Page 423 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

409.

centered at Canton and operated more or less under the old

auspices.

After the Treaty of Nanking in August 1842, foreign

merchants anticipated two major changes in the commercial system.

The Treaty opened four more ports to foreign shipping and re­

placed all port charges with a tariff. But the new commercial

regulations did not become effective until the conclusion of the

Supplementary Treaty (Treaty of the Bogue) in the autumn of 1843.

During this interval English merchants began to trade at the new

ports of Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai. But Americans con­

tinued to trade almost solely at Canton. Except for Amoy, Chin­

ese at the other ports did not welcome foreign intruders, and

.Americans could not force their way with warships. Kearny sought

to procure the legal right for Americans to trade at the new

ports because of their lack of military power. More importantly,
American commercial houses, which operated successfully at Can­

ton, were not large enough to expand immediately by establishing

branches elsewhere. Although they had reaped huge profits during

the Opium War, the hostilities had interrupted normal business

routines. With the conclusion of peace American merchants had to

rearrange their affairs. Although they were intrigued with the

new system, they confined their enterprises to established Chinese

merchants at Canton.

In the commercial cities of New York, Boston, and Phila­

delphia, news of more Chinese ports open to trade excited the Amer­

ican mercantile community. Merchants with visions of abundant

profits awaiting their cargoes of cotton, textiles and sundries