Everyone may know about the visit of Macartney delegation to China during the Qianlong period , but why did the Macartney delegation visit China? What is the reason behind it? What is the real purpose of visiting China? Through detailed archival research, "Mr. Smith Goes to China" sorted out the internal operations of the British Empire and the formation of the global trade network in the 18th century based on the experience and whereabouts of three scattered merchants named George Smith in China. These scattered merchants filled the financial gap in East India Company with their own business activities and maintained close ties with the London government. Through political ties, the trade demand of these scattered traders in Asia translates into the British political agenda. This also promoted the Macartney mission's visit to China. The following is excerpted from the introduction of "Mr. Smith to China" authorized by the publisher.
"Mr. Smith to China", written by Han Jiexi [US], translated by Shi Kejian, Gravity|Broadcasting People's Publishing House , November 2021 edition.
Three George Smith's story,
A history of the expansion of the British Empire in Asia
18th century, three Scottish Scottish people sailed from the UK to East India in search of wealth. Since they all had the most common name in Britain at that time, people at that time distinguished it by the port city where they worked and lived. "Mr. Smith Goes to China" tells the life of George Smith of Madras, George Smith of Guangzhou and George Smith of Mumbai . Although they may sound like nothing more than a collective metaphor for the British Empire in Asia, they are real; historians have long heard of them. These three George Smiths appear in footnotes of many historical works, but we know almost nothing about them. Many historians (indeed) confuse them so hard that it is difficult to clarify their story.
What are the benefits of knowing these little-known Scots and their secret lives? First, their story is fascinating. Second, they show us a unique passage into the world of global trade and expansion of the British Empire in the second half of the 18th century. By tracing the global footprint of George Smiths, we can see how the British business empire operated and strengthened simultaneously in different regions. The Smiths' stories also gave people a new understanding of the first British delegation to China in the early 1790s, because the mission's dispatch and several main goals seemed to have originated from several George Smiths. Finally, perhaps somewhat paradoxically, the continued focus on these three Scottish businessmen reminds us that the rise of the empire is not just a matter of a few brave British people. The Smiths’ stories show us a wider range of actors, including Chinese and Indian business elites, women, children, and local British communities, who are both participants in the empire and share their achievements.
At the official level, China and Britain did not have any contact until the last decade of the 18th century. At that time, the British government sent the first officially approved mission to the court in Beijing, the Macartney Mission. For British businessmen, what they really come into contact with is not the northern part of China, but Guangzhou in southern China, which is the provincial capital of Guangdong, which is the "Canton" known to European and American businessmen. Before the British government decided to send a mission to China, British merchants had traded in Guangzhou for a century and made great profits.
1600, the East India Company was authorized by the King of England to monopolize trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and extended trade to the southeastern coast of China in the early 17th century.
At the same time that the British East India Company entered China, there was political turmoil in both the British Isles and China. In 1644, just two years after the outbreak of the British Civil War, the Ming Dynasty was overthrown, and the well-known Qing Dynasty was established. Changing dynasties is always violent, long and chaotic. Until the 1680s, under the leadership of the Zheng family, the Ming survivors resisted the Qing Dynasty with Fujian and Taiwan on the southeast coast as their bases.The Qing government did not open trade ports to foreign merchants until the political situation stabilized. The Zheng regime in Taiwan hoped to strengthen its military strength by "importing British weapons and ammunition" and allowed the East India Company to set up a business in Taiwan in 1670, and a few years later, it set up a factory in , Xiamen .
1683, the Qing Dynasty finally pacified the Zheng regime in Taiwan. Although the East India Company lost its trade privilege in Taiwan, it obtained what it dreamed of: a trading license at a mainland Chinese port. Guangzhou soon became the preferred port for East India Company ships to dock. In Guangzhou, East India employees face a stable and well-managed bureaucracy that is committed to supporting and regulating international trade . Although China's corrupt officials, bribery and high tariffs may still make people complain, the "Guangzhou system" promotes cross-cultural trade. Until 's First Opium War (1840-1842), this orderly and efficient system continued to operate for 150 years. Businessmen from all over the world—Europeans, Armenians, Hands, Parsis, and Americans—flock to the world and make money in Guangzhou, all confirming the success of the system.
