and 400 pieces of yarn.
On December 21st (January 16th), a ship from Xiamen carried 150 tons of sugar and a batch of wooden boards for making sugar barrels.
On December 25 (January 20), 8 ships from Xiamen carried 1,400 dans of sugar, 55-66 dans of raw silk, 70 dans of 1anckins, 60-70 baskets of silk cloth, and 9,000 to 10,000 bundles (balijs) of coarse porcelain.
On December 26 (January 21), a ship from Xiamen carried 700 to 800 bundles of coarse porcelain, 500 canopies, and 1,000 iron pots.
On the ninth day of the first lunar month of the 10th year of Chongzhen (February 3, 1637), 2 ships from Xiamen carried salt, rice and wooden boards for making sugar barrels.
On the eleventh day of the first lunar month (February 5), a ship from Xiamen carried 250 dans of sugar, 6-7 dans of yellow silk, 9 dans of 1anckins, 5 boxes of gold wire and a batch of wooden boards for making sugar barrels.
On the 21st of the first lunar month (February 15th), there was a ship in Xiamen, carrying rice and fine porcelain.
The twenty-ninth day of the first lunar month (February 23). 1 ship. (from the coast of China) it carried 700 to 800 dans of sugar, 26 dans of raw silk, 40-50 dans of anekins, and 12 baskets of silk cloth. On the fifth day of February (March 1), an Anhai ship carried 500-600 baskets of sugar and rock sugar, 126 loads of raw silk, 400 boxes of 1anckins, 400-500 pieces of yarn, 6 baskets of shrunken Burma, and 20 packages of red yarn.
On the eighth day of February (March 4), a ship from Xiamen carried 76 loads of white raw silk and yellow silk, 2,000 pieces of gauze, 10 baskets of shrunken Burma, 4,000 pieces of brown and blue cangan cloth, and 1,000 pieces of linen yarn.
On the 10th day of February (March 6), a ship from Xiamen carried 66 exquisite large porcelain jars, 800 bundles of coarse porcelain, 7 packages of linen yarn and some salt.
On February 11th (March 7), 13 ships from Xiamen carried 1,000 pieces of silk, 100 pieces of velvet, 10 to 12 baskets of silk products, 600 loads of sugar, 1,300 bundles of coarse porcelain, and 500 loads of alum. Another ship carried 236 loads of white raw silk, 50-60 loads of yellow silk, 600-800 pieces of new yarn, 300 baskets of silk fabrics, and 200 gold ingots, with an estimated total value of about 100,000 riels. Lieyu 2 ships, carrying a batch of tiles.
On February 14 (March 10), 8 ships from Xiamen carried 600 baskets and 200 bundles of fine porcelain, 2,000 loads of sugar, and 50 loads of linen yarn. There are 9 Lieyu ships, carrying salt, rice, jars, pots and a small amount of wood.
On February 15th (March 11th), a ship from Xiamen carried 200 baskets and 17 bundles of fine porcelain and 3,000 bundles of coarse porcelain. Lieyu has 7 ships, carrying salt, rice and wood.
On February 26 (March 22), three ships from Xiamen carried 800 tons of sugar, 500 bundles of coarse porcelain, and a batch of wooden boards, pillars and pots for making sugar barrels. There are two Lieyu ships, carrying salt and rice.
On February 27 (March 23), 3 ships from Xiamen carried 200 dans of sugar, 800 cans (packs) of ginger sugar, 800 bundles of coarse porcelain, 13 bundles of fine porcelain, 6 dans of white raw silk and a large amount of sugar barrels. wooden planks. Lieyu 2 ships carried 5,000 red tiles and 100 laths.
On February 28th (March 24th), there were 2 Lieyu ships carrying salt and rice.
On March 13 (April 7), a Lieyu ship carried salt, rice and 15 thick pillars.
On March 15th (April 9), there was a Lieyu ship carrying salt and rice.
On March 18th (April 12th), 4 ships from Xiamen carried 1,000 dans of white sugar, 25 dans of white raw silk, 125 baskets of silk cloth, 300 baskets and 25 packages of fine porcelain, 50 cans of ginger sugar, and 200 dans of alum. . Lieyu 2 ships carried 1,700 red tiles, 50 pillars, and 300 laths.
On March 19 (April 13), three Lieyu ships carried planks, pillars and laths for making sugar barrels.
On the sixth day of April (April 30), a ship from Xiamen carried 200 tons of white sugar. Lieyu has 3 ships, carrying salt and rice.
On April 12 (May 6), 3 ships (departure port unknown), carried 600 tons of sugar, 40 tons of white wax, 10,000 red tiles, 20 pillars and some wooden boards and laths.
On April 14 (May 8), a Lieyu ship carried 10,000 red tiles, 30 pillars and salt.
On April 16 (May 10), a ship from Xiamen also carried 1,000 tons of white sugar, gauze silk, Jing silk, damask, 600 tons of cloth, 1 load of alum, 27 pillars and a batch of sugar barrels. wooden boards used.
On April 21st (May 15th), 2 ships from Xiamen carried 1,000 dans of white sugar, 40 dans of paraffin, 125 dans of alum, and 130 baskets of fine porcelain. One ship, Lieyu, carried 15,000 pieces of red tiles, 26 pillars, and 300-400 laths.
