Page 185 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

171.
tradition, Batavia lay "in a low and obscure situation, inter-

sected with canals, .and shaded with tamarind, and other

beautiful trees." Its population was a mixture of Dutch,
34
Chinese and Javanese. The primary exports were coffee and

sugar. An independent trade based on these exports had devel­

oped between Java and the United States. American merchants

at Canton, however, were interested in other East Indian pro­

ducts.

In 1820 John P. Cushing suggested to his partners that

11it generally would be advantageous to have direct ships which

were bound here Lcanton7 touch at Batavia & invest part of

their funds in tin which could be had . . Lcheaply7." He
.
also included the articles of rattans and birds' nests, all

. 35
of which were profitable imports at Canton. For centuries
the Chinese had carried on a trade with the East Indies, where

they procured drugs, spices and foodstuffs. Especially during

the Ming Dynasty, Chinese adventurers sailed their junks all
through the Indian Ocean in search of trade. From this foreign

trade, settlements of Chinese had sprung up in East Indian ports.

In the seventeenth century the Ch'ing Emperors closed off this

outside travel. Although Chinese traders still ventured to

3,:1 -
"Lsilas Holbroot/, Sketches, bv.a Traveller (Boston,
1830), p. 37. Holbrook described the Chinese at Batavia as
"brisk, cheerful, and industrious" in opposition to the Javan­
ese, whom he characterized as "torpid, indolent, and sullen."

35
Letter, Perkins & Co. to J. & T.H. Perkins, Mar. 11,
1820, Perkins & Co. MSS. Cushing also sought to develop trade
with other ports in the Dutch East Indies and establish a
regular run between Canton and Batavia. Letter, Perkins & Co.
to F.W. Paine, Apr. 20, 1820, Perkins & Co. MSS.