East India Company is not the only important organization in the UK in Guangzhou. In the late 17th century, casual merchants came to the southern coast of China. These "free merchants" (free merchants), "country traders" and "illegal self-dealers" (single merchants who infringe on monopolistic trade, called them by those at that time) are not employees of East India Company, but they live and work in the shadow of East India Company. For example, John Scattergood, a single businessman, formed a close business relationship with Chinese businessmen in Guangzhou in the early 18th century, including Linqua, Anqua, Buqua Goldsmith, and the witty "Pinkee Winkee". Lianguan and Yanguan are partners from Fujian. As the largest supplier of goods for the East India Company, their trading network expanded to Dutch Batavia , which is today's Jakarta . In 1715, they presented Scartgood with two cans of black tea and two sections of taffeta to thank him for providing transportation for "Chinese people heading to Madras and resting on your ship."
Guang Qiaochang (Lamqua, a famous Chinese painter active from 1825 to 1860, also known as "Lange", "Linguan " or "Lingua") "View of the Hongs at Canton". Oil painting on canvas, size 57.15 cm x 81.28 cm x 5.08 cm. It was purchased by the Peabody Essex Museum in the United States in 1931 and is a special collection of Augustine HeardCo. The collection number is M3793. Used by Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, USA, and photographed by Mark Sexton and Jeffrey R. Dykes. Photo provided by the publisher.
Around the mid-18th century, a large number of dispersed merchants flocked to China. According to Holden Furber, they set off a " business revolution " in the Indian Ocean. Trade between India and China expanded in the 1760s, possibly caused by the British conquest of India in the mid-18th century. Private cargoers in the UK have used the "newly established regime and expanded resource base" to create a new Asian trade network.
Three George Smiths do business in this ever-changing world of private and cross-cultural trade. However, "Mr. Smith Goes to China" was not a study of George Smiths or scattered merchants at the beginning. It first explored the political and economic relationship between Britain and China before the First Opium War. This study naturally started with the East India Company archives of British Library , which was the first time George Smith appeared in the documentary records. He has appeared in Mumbai, Guangzhou, later colonies called Cape Town, Penang, Surrey , London, Scotland, Madras, Bangladesh and Macau.
George Smith seems to be a non-stop world traveler.Who is this vibrant and lucky businessman? He seems to be everywhere, but his private accounts are unrecognizable. His wills, letters, accounts, and diary all disappeared, but his research cannot be ignored. As time goes by, scholars in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden , Denmark and other countries, and in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, conducted in-depth research on related archives such as the United Kingdom, China, and Europe. Three George Smith with different images gradually emerged. In the second half of the 18th century, they all traded between India and China.
Smith of Mumbai even appeared in Chinese archives; he was called "Da Banshimi". Historical documents reveal how these inconspicuous Smiths were involved in a series of major events, including two financial crises in Asia, an armed conflict with the Qing government, a military coup in Madras, a hostage crisis in Guangzhou, two warships dispatch to China, the formal investigation of Indian affairs by the East India Company and the British Parliament and the planning of the British mission's first visit to China. "Mr. Smith's Visit to China" is built on Smiths' experiences, thoughts and actions.
's attention to George Smith of Madras, Guangzhou and Mumbai and their peers have allowed the appearance of people to be presented in some already complex and abstract macro processes, such as globalization and the expansion of the British Empire in Asia. The micro-historical approach of Mr. Smith to China not only "enriches our models and theories with real people" and thus brings "abstract processes, history and geography" to life, but also allows us to test the primary (usually idealized) premises with "dynamic, concrete examples of human behavior in the past." The focus on George Smiths allows us to “exploring things that were otherwise untouchable” and reminds us that “the empire is built on people’s blood, sweat, tears and desires.”
Writing history from the perspective of Smiths helps us tell a new story about a British Empire's expansion in Asia. Through Smiths, we can imagine that the British Empire of the 18th century was not just a commercial, cultural or political entity defined by consumerism, trade and military power projected around the world, but also a financial entity constructed and consolidated by countless financial transactions, credit relations, and interactions between Europeans and local elites on the geography of the empire. When things go wrong, individuals have new plans and take action at home and abroad, putting pressure on the sovereign governments, sometimes (but not always) convince the government to support their initiatives and intervene more actively in the wider world. Although historians have long recognized the important link between finance and imperialism, they tend to focus on the "gentlemanly capitalists", bankers, financiers and investors based in England (particularly London), who, in their view, influenced imperial policies and promoted imperial expansion through capital investment throughout the empire. Turning the geographical focus of attention to port cities in the Asian waters, new economic players and economic systems will emerge.
mutually beneficial financial transactions, how did
become "colonial debt"?