On April 23 (May 17), a Lieyu ship carried 10,000 red tiles, 40 pillars, and 300 laths.
On April 24 (May 18), two fishing boats on Lieyu carried salt and rice. On April 28 (May 22), 2 ships from Xiamen carried 350 tons of white sugar, 10 tons of white raw silk, 1,700-1,800 pieces of plain cangan cloth, 1 piece of gauze and cloth, and 1 load of white wax.
On the second day of leap April (May 25), 2 Lieyu ships carried 8,000 red tiles and 20 pillars.
On leap April 16 (June 8), a ship from Xiamen carried 500 tons of white sugar and a batch of wooden boards for barrel making. 9 ships (from Lieyu) carried 59,000 pieces of red tiles, 180 pillars, 330 laths, salt and rice.
On leap April 19th (June 11th), 3 ships from Xiamen carried 1,300 dans of white sugar, 150 dans of sugar cubes, 30 dans of white raw silk, 1,500 pieces of yarn, 500 pieces of shrunken Burma, and 300 pieces of red yarn. 30 dans of horse and poria cocos, 250 dans of alum, 4 dans of mercury, and 20 dans of paraffin.
On the 22nd of leap April (June 14th), a Lieyu ship carried 15,000 pieces of red tiles and a small amount of salt and rice.
On leap April 24th (June 16th), a ship from Xiamen carried 500 tons of white sugar. Lieyu has 5 ships, carrying 30,000 pieces of red tiles and 170 small pillars.
On leap April 25th (June 17th), a ship from Xiamen carried 50 loads of white sugar, 10 baskets of silk fabrics and a batch of red gauze. One Lieyu ship carried 10,000 pieces of red tiles and a batch of salt and rice. Take 220 people.
On the 26th of leap April (June 18th), a ship from Xiamen carried 300 dans of sugar, 3,000 pieces of cangan cloth, 30 dans of paraffin, and 1 dan of mercury, carrying 70 people.
On leap April 27th (June 19th), 3 ships from Xiamen carried 800 tons of white sugar, 800 pieces of cangan cloth, 10 tons of white raw silk, 7 baskets of white gauze, 300 pieces of yarn, 200 tons of alum, and white silk. 20 quintals of wax, 6 quintals of mercury, and 4 quintals of lanckins. A fishing boat on Lieyu carried 12,000 pieces of red tiles, 32 pillars and 150 people.
On the second day of May (June 23), a ship from Xiamen carried 600 tons of white sugar and carried 44 people.
On the tenth day of May (July 1), a ship from Anhai carried 2,000 dans of sugar, 13 dans of sugar, 1,300 pieces of linen yarn, 1,000 pairs of stockings, 2 dans of mercury, and carried 60 people. 3 fishing boats (from Lieyu) carry a small amount of salt and rice, each carrying 15-16 people.
On May 11th (July 2nd), 2 Lieyu ships carried salt and rice and carried 45 people.
On May 12th (July 3), a Lieyu ship carried 7,000 red tiles and 8 large pillars.
On May 18th (July 9th), 2 ships from Xiamen carried 600 tons of sugar, 1,000 pieces of yarn, 6 baskets of Poria, and 73 people on board.
On May 20th (July 11th), 2 ships from Xiamen carried wooden planks for making 600 sugar barrels and carried 60 people.
On May 21st (July 12th), 2 ships from Xiamen carried 2,300 baskets of white sugar, 2,000 pieces of gauze, 2,000 pieces of shrunken Burma, and 500 pieces of plain earthgan cloth, carrying 100 people.
On May 23rd (July 14th), a ship from Xiamen carried 400 dans of white sugar and carried 30 people.
On May 24th (July 15th), a ship from Xiamen carried 400 tons of sugar, 400 pieces of cangan cloth, and carried 30 people.
On May 28th (July 19th), 2 ships from Xiamen carried 1,100 dans of white sugar and carried 30 people.
On the third day of June (July 24th), Hambuan arrived in Dangang on a merchant ship belonging to the owner Jocksim. The cargo transported by the ship included approximately 20,000 pieces of gauze damask, 7,000 pieces of Beijing damask, approximately 70 dans of white raw silk and 35 dans of yellow silk, 200 ingots of gold, a batch of paraffin, mercury and other commodities, with a total value of approximately 400,000 guilders. , greatly increasing the supply of goods to Japan.
On July 18 (September 6), a silk ship recruited by Hambuan arrived from Xiamen, carrying about 275 loads of white raw silk, 25 loads of yellow silk, 100 loads of white wax, and 25 baskets of various silk fabrics. , 400 loads of sugar, and 180 people on board.
Maritime trade from Zhangzhou Port Area to Dayuan continues to heat up. On October 24th (December 9th) of this year, the Batavia Council reported to the board of directors: "Everything is going well there (for the officials), and the trade is prosperous, resulting in a shortage of funds." According to statistics, the number of Dutch ships throughout the year China produced 149,669 jins of silk and 118,743 jins of silk fabrics exported to Japan, which were 1,676 jins and 3,232 jins in the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), an increase from the Great Leap Forward. Among them, the total export value from Taiwan to Japan was 2,042,302 Dutch guilders, accounting for 83% of the total daily value of Dutch ship exports from various places. The total value of Hambuan's goods exported to Japan reached 1.7 million guilders, accounting for 83.3% of Taiwan's total export value to Japan. He invested seven or eight tons of gold for this purpose.
