Canton (Guangzhou) Trading Sys

At the time of the first opium war, the British had to deal with large tariffs, bribes, and taxes, being restricted to a single port with many living restrictions, and an alien system of law. For a majority of the time preceding 1760 all ports were technically open to British trade, however they faced the same restrictions as Guangzhou . Starting in 1757 the Chinese government imposed large duties at Ningpo and other northern ports making them heavier than Guangzhou in order to restrict trade. In 1759 James Flint, a British merchant, defied custom by writing a memorial directly to Emperor Ch’ien-lung defying custom. In response the emperor restricted all British Trade hence forth to Guangzhou.

At Guangzhou the British had a series of difficulties. Guangzhou was an old port full of corruption. The East India Company’s first ship to the port in 1689 had to pay a “gratuity” of 300 taels to the local customs officer. An incoming British ship had to pay measurement fees, the tariff on goods, and gratuities. After 1727 the measurement fees and gratuities were fixed and the tariffs remained reasonably low between 2 and 4 percent, though customs officials frequently charged

In summary China refused to change the Guangzhou trading system because it believed no other nation including Britain was superior to it and that all these nations had to be submissive to China. After sending three missions to China to try and convince them otherwise Britain was really only left with three options; abandoning the China trade, submitting to the Chinese treatment, or by changing the situation by military means.

What efforts did the British government make to alter the Guangzhou trading system?

The first mission was dispatched to China in 1793 head by Lord Macartney. Lord Macartney was a gifted diplomat and at the time he was the best qualified and the most eligible man in England for the China Mission. The mission was sent under the pretext of presenting felicitations from the English king to the Emperor Ch’ien-lung on his eighty third birthday. It set out from London with many presents including a planetarium, globes, mathematical instruments, a chronometer, a telescope, and many other things. All in all these presents cost £15,610.

In 1834 the English East India Company, the group of merchants that had a monopoly in China as well as elsewhere, was disbanded and free trade became the new phenomenon in British trade. This was a major change as it meant that the British government had replaced the EIC (East India Company) in dealings with China, and official relations were now substituted with private relations.

Lord Macartney was advised to participate in all of the ceremonies of the Chinese court that did not jeopardise the honour of the English king or himself. In China at the time it was standard to perform a kowtow before the emperor to demonstrate submission. Macartney would not do this so in the end a modified ritual where Lord Macartney fell on one knee, as he would normally do for the English king, was arranged.

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