When we gathered in Macao in December 2008 we were constantly surprised by the richness of the historical connections. As soon as there was an independent United States, American traders set out by ship for China, arriving in the Pearl River Delta in 1784. The rapid growth of a Euro-American presence in the Pacific in the early nineteenth century owed much to the lure of trade with China and drew Americans across the vast continent and around Cape Horn to California. Jamaica, Hamburg, Calcutta, Hawaii, Lima . . . There seems to be no end of places that come into...

This chapter seeks to make some connections between the history of a very small place, Macao, and global changes in the decades before Caleb Cushing, an American envoy, arrived in 1844 to negotiate an American treaty with the Great Qing.¹ It is the product of my visits to and interest in Macao since 1973, of research on Portuguese and other relations with the Ming and Qing empires, and of my reading of some very challenging recent work presenting integrative and comparative perspectives on the history of the early modern world.

The signing at the Wangxia Temple in Macao on July...

China trader Stephen Girard (1750—1831) of Philadelphia was one of America’s first millionaires.³ Because of its immense importance to the rise of the modern world, the era we often refer to as the 0.“China trade” (ca. 1700—1842) has received much attention from historians. Holden Furber referred to the era as an “age of partnership” in international trade. John E. Wills, Jr., however, believes that Furber’s concept “does not really convey the flavor of these intricate and exasperating confrontations” and rather describes the Pearl River Delta as a vortex where Asians were active competitors with Europeans and others. In...

American trade with China is generally dated from the arrival of the Baltimore-built Empress of China at Whampoa in 1784, carrying a cargo of Spanish silver dollars and ginseng.¹ An indirect trade in American ginseng with China can be traced back to as early as 1721, but not by domestic bottoms.² The colonial trading connections give the hooks on which to hang the rest of this narrative. The super-ficial conceptual vocabulary bequeathed by post-eighteenth-century nationalism elides the fact that by 1806, the year 1776 was a generation removed. There were still many complex ties between the old hegemon and the...

Smuggling between the lower Pearl River Delta and Canton has a long history. Previous studies have shown that the contraband trade expanded rapidly after it became established at Lintin Island (內伶仃島) in 1820. However, little or nothing has been said about how the smuggling network operated or about the other two contraband networks that were in operation in the delta, from 1820 to 1842. These channels through which much contraband entered and exited China were distinct networks that, for the most part, operated independently from each other. One of the networks was based in Macao, another at Whampoa (Huangpu 黄埔)...

The historic Canton trade has long sat enveloped in a nostalgic fog. On the Chinese side, the identity of but a few famous Hong merchants has been discernable. The rest have been seemingly lost in the haze. The Western side has been seen in clearer outline, at least in the sense that the names of more individuals and enterprises have been recognized. This fog is rapidly lifting. The energetic work of a generation of scholars has thrown new light on Chinese merchants active at Canton and Macao.¹ Our understanding of the many Chinese participants in this important maritime trade has...

It has often been pointed out that American interest in the Pacific Coast of North America rose in parallel with the China trade. Sydney and Marjorie Greenbie (1925), argued that trade with China drew Americans to the area that is now the states of Oregon and Washington.¹ Some historians have been particularly fascinated with the idea of California being a gateway to China. After the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, there was much optimism that this new route would accelerate American access to the Pacific and China. Early California historians such as Robert Glass Cleland (1922),² the Greenbies,...

Henrietta Hall Shuck (1817—1844) is famous for being the first American female missionary in China. Despite her short period of residence in Macao in the early nineteenth century, her multiple experiences in the Portuguese colony are invaluable. Her pronouncements in her journal entries, correspondences and other writings make clear her perceptions of Christian interaction with the Chinese people. Her writings combine strong religious beliefs with an equally powerful commitment to promote gender equality through education. Excerpts from her journal openly address female child slavery, the mui tsai system (little girls sold as household servants and for prostitution), gender-based class...

It has been observed that an individual’s perceptions of another culture are profoundly influenced by the cultural values they bring with them. The greater the differences between the two cultures, the more susceptible the observer is to misinterpretation and/or pejorative assessment. This study explores five American women’s perceptions of China as revealed in their diaries, correspondence, and other writings, and how their perceptions influenced the outcome of their experiences living in China. The five represent a range of eras, backgrounds, and responses to cultural differences.

Twenty-year-old Harriett Low arrived in Macao in 1829, confident in the values instilled by her...

After the Treaty of Wangxia was signed on July 3, 1844, Americans in Macao witnessed fundamental changes in Sino-American relations.² Unlike Portuguese in Macao or British in Hong Kong, the United States had no colony in China, but established consulates in those settlements and other places to look after American interests.³ As far as Macao is concerned, the American consuls operating there before 1849 were officially based in Canton even though they spent much time in Macao.⁴

The position of American consul in Macao was often voluntary and unpaid. Although there was no clear evidence showing consular officers’ incomes in...