4. 1639: Surviving in the cracks between Zheng and He
On the seventh day of December in the eleventh year of Chongzhen (January 10, 1639), the merchant ship of the owner Swalianhg was seized by the officials of Kinmen because there was no ship guide, and more than 100,000 yuan was confiscated. The cargo worth 4,000 Dutch guilders caused panic among maritime merchants."Many merchants are now afraid to load their goods on ships." The Dutch blamed Zheng Zhilong. "When the goods were confiscated, he did not do anything for them." Vanderburg threatened, "If the Chinese merchants refuse to ship our When the expected goods, such as gold, are delivered to us, we can transport the silver to Batavia and Surat (Suratte)." In order to ensure the prosperity of Dali's trade, Vanderbilt decided to send Hambuan to dredge Anhai. Zheng Zhilong, and "purchased silk products, gold and other goods from Guangdong. In order to give gifts to Chinese officials, he gave him cloth worth 1719.2.0 Dutch guilders."
The fourteenth day of the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen (February 16, 1639 (Sunday), Hambuan set sail from Dayuan and arrived in Anhai 4 days later. On February 20 (March 24), a merchant ship brought a letter from Xiamen to Vanderbilt.
[Letter 8]
After I said goodbye to you on the thirteenth day of the first month of our year [the thirteenth day of the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, February 15, 1639], on the seventeenth day of the same month [the 9th] An arrived at Anhaihe in China. After arriving there, he immediately went to the official's home and reported to his Excellency in detail all the circumstances of the company's trade. His Excellency said happily that he hoped that this situation would continue for a long time and was convinced that it would be the case, not to mention that Your Excellency is a man of upright mind. I hope that His Excellency Speaker Kucubakar will have arrived long before this letter is received, so that there can be no doubt that the goods will still have time to be shipped to Batavia.
My brother Pamjangh also took the Jochoo foreign ship to go to the great minister; in this foreign ship was carried various goods for Batavia and useful to Japan, namely red damask, sea yellow and other Cantonese cloths, all good goods which I have personally inspected. Please pay 17 reals per piece for those double-sided red damasks. Those Haihuang and Guangdong products belong to the first official and other high officials. Please pay the previous price for these goods. Please also pay the previous price for the silk and silk products. Gold is not yet available in large quantities. Please give a good price for the gold you have purchased, so that more gold will be supplied in the future. We implore you to accept these goods as soon as possible so that this foreign ship can come back here as soon as possible.
When we left, you still owed the merchants debts. Please repay them as soon as the first ship arrives from Japan. This will enable them to come back here on this foreign ship. If you do this, you and I will get Honor.
Several foreign ships sailed to Manila this year, but not many merchants went there, and the goods shipped were only coarse goods of small value. There are also very few foreign ships sailing to the Western Ocean. The friends of the first official sent two foreign ships to the west, one to Jambi and the other to Palimboangh. His Excellency once asked me to request you to write to the Governor to allow this foreign ship to trade freely and unimpeded there. In this way, the trade here will continue to develop in the long term.
After I arrived here, I hardly had an hour's rest. I was busy continuing to visit high officials and other things. When this foreign ship sets sail, I can only send you two pieces of red damask to express our feelings. Please accept it. Please greet Mr. Traunius, the Inspector, the captain and all your friends, and please do not forget to greet Mr. Cornelis van der Burch, your dear son.
Official signature: Hambuan
The next time a ship sails from Xiamen, we will inform you of everything in detail.
was written on the second day of the third [note: should be two] months in the twelfth year of the emperor's government [the second day of February in the twelfth year of Chongzhen], that is, March 6, 1639.
In fact, Hambuan (this letter is signed as Hambuangh) had a very unhappy visit to Zheng Zhilong, and was severely blackmailed by Zheng Zhilong.The Dutch learned from Pangjangh (who was Hambuangh's cousin) who arrived from Xiamen on February 23 (March 27): After Hambuangh arrived in Anhai, China, he immediately went to the Governor's Office with many gifts. At that time, Hambuangh was not brought to see the governor because he was told that the gift was too small. Therefore, he had to increase the gift by half before he could meet with the governor two or three days later. An official asked him what was the purpose of giving him such a big gift? In response, Hambuangh replied that it was just to express his admiration for him and ask him to accept it. So Hambuangh told the situation about the place. An official report. After the report, Hambuangh was ordered by an official to lead 200 soldiers to escort a minor official back to his home. An official wanted to make a profit for the minor official. For this purpose, Hambuangh arranged for two or three sailing ships to take the minor official back to his village. He must have spent a lot of money. Legend has it that Hambuangh once complained with tears that the trip cost him all the money he had earned in this place for a year and a half.
Hambuangh was favored by the Dutch, and he repeatedly acted as a messenger to Xiamen to negotiate with Ming officials. In the eyes of Zheng Zhilong and other Ming officials and ordinary people, he must have gained a huge treasure from the Dutch, and they tried every means to find ways to use him. He bleeds. This is the situation of maritime merchants after they become rich. Hambuangh's second letter to Vanderbilt revealed this dilemma:
[Letter 9]
[April 14, the twelfth year of Chongzhen, May 16-13, 1639] A merchant ship arrived from Xiamen, There were 60 people on board, and it carried various Chinese silk products, most of which belonged to Hambuangh. He asked the ship to deliver a letter to his Excellency.
