The First British Trade Expedition to China

Captain Weddell and the Courteen Fleet in Asia and Late Ming Canton

Nicholas D. Jackson

• Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
• Year: 2022
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9789888805235
• Subtopic: Asian History
• Index: History

In The First British Trade Expedition to China, Nicholas D. Jackson explores the pioneering British trade expedition to China launched in the late Ming period by Charles I and the Courteen Association. While utilizing the vivid and unique perspective of its commander, Captain John Weddell, this study concentrates on the fleet's adventures in south China between Portuguese Macao and the provincial capital, Guangzhou (Canton). Tracing the obscure origins of Sino-British diplomatic and commercial relations back to the late Ming era, Jackson examines the first episodes of Sino-British interaction, exchange, and collision in the seventeenth century. His definitive narrative and original analysis constitute a groundbreaking study of early modern British initiatives and enterprise in the coastal areas of south China. The book begins by sketching the Tudor-Stuart historical background of British trade expansion in Asia before precisely reconstructing the voyages of East India Company and then Courteen ships to Guangdong province. The core of the narrative illuminates the communications, intrigues, and confrontations between Ming officials and the British commanders and merchants. The monograph concludes with an analysis outlining the major lessons learned by all the personalities and parties involved in those unprecedented encounters and clashes. Among other theses, Jackson argues that this expedition demonstrates that as early as the seventeenth century, a significant difference in naval-military strength and sophistication obtained between Great Britain and China.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Synposis
• Author Biography
• Endorsements
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Prologue
• 1. The British in Seventeenth-Century Luso-Dutch Asia
• 2. Enter the Interlopers
• 3. From the Downs to Goa to Melaka, April 1636–June 1637
• 4. Welcome to China with Portuguese Characteristics
• 5. The Dragon Enters the Tiger
• 6. Captives at Canton
• 7. Negotiation and Liberation
• 8. Lessons Learned: The “Anglology” of the Ming?
• 9. Lessons Learned: The Sinology of the Courteens?
• Epilogue
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index