We find that by lending British private capital (i.e. silver) to Indian rulers and Chinese merchants, scattered merchants and their principals have established huge financial markets in India and China. This financial system was built on the issuance of high-risk, high-interest loans to Asian borrowers, and it eventually triggered a major financial crisis in Guangzhou and Madras. This seemingly financial cooperation partnership actually has weaknesses hidden behind it, which may have destructive consequences for participants. Mutually beneficial financial transactions and credit relations may quickly evolve into something different, with an imperialist nature; cross-cultural credit can quickly become colonial debt.
In the port cities of Madras and Guangzhou, George Smiths showed us how the planning of British private capital and capitalists' utilization of debt leverage tilt the balance of power in a direction that favors Britain at the level of microeconomic . The process of European countries rising into world powers has long attracted the attention of scholars. Some scholars use Europe's advantages in naval, military, technology, finance and corporate systems, and even culture to explain the "rise of the West in the East". In doing so, they have dived into the past to find the deep roots of European geopolitical success. However, over the past few decades, many scholars have chosen to "re-Orient" and instead emphasize the striking similarities between empires and societies in Europe and Asia until the 19th century.
They argue that "most historical presets with written records... are Asia is the most important." According to the latest imperial study, Europe's power is "weak" and "founded on close interactions with Asians and Africans"; Europeans strive to "find a place in the Asia-dominated political order." 14 But Europeans tried and even succeeded in changing the conditions for economic and political engagement with Asian elites. Observing these subtle power changes and understanding how the empire expanded requires analyzing the new cross-cultural collisions on the geographical edge of the empire. By putting the 18th-century British traders at the center of the story, we can find from a unique perspective the critical moments and historical processes that allowed Europeans to defend their rights more effectively in Asia and ultimately tilt the balance of power in the direction that favors them.
Macartney mission visited China.
The economic and political influence of British merchants far exceeds that of port cities in Asian waters, and even goes deep into the British political power center in London. Henry Dundas and Edmund Burke were two of the most important politicians in the UK at that time. They received a large number of letters and policy suggestions from regular merchants, including George Smith of Madras and George Smith of Guangzhou. The extensive correspondence between Smiths gave us a new understanding of the first British mission to China.
Although it is generally believed that the British government decided to send missions to China to ensure lucrative tea trade and open up new markets for UK exports, we still don’t know why the British government suddenly turned its attention to China. Why did Henry Dundas, the right-hand man of William Pitt, the government committee that regulates East India Company's affairs, decide to establish formal diplomatic relations with China despite the wishes of East India Company? The merchants were the core of the story of the first British delegation to China; they were their most active supporters, and the idea of sending an delegation may have originated from them. In Henry Dundas, who is also a Scottish man, they see a compassionate and energetic partner whose vision for the free trade empire is in line with their pursuit of private profits and greater opportunities in Asia. Dundas and the merchants jointly planned to build the first British delegation to China.
Scottish economic thought played an important role in the UK's trade with China at that time
George Smiths also revealed the important role of Scots and Scottish economic thought in the UK's trade with China. In the British Empire, including India, the Scots were undoubtedly everywhere. According to historian Tom Devine, "The Scots account for a high proportion of statistical records in all occupational fields of the empire, and in some cases, such as those with high-ranking military ranks in India," said the author. In 1776, a British businessman working in India discovered that "the foreigners gathered here in the world were either Scots or Irish people."
Three George Smith from Scotland proved that the Scots play a major role not only in Europe, the United States, India and Australia as has been proven by a lot of research, but also in China.Although Scots account for a particularly high proportion of businessmen in China, most research on Scots in Asia focuses on India, "there are topics such as patronage, connections and Scottish Orientalism, which have always been hot topics of attention."
Our limited understanding of Scots in China comes from the rich biographies and related research of several of the most famous opium smugglers and plant hunters of the 19th century, including William Jardine, James Matheson and Robert Fortune. Historians have a strong interest in the decades before the First Opium War in the 19th century (the first military conflict between China and Britain), but therefore ignore the Scots' intervention in China in the 18th century. Even though the Scots in China attracted the attention of historians, they were mistaken for "independent British people" or "a group of jealous British people living in China". But "independent Scots" or "a group of jealous Scots living in China" may be more accurate. Scottish traders have played a key role in developing emerging financial markets connecting India and China. Through their relationship with Henry Dundas, they also influenced the imperial policies formulated in London. A careful examination of three George Smith and his peers confirmed that Scotland had a "significant, arguably, extremely important" impact on the development of the British Empire in Asia in the 18th century.