It has been more than two months since I said goodbye to you. During this period, I have been busy with many affairs and have been unable to rest for almost an hour. There are also many enemies who use big lies to slander and harass me, saying that I obtained a huge treasure from you, so that I was thoroughly investigated by the officials, and even the little bit of property I had could not be retained, and even though it was all according to their wishes, I have complied with my wishes, but they are still not satisfied. I hope that after I return to the chief executive, you can help me with some cash for transactions. I will start from scratch again, if I still have the ability. At present, my friends and I have no money to buy the following goods, namely red and white burlap, gauze, velvet, and plain tulle. These are all goods that are very useful to Japan and can only be purchased together. I am shipping a batch of linen yarn. I think you plan to buy half of it with cash and half with merchandise. However, I kindly ask you to sincerely buy all of these goods in cash, so that I can get some compensation for my serious losses. , which will also prevent me from being blamed for being abandoned after my loyal service. I am convinced that you will treat me kindly, and these products are guaranteed to earn huge profits in Japan, and the cash can be used to purchase such products. , otherwise, it will be out of stock for a long time.
Your Excellency asked me to try to transport a large amount of sugar to Daguan this year. However, because there is very little sugarcane planting this year, the price has risen sharply, so I guess I cannot get the quantity you expected. The correct way, my noble Lord, is to increase the price by 1/2 a riel per quintal according to their quality, so that before the ship sets sail for Batavia, there will undoubtedly be a large supply of sugar and other products. goods.
Before the end of this month, shipowner Jocksim’s merchant ship, and later Jochoo’s merchant ship, will transport various commodities to you. My noble Lord, please do not worry that the company will be out of stock, the situation will be the same as last year, but please be assured.
Your Excellency asked me to find someone to build a pavilion here [Note: Pavillion, which probably refers to the pavilion in the garden. This sentence seems to refer to the design and sawing of materials for the pavilion], which has not yet been completed and is not as expected. We have asked people to buy pillars and other timber. I believe that before you receive this letter, a large quantity will be shipped, but not as much as you expect and we are happy to see.
I have occasionally heard about the current situation of the Portuguese, but I still cannot confirm it. I will let you know when I know it later.
Thank you very much for sending me lilac. To express my gratitude and friendship, I would like to enclose two pieces of fabric. Please accept it.
This letter was written to your Excellency on the third day of the fourth month in the twelfth year of our emperor’s government [the third day of April in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, May 5, 1639]. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, Madam. Greetings to my dear children, and wishing you a stable political situation and all the best.
Signed: Hambuangh
Hambuangh was engaged in high-level trade and indeed benefited from his role as a messenger and negotiator for the Dutch. Every time he was commissioned to travel, he received subsidies from the Dutch. In December of the eighth year of Chongzhen (January 1636), "The Great Council presented Hambuan with 600 riels in cash and two and a half bolts of velvet for his excellent service. The Chinese businessman was sent to the sea route in Quanzhou on January 17 There, I went to ask him to help free the Dutch who were still imprisoned in China." In the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), he decided to give him 800 to 1,000 riels every year. In trade, preferential treatment is also given for payment in cash, loan or credit. But this is far from the rumors in the Xiamen Bay area. He got a huge treasure. The Dutch use business acumen to assess performance and price for Hambuan's services. They know that Hambuan is both a partner and a competitor, and are always wary of him joining forces with other maritime merchants to harm the company's interests. Therefore, when his property in his hometown was almost wiped out (Zheng Zhilong and local officials thought it was just a drop in the bucket), he had to compromise with Zheng Zhilong while begging Vanderbilt to help him make a comeback and fight for a living space in the cracks of Zheng He. .
Of course, the Dutch were unwilling to be subject to Zheng Zhilong's control over the supply of goods, and tried their best to expand purchase channels among other maritime merchants. On May 20 (June 20), Vanderbilt ordered the Governor of Batavia and the East Indian Parliament to order a large number of samples of silk fabrics and pottery in China, "to the Chinese 美人Joctay and Jusit. These merchants promised to Delivering the requested quantity, translator Cambingh assured, the samples would be brought back to us "On the third day of July (August 1), an order was made from the Chinese merchant Jusit for several types of porcelain, to be ordered from the motherland (" The wooden samples sent by the Netherlands) were made in China. "On August 4th (September 1st), Vanderburg convened a meeting of the House Council to discuss whether he should give gifts to the governor to gain his favor ( Because he is very powerful), it is hoped that in the future he will instruct Chinese merchants to bring better and more exquisite goods to this place than before. Everyone thinks that this matter will be delayed for a while, and the Lord is asked to write to the merchants Hambuangh, Jochoo and Jocsim, ask them how the situation is over there. "But the Dutch are only interested in profit, and they are willing to pay every dollar to merchants who do not rely on Zheng Zhilong's breath. In his letter to Hambuangh and the attached order, Vanderbilt proposed new standards for cargo specifications, overturned some original orders, and aroused the anger of the majority of maritime merchants. As an intermediary, Hambuangh was criticized, so he wrote to Vanderbilt to plead guilty.
