Page 34 - Export Porcelain and Globakization- GOOD READ

have reached Europe. In summary, more than 180 million pieces have been exported
from China to Europe – and about 90% of the ware left China from Canton through
the Pearl River towards the South China Sea.
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G. Godden lists the purchase prices the supercargo of the English East Indiaman
Prince George paid in 1755 to a Chinese merchant in Canton: £112 for 10,236 blue
and white plates. The price for a single plate (0.11 fl. - Dutch guilder) is the same
C.J.A. Jörg has given for the purchases of the Dutch VOC for the period from 1729 to
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1765 , if we use the standard conversion rate of 1£= 3 tael = 10.5 fl. Since porcelain
has been paid in silver currency (and measured in the Chinese silver unit tael) the
prices were relatively stable for a long period of time. If we want to calculate the costs
of all imports of the various European trading companies we have to look at the prices
of the individual piece and estimate an average price per piece. In the following list,
the purchase price of other items in Dutch guilder (or cents) and in the silver
equivalent are listed:

As calculated above, the average porcelain cargo per ship amounted to 200,000
items. The estimated cost of 500,000 pieces is about £5,000 or 52,500 fl. or 20,000
Spanish silver dollars. The whole porcelain export from China to Europe from 1550 –
1800 cost approximately 7.4 million Spanish silver dollars or £1.85 million or 189 ton
of pure silver. Less than two million does not sound much, but in inflated prices of
2018 this amounts to £267 million and the income value (reflecting the purchasing
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power) in 2018 would be approximately £4.2 billion . This is not surprising, if we
take into consideration that in 2018 one would pay much more than 1.7 grams of
silver for a blue and white teapot.
Pic. 16: Am East Indiaman returning home (circa 1712 – 1777)

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