1858 "Observing Huangpu from Guangzhou" portrait in London News Pictorial.
's research on George Smiths also puts the process of globalization and its impact and connections on various players in the UK, India and China in a clearer view. Smiths made the connection between regions inside and outside the British Empire clear and visible. Through Smith, we see how the growing demand for ancient Chinese goods—tea—creates business opportunities and financial challenges for East India companies and Chinese businessmen in Guangzhou. Guangzhou's liquidity problem is largely solved by private capital from Bangladesh, Mumbai and Madras.
In the mid-18th century, the British East India Company's military conquest of these places created a large amount of wealth for many East India Company employees. It provides a global perspective for the micro-history study of these three Scottish merchants, which transcends the narrow geographical boundaries of the British Empire by placing the intertwined history of Britain, India and China under the same lens.
George Smiths are the guides for us to understand the global history of the British Empire in the 18th century, but Mr. Smith to China is not just about these three Scots. It also tells the story of their Asian trading partners—nawab and Hong merchatns in Argod, southeastern India—with whom the Smiths have established long-term and close financial relations. It’s also a story about Smiths’ families and communities. Like many Scots of the time, three George Smiths left their homes early. They met their wives and lovers in India. Their children were born and raised in the Cape Colony of Madras, Mumbai, Macau and the Cape Colony (the Cape of Good Hope) in South Africa; their sons and grandchildren obtained civil and military positions in the East India Company; their daughters and granddaughters married employees and British soldiers of the East India Company; their sisters, widows and unmarried daughters inherited a large amount of Eastern wealth, which allowed them to live without worries in the UK as independent bondholders and investors. In fact, it is probably the one who ultimately benefits the most from family wealth originating from Asia that Smiths and their daughters. Financially independent single women and wives who own trust fund can enjoy wealth and prosperity, and their investments they rely on for their lives can be "free from any interference, control, debt and agreements from their husbands." The extensive and lasting connection between the Smiths' family and the empire reveals "how the British imperial power became part of the lives of British people, including generations of women and children."
East India’s wealth touches the lives of the entire British community.In the early 19th century, in Fordyce, Scotland, many boys named Smith (seemly many) received bursary grants, learning modern business languages, mathematics and accounting under the guidance of a "experienced" teacher. Residents of any surname of Fordese can receive treatment in a new hospital. They also enjoy the care of the parish pastors. Funding for these important social services comes directly from George Smith of Mumbai. He donated his private Indian wealth to serve the mind, body and soul of his relatives and neighbors, and in the process he brought the "Empire" home.
If it weren't for the addictive Chinese tea, Mr. Smith wouldn't have gone to China. For various reasons, British subjects began to consume tea in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a cultural custom that was quite fresh for Britain brought together China, India and Britain.
As East India Company and Chinese traders—that is, those specializing in foreign trade —it is becoming increasingly difficult to fund the growing tea trade, British traders stepped in to fill the financial gap. George Smiths show us exactly how this is achieved, with British private capital raising in India and then lending to Chinese merchants at high interest rates. This lending behavior led to a serious financial crisis in 1779, which in turn stimulated merchants to use the power of the UK to actively intervene in Guangzhou. Around the same time, something similar happened in Madras. This is no coincidence. The financial crises in Guangzhou and Madras both revealed an empire model implemented by Britain’s trade bases in India and China. The entanglement of private finance gradually weakened the local elite and expanded Britain's power in Asia.
Shortly after the financial crisis broke out in Guangzhou, the third George Smith in our story, George Smith of Mumbai, was involved in another serious conflict with the Chinese government. The gunners on the merchant ship Lady Hughes of Smith in Mumbai killed two Chinese on a nearby ship when the gunners fired a salute, and trade stopped and war was about to break out.
These disturbing progress in Guangzhou often come to mind Henry Dundas, who is thinking about the future of Britain's lucrative trade with China and its position in the thriving British Empire in the 18th century. At the suggestion of George Smith of Madras, George Smith of Guangzhou and other casual traders, he decided to send his first British mission to China.
Original author | [US] Han Jiexi
excerpt | Xu Yuedong
edit | Qingqingzi
proofreading | Liu Baoqing
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