[Letter 10]
[October 17, the twelfth year of Chongzhen, November 11, 1639] Today I received a letter from the merchant Hambuangh from a ship coming from the coast of China to the governor, His Excellency Vanderburgh.
To the Lord Commander, His Excellency John Vanderburg
We have received your letter and notice from your ship carrying several goods to your shipowner, Jochoo, and learned that you only want new and good goods (which will be Good price paid), other goods are not required. Businessmen are reluctant to say that last year they only got 2.5% of the profits, which was very small, and now it is less than 2%. They all came to me and said that I was a liar and deceived them with lies, because I told them that there was enough cash there, but it turned out that there wasn't enough cash there, so it made them unprofitable because they had advanced a lot of cash. This was spread everywhere and among the officials. The officer heard it and he was very angry about it. Businessmen are trying to make more money, but we can't all pay according to their requirements. This is a real thing. However, businessmen have to cross the ocean to trade in order to make money. If you can be honest and reasonable about this If you process it efficiently, you can conduct transactions over a long period of time.
From your order, I can see that the cloth you want must be longer, wider, and better in color. The merchants know these things clearly, but before your order was sent here, the merchants We have ordered all kinds of cloth from the north. If you are not willing to purchase these goods now, what will they do with these goods? They will also have no money to purchase other new goods that you need, so they have already prepared them in the warehouse. Please lend a helping hand to purchase these goods. Wait until next year. If the goods shipped do not meet your needs, you don’t have to accept them. By then, merchants will see goods that do not meet your needs. , they will not acquire it, so businessmen will see that what I say is true. Merchants are now hesitant, fearing that Your Majesty will not accept their goods, which is the reason why no ships have been to Daguan recently.
In the 9th month, I went to Anhai and encouraged all the merchants to go to Daguang. Although a few people who hated me said bad things about me to the First Official, we have managed to satisfy His Excellency. The merchants have promised to load their goods onto the ships and have already started loading them so they should arrive within a month.
All the samples of cloth sent by Your Excellency have been handed over to several businessmen for production in Guangdong. Regarding the need to be wider and longer (as mentioned above), this can only be done later. It cannot be produced in time for the ship to be sent to Batavia. Once it is shipped, it will be sent to your Excellency.
The samples of porcelain sent by Your Excellency have been given to Jusit and he is already producing them.
All the foreign ships sailing from here to Japan this year have returned. This year the Portuguese had a large sailing ship wrecked in , South Australia, , and another in Onsieuw in the north. Therefore, only two large sailing ships arrived in Japan. They were not accepted by the Japanese emperor in Japan, and their goods could not be sold. , making them leave. This situation is a very good thing for the company. It is arranged by Almighty God, so the company will gain great benefits. I am very happy about this. We believe, and hope, that ships will arrive in Taiyuan from Japan this month. I wish you, your wife, and your lovely children good health. We cannot see each other every day, but we really want to hear news from you. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt greetings to Your Excellency.
was written on the tenth day of October in the twelfth year of the Emperor's government [the tenth day of October in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, November 4, 1639].
Signed under: Hambuangh
Vanderbilt quickly responded to Hambuangh's letter. In a report submitted to Batavia Governor Van Diemen on November 16 (December 10), he pointed out:
Due to 11 Based on the letter from Hambuan received on September 1st, and the developments in recent months, His Excellency Lord Vanderburg believes that the Japanese market will be flooded with silk and silk products. The Portuguese, who had carried on this trade until recently, could no longer continue trading in Japan. He believes that directly negotiating with an official about China's trade with senior officials is not the right approach because it will lower the company's profile. It is best for Chinese businessmen, like Hambuan, to act as middlemen: "Yiguan is eager for silver, just as our company is eager for trade." And Yiguan is not yet in power, because a foreign ship recently shipped 50 ingots of gold and 25 dan The silk destined for Japan was confiscated by the officials in Kinmen because they did not apply for a pass.
On December 29, the twelfth year of Chongzhen (January 21, 1640), “The long-awaited Chinese merchant Ham-buangh returned from Anhai with three silk ships, bringing a large amount of silk and various kinds of silk. The exquisite silk products, plus the goods that will be shipped by another merchant ship, are worth more than 15 tons of gold.” See again Hambuan’s letter to the Governor of Taiwan in the Netherlands. However, from the sporadic records in the Dutch archives and the diaries of Batavia and Geranze, we can see that he continued to operate Taiwan trade in large quantities, and the Dutch even bought from him on credit because they were temporarily unable to turn over funds. He and Zheng Zhilong also helped each other and their relationship improved.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (January 28, 1640), Vanderburgh reported to Batavia Governor Van Diemen:
Hambuan was entrusted by an official and requested the chief Vanderburgh to allow the official to use him every year. On his own account, he used the company's ship to transport goods worth 200,000 Dutch guilders to Japan. In contrast, the First Officer would supply up to 100 to 200 tons worth of goods required by the company for trade with Japan, the motherland, and the East Indies.
On the 28th of the leap month (March 20), Traunius, the governor of Taiwan who succeeded Vanderburgh due to illness on the 12th of this month, reported to Batavia Governor Van Diemen:
On February 12th, there were 2 more people. A merchant ship from Jocsim and Limlothia arrived, carrying goods worth 950,000 guilders. Together with those from Hambuan, a total of 2,450,000 guilders worth of Chinese goods arrived. Jocsim only shipped 55 ingots of gold, so it was unable to meet the demand for gold.
