America's First Adventure in China
eBook - PDF

America's First Adventure in China

Trade, Treaties, Opium, and Salvation

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

America's First Adventure in China

Trade, Treaties, Opium, and Salvation

About this book

In 1784, when Americans first voyaged to China, they confronted Chinese authorities who were unaware that the United States even existed. Nevertheless, a long, complicated, and fruitful trade relationship was born after American traders, missionaries, diplomats, and others sailed to China with lofty ambitions: to acquire fabulous wealth, convert China to Christianity, and even command a Chinese army.

In America's First Adventure in China, John Haddad provides a colorful history of the evolving cultural exchange and interactions between these countries. He recounts how American expatriates adopted a pragmatic attitude-as well as an entrepreneurial spirit and improvisational approach-to their dealings with the Chinese. Haddad shows how opium played a potent role in the dreams of Americans who either smuggled it or opposed its importation, and he considers the missionary movement that compelled individuals to accept a hard life in an alien culture.

As a result of their efforts, Americans achieved a favorable outcome—they established a unique presence in China—and cultivated a relationship whose complexities continue to grow.

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Yes, you can access America's First Adventure in China by John R Haddad in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Business History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. A Note on the Spelling of Chinese Words
  4. Introduction
  5. 1. First Contact: The Voyage of the 'Empress of China'
  6. 2. System Men: The Rise of Perkins and Company
  7. 3. All for a Cup of Tea: Finding Goods for the Canton Market
  8. 4. Beachhead of God: The First Wave of Missionaries
  9. 5. Rising on Smoke: Opium and Identity in Canton
  10. 6. Formal Ties: The Caleb Cushing Mission
  11. 7. Centrifugal Force: The Spread of People, Goods, Capital, and Ideas
  12. 8. Heavenly War: Americans and the Taiping Rebellion
  13. 9. Cooperation: Burlingame and the Reinvention of Sino-Western Relations
  14. Conclusion
  15. Notes
  16. Bibliography
  17. Index