Page 141 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

127.

surplus. Consequently, Company merchants were very regular

and systematic in their orders to the Chinese. Their ships

were usually loaded and despatched by the end of December.

While the Company monopolized the black tea market, Americans

were loading and despatching their cargoes of green teas to

the United States. Beginning in January, the Americans took

over the black tea market as well, loading cargoes for Northern

Europe.

"Opening" of the tea season at Canton was the major

event of the year for the resident merchants, especially for the
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Americans. Most of their vessels arrived from August through

late autumn. Unltke the East India Company, which knew long in

advance the quantities of teas it would ship, the American

commission houses never knew how many consignments to expect

each year. As the majority of merchants sending vessels to

Canton let their consignee make the specific decisions in ful­

filling their order, the houses had an enormous work-load for

the next few months. They not only had to choose good cargo of

the type desired but try to obtain it at the best price. In the

tea market the latter was very tricky, as prices varied according

to quality and supply. Tea crops were very dependent on the

weather, and supply varied from year to year. The residents

never knew until the last moment what actual market conditions

would be. Deciding when to buy teas, since the price fluctuated

as buyers moved in and out of the market, as well as timing the

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Hunter, 'Fan Kwae 1 at Canton, pp. 94-95.