On July 15th (August 31st), "Relanja City Diary" records: Businessman Hambuangh arrived here on his silk merchant ship. The goods transported, plus the goods shipped here by Jocsim's merchant ship yesterday, There are: 15,004 pounds of white raw silk, 761 pounds of silk yarn, 137 pounds of silk, 4,004 pounds of yellow silk, 1,480 pounds of colored and twisted silk, 26,536 pieces of red and white shredded silk, 1,705 pieces of fine silk cloth (taffacillen), 2178 pieces of velvet, 45536 pieces of silk damask, 1036 pieces of damask, 931 pieces of Cambodian damask, 888 pieces of Guangdong gold yarn, 335 pieces of yarn, 3964 pieces of satin, 641 pieces of tea ramie and tulle, 10501 pieces of white yarn Damask, 9 pieces of caffaen at 27 riels each, and 5 pieces of brocade as samples. These goods were all purchased and stored in the company's warehouse. They were sorted by the merchants in the presence of His Excellency and agreed upon as 411785 real.
On October 24th (December 6th), "Batavia City Diary" recorded: As a result of the settlement with Hambuan on September 15th, the company owed him 153,846 riels, and it was agreed that starting from the 10th of this month, every month The interest will be 2.5% until the ships return safely from Japan, and the interest for two months will total 7,692.25 riels.
On August 17 (October 2), Hambuangh took Jocsim’s merchant ship from Danyuan to Anhai. According to the "Relanja City Diary", the ship carried about 10 tons of funds obtained from the cloth he brought. (Ton) gold, including 14,247 jins of pepper, 316 jins of myrrh, 4,638 jins of cloves, 9,748 jins of catechu (caetche), 8,477 jins of ivory, 10,120 jins of frankincense, and 300 boxes of silver. In a letter sent by Traunius to Governor Van Dimen of Batavia on September 23 (November 6), it was estimated that the total value of the goods exceeded 1 million guilders. According to the "Batavia City Diary", among the 300 boxes of tin silver (1,000 taels per box) carried by Hambuan, 130 boxes belonged to Zheng Zhilong.
During this voyage across the Taiwan Strait, we encountered a shipwreck and the cargo sank at the bottom of the sea. There were 305 people on board. Only 14 Chinese and 9 black slaves (swarten) were rescued. Hambuan unfortunately drowned.
5. Summary: Reflections on the adventure stories of maritime merchants in the late Ming Dynasty
Previous academic research on maritime merchants in the late Ming Dynasty did not conduct case analysis due to the lack of historical materials. The characterization of maritime merchants was derived from the sporadic records of people at the time. from. For example, from "when the city is open, the pirates will turn into merchants, and when the city is banned, merchants will turn into pirates", it is determined that pirates and maritime merchants are two sides of the same body; from the time when Tongfan started in the home of Haoyou, Haili only belongs to the official wealthy, and maritime merchants are identified It is a stratum of the landlord class. In fact, pirate merchants and wealthy gentry merchants were just a type of maritime merchants in the late Ming Dynasty. Turning them into a common model would obliterate the fact that free maritime merchants existed and distort the history of China's maritime development. Describing the great merchants as official tycoons who drove commercial slaves to smuggle them gives people the same stereotype as local tyrants and evil gentry. The "maritime merchant group" constructed and expressed using historical records of maritime pirates gives people the impression that the maritime merchants are either pirates who destroy social stability, kill people and steal goods, or they are traitors who endanger national security and liaise with foreign countries. No wonder people treat maritime merchants with contempt. Attitudes even contribute to the social psychology of neglecting ocean development. Many papers and books in the past 20 years observe events and think about problems according to this model without the slightest doubt. Although it affirmed the historical role of maritime trade in the abstract, it failed to convince people sincerely.
Hambuan in Dutch historical materials provides us with another image of maritime merchants in the late Ming Dynasty.He is not a pirate or a smuggler, but a legal businessman with a ship's guide. He traveled on the sea all year round, operating trade between the East and West. In his later years, he traveled across the Taiwan Strait. Until the end of his life, he never left the ocean. He was neither an official businessman nor a gentry businessman who relied on shipbuilding and loan capital to reap sea profits. The marine commercial capital he accumulated was eventually capsized by a shipwreck, instead of starting from the bottom and keeping the roots. Under the dual pressure of extortion from Ming Dynasty officials and low-price acquisitions by Dutch colonialists, he managed to maintain his competitiveness for more than ten years. He operated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as in Batavia, Manila, and Japan, relying on Chinese silk, porcelain, and sugar. The competitive advantages of other products in the international market, proficiency in Dutch and personal business skills and public relations capabilities. It can be said that he is a typical figure of the free businessmen in the late Ming Dynasty.
