The Dutch East India Company's Tea Trade With China, 1757-1781 (TANAP Monographs on the History of The Asian-European Interaction, 6)

This book is a case study of the Dutch East India Company's tea trade with China, dealing with the phase of 1757-1781, the longest and most important and profitable phase of the Dutch Company's China trade. It focuses on the question why and how the tea trade was taken out of the hands of the High Government in Batavia and put under the supervision of the newly established China Committee in 1757. Various factors which contributed to the phenomenal rise of this trade and its sudden decline are dealt with in detail. This study fills in some of the lacunae left open by previous research and is a contribution to a more comprehensive understanding of the VOC trade with Asia. CONTENTS......Page 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 14 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 16 NOTES ON SPELLING......Page 17 GLOSSARY......Page 18 EXPLANATION OF THE UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS......Page 23 INTRODUCTION......Page 24 Outline of the VOC tea trade with China......Page 25 Previous research......Page 28 Subject and framework......Page 33 Source materials......Page 34 Preparations for the improved management of the China trade......Page 40 Establishment of the China Committee......Page 46 Instructions of the China Committee......Page 49 1. To the Company servants on the China ships and in China......Page 51 2. To the High Government in Batavia......Page 57 Trade goods and funds sent from the Dutch Republic......Page 59 The China Committee’s demands for the “VOC teas”......Page 61 Conclusion......Page 62 Introduction......Page 66 1. Supply of trade goods......Page 67 2. Supplementing trade funds......Page 72 3. Complement of equipment and personnel......Page 73 4. Assistance with instructions......Page 74 1. Commodities for use in Batavia......Page 78 2. Gold for the intra-Asian trade......Page 82 Conclusion......Page 86 Introduction......Page 88 The “VOC teas”......Page 91 The “VOC tea”-supplying agents......Page 97 The “VOC tea” procurements......Page 102 Conclusion......Page 112 Introduction......Page 114 Protests against the establishment of the Co-hong......Page 115 Purchase of the Herstelder......Page 124 Recapture of the Goede Hoop......Page 134 Conclusion......Page 140 Company auctions of the “VOC teas”......Page 142 Domestic distribution of the “VOC teas”......Page 154 Re-export of the “VOC teas”......Page 164 Conclusion......Page 165 The “Golden Age” of the tea trade......Page 168 Conclusion of the “Golden Age”......Page 172 NOTES......Page 176 APPENDIX 1 PRECIOUS METALS BROUGHT BY THE VOC CHINA SHIPS INTO CANTON, 1758-1794......Page 200 APPENDIX 2 ASSESSMENTS OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED BY THE VOC INTO CANTON, 1758-1793......Page 201 APPENDIX 3 TEA-SUPPLYING AGENTS OF THE VOC IN CANTON, 1762-1780......Page 227 APPENDIX 4 TEAS EXPORTED FROM CANTON TO THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1742-1794......Page 235 APPENDIX 5 TEAS SENT FROM BATAVIA TO THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1730-1787......Page 246 APPENDIX 6 TEAS AUCTIONED BY THE VOC IN THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1729-1790......Page 250 APPENDIX 7 PRICES OF TEAS AT THE COMPANY AUCTIONS BY THE VOC CHAMBERS, 1777-1780......Page 256 APPENDIX 8 AUCTIONS OF TEAS HELD BY THE ZEELAND CHAMBER, 1758-1776......Page 260 APPENDIX 9 SELLING PRICES OF BOHEA AND SOUCHONG ON THE AMSTERDAM COMMODITY EXCHANGE, 1732-1795......Page 282 APPENDIX 10 SELLING PRICES OF TEAS BY SEVERAL TEA-DEALERS IN AMSTERDAM, 1776-1795......Page 283 APPENDIX 11 AVERAGE WAGES: WESTERN AND EASTERN NETHERLANDS, 1725-1790......Page 285 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 286 INDEX......Page 294 Figure 1 Organizational structure of the VOC China Trade, 1757-1794......Page 50 Figure 2. Volumes of teas bought in Canton and Batavia and sold in the Dutch Republic by the VOC, 1729-1790......Page 149 Figure 3. Purchases (in Canton and Batavia) and sales (in the Dutch Republic) of the “VOC teas”, 1729-1790......Page 150 Illustration 1 View of the Island of Onrust, near Batavia, from at sea in 1779......Page 75 Illustration 2 Tea garden, tea plant, tea leaves, and tea products......Page 89 Illustration 3 The packing of the “VOC teas” in Canton......Page 109 Illustration 4 Wooden-framed transom of a tea shop, with the inscription “The Green Tea Tree”......Page 157 Illustration 5 Advertisement for the shop “The Old Town Hall”......Page 159 Illustration 6 The first shopkeepers of “The Cloverleaf ”......Page 160 Illustration 7 The shop “The Cloverleaf ”......Page 161 Illustration 8 Announcement of the tax on coffee, tea, chocolate et al., 1734......Page 163 Map 1 Sailing routes of the China ships between the Dutch Republic and China, 1729-1794......Page 27 Map 2 Tin and pepper supplying areas of the VOC China trade......Page 69 Map 3 The “VOC tea”-producing areas and the routes of transporting