Page 131 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

117.
action taken in regard to Terranovia wrote: 11The American

Government requires of us to submit peaceably to the laws of

., 29
Ch. ina-- The Americans as a group retained this fundamental
stance until the end of the "Canton system" in 1844. This

policy was a reflection of the weak position of Americans at

Canton.

Unlike their major competitors, the East India Company

and the English private traders, American residents had no

force or government upon which they could rely. They further­

more did not have guaranteed markets for their trade in silks

and teas. In the early days of the American China trade there

was as much competition among American traders as there was

later between Americans and British. Private American traders

therefore could not afford to antagonize the Chinese. Their

weakness at Canton was not a unique experience to American

merchants. Throughout the world American traders were a min­

ority in comparison to the established mercantile empires of

Europe. Subsequently, to make themselves amenable to the

trading system, laws and customs of their host country was a

realistic policy in the Americans' search for profits. At

Canton, as the major American houses expanded to transact the

majority of the American trade, this position of meek submission

changed somewhat. In a situation of more strength they tended

to be more independent, although they continued to abide by
Imperial law.

2
�'Letter to the Editor," Canton Register, III, 20
(Oct. 2, 1830).