Hambuan’s maritime commerce and shipping operations, it is difficult to clearly outline its operational form from the existing historical data. It can be known that his capital needs are huge. In addition to the accumulation of profits, part of it comes from joint ventures and part of it comes from credit loans. Zheng Zhilong and the Dutch were both his lenders. His investment directions are also diverse. He owns many large and small ships, which are used for shipping on the east-west routes and across the Taiwan Straits. For example, on June 14, the fourth year of Chongzhen (July 12, 1631), a merchant ship from Hambuan arrived in Daguang from Batavia, preparing to sail to Japan. On June 27, the fifth year of Chongzhen (August 12, 1632), a merchant ship from Hambuan sailed from Dayuan to Japan. On June 23 and 24 of the eighth year of Chongzhen (August 5 and 6, 1635), the Dutch came from Xiamen and learned that the Hambuan merchant ship returning from Batavia carrying about 1,300 dans of pepper was captured near Nan'ao. The pirate Cauham plundered everything. On the fifth day of the first lunar month of the ninth year of Chongzhen (February 11, 1636), a Hambuan merchant ship, carrying 97 people, arrived in Batavia fully loaded with Chinese goods. Returning from Batavia on April 19 (May 24), it carried 65,100 jins of pepper, 1,900 jins of red sandalwood, 1,050 jins of incense, 1,017 jins of sandalwood, 493 jins of buffalo horns, and 525 jins of resin. In February of the tenth year of Chongzhen (March 1637), Hambuan applied for a pass from the Dutch Taiwanese governor and sent a ship to Toacan on Luzon Island to purchase deer skins. In Taiwan, he owned a sailing ship carrying deer skins, which traveled between Da Yuan and Jingang. On June 15, the eighth year of Chongzhen (July 28, 1635), Hambuan returned from Erlin (Giren) with a sailing ship carrying deer skins. Shattered by huge waves. At that time, in addition to hiring Chinese crew members, merchant ships also employed black people (swarten) to escort the cargo, just like Portuguese and Dutch ships. It is not clear whether he rented out the ship, but it is certain that in addition to transporting his own cargo, he also hired other ship owners to transport his goods. The functions of maritime trade and navigation were both combined and separated in him. In line with maritime commercial shipping, he has the business of purchasing silk, porcelain, sugar and other export commodities in Xiamen. When there is a shortage, he can also send ships to purchase production areas in other provinces, such as buying sugar near Guangzhou, and buying wood and marine goods in Fuzhou. ; He also guided manufacturers to arrange the production of silk goods, cloth and porcelain according to the samples and specifications provided by the Dutch, paid a deposit in advance, and became a package buyer, so that the production of handicraft workshops in the mainland would be in line with the international market. He had the business of purchasing deer skins in Taiwan and Luzon. For example, in November of the fifth and sixth years of Chongzhen (1632) and the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), he signed a deerskin purchase and sale contract with the Dutch merchant house. In the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637) ) sent a ship to Luzon to purchase deer skins; he also invested in agriculture with Bemcon (sumingang) and others in Chichi and nearby areas, each purchasing 20 morgaen (one morgaen is 85,106 square meters, about 11 acres) of land. There is no information to confirm whether the agricultural investment plan was realized, but his purpose was obviously to intervene in Taiwan's rice and sugar trade with East India and Persia, which reflected the new trend of maritime merchants getting involved in the production field.
Hambuan, the main place for overseas trade, was a Dutch colony. The Dutch used him to transmit letters from the Governor of Batavia to the Daiyu Commercial Office in Taiwan or the Nagasaki Commercial Office in Japan. The Governor of Batavia and A document from the governor of Taiwan to officials of the Ming Dynasty, intervening in the negotiations between China and the Netherlands. But he is not the likes of Wang Zhi, Li Jin, or Li Dan, and he has no bad record of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country. On the contrary, he also helped Chinese maritime merchants fight for their own rights and interests and forced the Dutch to make concessions."Relandja City Diary" records in detail the entire process of Hambuangh leading Chinese maritime merchant representatives to negotiate with the Dutch:
On May 29, the 11th year of Chongzhen (July 10, 1638), three silk ships left When the general arrived at Zhangzhou Port, the Dutch merchant office broke from the practice of paying 3% monthly interest on the arrears due to lack of funds during transactions in previous years. In addition to bartering pepper and other goods, the Dutch merchants planned to pay the arrears after the arrival of the Japanese ship, with monthly interest of 3%. 1.5% calculation. Hambuan accompanied the two ship owners to negotiate on behalf of all the merchants, saying that he could not accept it. "Their owners did not authorize them to accept such a low interest. When they were unable to pay the payment, they could only accept a monthly interest of 3%. Otherwise, there is no doubt that , they will never purchase these goods and engage in other shipping businesses... If they want to trade with China, they must try to retain the merchants, otherwise their owners will be forced to make other decisions. "The Dutch do not. Agreed, but suggested that they "make decisions that are not limited by their master's prejudices." The result was an unhappy ending.
On the second day of June (July 12th), Hambuangh took two Chinese ship owners and three of the most important businessmen from Anhai to the merchant house to negotiate again, explaining that their capital was in China with a monthly interest rate of 2.5% and 3% loan, if the Dutch are unwilling to pay more than 1.5% interest, then they would rather leave, and the sooner they leave, the better. The Dutch "give their hope for important reasons" and said they would discuss with parliament to see if they could increase the monthly interest payment to 2% for three months. However, business representatives believe that the 2% monthly interest rate is too low and is still unacceptable.