teas to Canton......Page 93 Map 4 The Pearl River Delta......Page 125 Table 2 Percentage of green teas purchased by the VOC in Canton, 1760-1780......Page 96 Table 3 Comparison between the asking, bid, and fixed prices (taels/picul) of several teas by the Dutch supercargoes and their trading partners, 1779......Page 103 Table 4 Number of the tea-buyers at the auctions in Middelburg by the Zeeland Chamber, 1758-1766 and 1772-1776......Page 145 Table 5 The VOC purchase (in Canton) and sales (in the Dutch Republic) prices of Twankay, 1756-1781......Page 146 Table 6 Comparison of volumes between tea sent from Canton and sold at auction in the Dutch Republic, 1756-1790......Page 151 Table 7 Gross profits margins on selling the “VOC teas” by the Company, 1756-1790......Page 153 Table 8 Comparison of prices of teas (stivers/pound) between the tea-dealers Jan Jacob Voute & Sons and the VOC in Amsterdam, 1777-1781......Page 155 Table 9 Prices of teas sold by Jan Jacob Voute & Sons in 1777, 1788, and 1795 (stivers/pound)......Page 156 Ch. 1. China Committee And Its Management Of The Direct China Trade -- Ch. 2. Batavia's Role In The Direct China Trade -- Ch. 3. Purchase Of The Voc Teas In Canton -- Ch. 4. Dutch-chinese-european Triangle In China -- Ch. 5. Sale Of The Voc Teas -- Ch. 6. Golden Age Of The Tea Trade And Its Conclusion -- App. 1. Precious Metals Brought By The Voc China Ships Into Canton, 1758-1774 -- App. 2. Assessments Of The Merchandise Imported By The Voc Into Canton, 1758-1793 -- App. 3. Tea-supplying Agents Of The Voc In Canton, 1762-1780 -- App. 4. Teas Exported From Canton To The Dutch Republic, 1742-1794 -- App. 5. Teas Sent From Batavia To The Dutch Republic, 1730-1787 -- App. 6. Teas Auctioned By The Voc In The Dutch Republic, 1729-1790 -- App. 7. Prices Of Teas At The Company Auctions By The Voc Chambers, 1777-1780 -- App. 8. Auctions Of Teas Held By The Zeeland Chamber, 1758-1776 -- App. 9. Selling Prices Of Bohea And Souchong On The Amsterdam Commodity Exchange, 1732-1795 -- App. 10. Selling Prices Of Teas By Several Tea-dealers In Amsterdam, 1776-1795 -- App. 11. Average Wages : Western And Eastern Netherlands, 1725-1790. By Yong Liu. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 263-270) And Index. Drawing on archival research in the Netherlands and Britain, Liu finds that of all the Chinese goods traded by the Company, tea was by far the most important, and eventually became the cornerstone of its China trade. He focuses on the quarter century of the most robust trade to explore such aspects as the Company's China Committee and its management of the direct China trade, the purchase of teas in Canton, the Dutch-Chinese-European triangle in China, the sale of the teas in Europe, and the golden age of the tea trade and its conclusion. The study may be his 2006 doctoral dissertation in history at Leiden University. Annotation 2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) This case study of the tea trade of the Dutch East India Company with China deals with the most profitable phase of the Dutch Company's China trade, focusing on the question why and how the tea trade was taken out of the hands of the High Government in Batavia and put under the supervision of the newly established China Committee in 1757. Various factors which contributed to the phenomenal rise of this trade and its sudden decline are dealt with in detail.Filling in lacunae left open by previous research and this monograph contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the VOC trade with Asia. This case study of the tea trade of the Dutch East India Company with China deals with the most profitable phase of the Dutch Company's China trade, focusing on the question why and how the tea trade was taken out of the hands of the High Government in Batavia and put under the supervision of the newly established China Committee in 1757. Various factors which contributed to the phenomenal rise of this trade and its sudden decline are dealt with in detail. Filling in lacunae left open by previous research and this monograph contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the VOC trade with Asia "This case study of the tea trade of the Dutch East India Company with China deals with its most profitable phase, when a direct shipping link was established between Canton and the Dutch Republic in the second half of the eighteenth century. It focuses on the questions why and how the tea trade was taken out of the hands of the High Government in Batavia in 1757 and put under the supervision of the newly established China Committee in Amsterdam, and explains in detail what factors contributed to the phenomenal rise of this trade and its sudden decline in the 1780s."--BOOK JACKET Presents a case study of the Dutch East India Company's tea trade with China, dealing with the phase of 1757-1781. This work focuses on the question why and how the tea trade was taken out of the hands of the High Government in Batavia and put under the supervision of the newly established China Committee in 1757