Page 118 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

104.

a few families dominated the Canton trade. The most promi­

nent example of this phenomenon was the family of Boston's

greatest merchants, James and Thomas Handasyd Perkins. Their
descendants by the names of Cushing, Forbes and Sturgis pro­

vided a continuous line of partners for Perkins & Co. and

Russell & Co. The latter house was never without a partner

from the Forbes or Sturgis families. Other families at Canton

in the China trade included generations of Olyphants-Kings,

Heards, Wetmores and Delanos.

These Americans, moreover, were a very young group,

usually in their twenties, though often younger. John Perkins

Cushing, a paragon of success at Canton, was only sixteen when

he became the chief of his house. His career was extraordinary,

but other Americans achieved success at early ages. The young

men who came to Canton to clerk in the commission houses began

their careers by entering the counting-houses at home in their

early teens. The next step upward, especially for a member

of a family engaged in the China trade, was a seven-year term

at Canton. Youth was an advantage in the Canton trade, which

required enormous physical stamina. Canton's tropical heat

and humidity posed problems for every Westerner. The gruelling

routine of business during the trading season also required

strength. During the busiest months of October through Dec­

ember, partners and pursers (clerks) alike worked fourteen

7
hours a day loading and despatching vessels. Included in this
task was a mountain of paperwork. Every communication, bill

7
see various letters in Russell & Co. MSS, Library of
Congress.