On the fifth day of the lunar month (the 15th), Hambuangh and business representatives went to the office of the merchant house to negotiate for the third time, proposing that the pepper should be sold at the price paid by the Chinese in Batavia, which was 10 riels per quintal, so they would not have to consider it again. , acceptable. But the Dutch disagreed, saying that if they bought all the pepper at 16 reals per quintal, they would be willing to pay a little more interest on the debt. The merchant representatives pointed out that pepper could be purchased in China for 12 riels per quintal and refused.
On the tenth day of the lunar month (20th), Hambuang and the three Chinese ship owners came to meet for the fourth time. They stated that they were prepared to buy 2,500 quintals of pepper at a price of 15.5 riels per quintal, if the remaining balance of the goods could be charged with interest for 3 months at 3% per quintal. If this method is not acceptable, they are willing to accept 2.5% monthly interest, but will not accept pepper or any other goods as payment. The Dutch still refused and suggested that there were a lot of 13 useful goods in the warehouse that could also be used to pay for those goods. The Chinese shipowners immediately pointed out that this was an attempt to force them to purchase those goods. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce finally had to make concessions. "In order to bring this matter to an end, we and this parliament decided to tell them our final opinion, that is, these merchants will use these three ships to transport back 2,500 dans of pepper to offset the payment." In addition to part of the payment we owe, we also need to purchase all the asafoetida, woody incense and a batch of lead, which will also be used as part of the payment. The remaining payment will be paid for three months with a monthly interest of 2.5%. "
On the 12th (the 22nd), Hambuangh and the above-mentioned merchants came to the merchant house again and said that they could not fully agree with our proposal, but they would start trading crude goods, such as cangan cloth and more. Yarn, etc., to pay for the 2,500 quintals of pepper and some other commodities to be received.
This negotiation finally made the Dutch compromise, and the maritime merchants reduced their losses, which showed the ability of China's maritime commercial power to protect itself. It is extremely difficult to achieve this without the support of national power. Likewise, this example also shows that the general inference that the Dutch came east and China's overseas trade declined sharply is not reliable.
During the nearly hundred years when Zhangzhou Haicheng was opened to overseas trade in the late Ming Dynasty, Hambuan-style legal maritime merchants were the mainstream of maritime economic activities. There were twenty or thirty names of maritime merchants appearing in Dutch historical materials alone, and they were aboard each ship. Dozens to hundreds of crews, sailors and individual traders sailed dozens to hundreds of ships between the East and West every year, but their deeds were not recorded by the traditional cultural elite.It was precisely because of a group of Hambuan-like figures who controlled the East-West trade network and sources of goods that Western maritime powers did not dare to despise, that agriculture-based China showed a maritime character on its coasts, and in the mid-17th century Ming Dynasty Under the conditions of the Qing Dynasty revolution and the split of central political power, the combination of civilian maritime commercial power and anti-Qing military power gave birth to the maritime regime of Zheng Chenggong. In the 17th century, the Netherlands, the Western maritime hegemon, could not do whatever it wanted in the East Asian waters. The Dutch-Taiwan trade relied on the supply of Chinese maritime merchants to survive. Once the cross-strait navigation was cut off, the Dutch-Taiwan trade collapsed and declined. As the Japanese scholar Nagaki Yoko said, Hambuan's drowning in the 13th year of Chongzhen (1640) "was an ominous precursor to the decline of Dutch-Taiwan trade." Zheng Zhilong's dominance of the sea and Zheng Chenggong's recovery of Taiwan were the inevitable development of this economic trend. In this sense, the maritime trading activities of Hambuan and others played a positive role in the formation of East Asia's maritime economic order in the 17th century and the establishment and inclusion of Taiwan's Hokkien society.
Hambuan is not keen on fame and pleasure, but is willing to take risks. He is not attached to land and family, but pursues profit in the sea. He is not taking the path of a bureaucratic landlord. This is an alternative that history offers. He Qiaoyuan's "Kaiyanghaiyi" said:
Nine out of ten people from a Kaiyang family will fail, and one or two out of ten people will get married. And why do people strive to follow it? For example, when we study, how many people can get the grades, and those who don't get it will end up poor and old, with nothing to live for. It is said that books can mislead people, but everyone likes readers because they have a good academic record. Nowadays, those who are engaged in selling business may suffer the loss of their capital and axe, and some may lose their lives in the waves just to feed the fish and turtles. However, who is willing to do so? How lucky is it to be able to have a family of ten or two, and can still live a simple life.
The people in the coastal zone regard the sea as their farmland and regard traders as their parents for food and clothing. This is the survival choice given to them by the ocean. Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty's ban on sea migration blocked this option. The Zhangzhou Port Area, which proactively opened up to interact with the marine world, was short-lived. China missed the opportunity to integrate with international standards through maritime development and transform into modern times. Even the stories of sea power competition and heroic adventures were forgotten. Hambuan was a successful maritime merchant and a failed maritime merchant. His fate was also the fate of most Chinese maritime merchants in the 17th century. Nine out of ten were defeated, and there are very few who left a mark on history like Hambuan. When we face the ocean and rethink the expansion of the Chinese nation’s maritime development space, we cannot forget these pioneers.
[Note] The article was originally published in the 2003 Issue 2 of "Chinese History Research" and was revised and included in the 2018 edition of "Min in the Sea" Fujian Minjiao Book Co., Ltd.
Editor: Li Yiting
