The Dutch East India Company's Tea Trade with China, 1757-1781 (Tanap Monographs on the History of the Asian-European Interaction)

CONTENTS......Page 10
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 14
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 16
NOTES ON SPELLING......Page 17
GLOSSARY......Page 18
EXPLANATION OF THE UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS......Page 23
INTRODUCTION......Page 24
Outline of the VOC tea trade with China......Page 25
Previous research......Page 28
Subject and framework......Page 33
Source materials......Page 34
Preparations for the improved management of the China trade......Page 40
Establishment of the China Committee......Page 46
Instructions of the China Committee......Page 49
1. To the Company servants on the China ships and in China......Page 51
2. To the High Government in Batavia......Page 57
Trade goods and funds sent from the Dutch Republic......Page 59
The China Committee’s demands for the “VOC teas”......Page 61
Conclusion......Page 62
Introduction......Page 66
1. Supply of trade goods......Page 67
2. Supplementing trade funds......Page 72
3. Complement of equipment and personnel......Page 73
4. Assistance with instructions......Page 74
1. Commodities for use in Batavia......Page 78
2. Gold for the intra-Asian trade......Page 82
Conclusion......Page 86
Introduction......Page 88
The “VOC teas”......Page 91
The “VOC tea”-supplying agents......Page 97
The “VOC tea” procurements......Page 102
Conclusion......Page 112
Introduction......Page 114
Protests against the establishment of the Co-hong......Page 115
Purchase of the Herstelder......Page 124
Recapture of the Goede Hoop......Page 134
Conclusion......Page 140
Company auctions of the “VOC teas”......Page 142
Domestic distribution of the “VOC teas”......Page 154
Re-export of the “VOC teas”......Page 164
Conclusion......Page 165
The “Golden Age” of the tea trade......Page 168
Conclusion of the “Golden Age”......Page 172
NOTES......Page 176
APPENDIX 1 PRECIOUS METALS BROUGHT BY THE VOC CHINA SHIPS INTO CANTON, 1758-1794......Page 200
APPENDIX 2 ASSESSMENTS OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED BY THE VOC INTO CANTON, 1758-1793......Page 201
APPENDIX 3 TEA-SUPPLYING AGENTS OF THE VOC IN CANTON, 1762-1780......Page 227
APPENDIX 4 TEAS EXPORTED FROM CANTON TO THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1742-1794......Page 235
APPENDIX 5 TEAS SENT FROM BATAVIA TO THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1730-1787......Page 246
APPENDIX 6 TEAS AUCTIONED BY THE VOC IN THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1729-1790......Page 250
APPENDIX 7 PRICES OF TEAS AT THE COMPANY AUCTIONS BY THE VOC CHAMBERS, 1777-1780......Page 256
APPENDIX 8 AUCTIONS OF TEAS HELD BY THE ZEELAND CHAMBER, 1758-1776......Page 260
APPENDIX 9 SELLING PRICES OF BOHEA AND SOUCHONG ON THE AMSTERDAM COMMODITY EXCHANGE, 1732-1795......Page 282
APPENDIX 10 SELLING PRICES OF TEAS BY SEVERAL TEA-DEALERS IN AMSTERDAM, 1776-1795......Page 283
APPENDIX 11 AVERAGE WAGES: WESTERN AND EASTERN NETHERLANDS, 1725-1790......Page 285
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 286
INDEX......Page 294
Figure 1 Organizational structure of the VOC China Trade, 1757-1794......Page 50
Figure 2. Volumes of teas bought in Canton and Batavia and sold in the Dutch Republic by the VOC, 1729-1790......Page 149
Figure 3. Purchases (in Canton and Batavia) and sales (in the Dutch Republic) of the “VOC teas”, 1729-1790......Page 150
Illustration 1 View of the Island of Onrust, near Batavia, from at sea in 1779......Page 75
Illustration 2 Tea garden, tea plant, tea leaves, and tea products......Page 89
Illustration 3 The packing of the “VOC teas” in Canton......Page 109
Illustration 4 Wooden-framed transom of a tea shop, with the inscription “The Green Tea Tree”......Page 157
Illustration 5 Advertisement for the shop “The Old Town Hall”......Page 159
Illustration 6 The first shopkeepers of “The Cloverleaf ”......Page 160
Illustration 7 The shop “The Cloverleaf ”......Page 161
Illustration 8 Announcement of the tax on coffee, tea, chocolate et al., 1734......Page 163
Map 1 Sailing routes of the China ships between the Dutch Republic and China, 1729-1794......Page 27
Map 2 Tin and pepper supplying areas of the VOC China trade......Page 69
Map 3 The “VOC tea”-producing areas and the routes of transporting teas to Canton......Page 93
Map 4 The Pearl River Delta......Page 125
Table 2 Percentage of green teas purchased by the VOC in Canton, 1760-1780......Page 96
Table 3 Comparison between the asking, bid, and fixed prices (taels/picul) of several teas by the Dutch supercargoes and their trading partners, 1779......Page 103
Table 4 Number of the tea-buyers at the auctions in Middelburg by the Zeeland Chamber, 1758-1766 and 1772-1776......Page 145
Table 5 The VOC purchase (in Canton) and sales (in the Dutch Republic) prices of Twankay, 1756-1781......Page 146
Table 6 Comparison of volumes between tea sent from Canton and sold at auction in the Dutch Republic, 1756-1790......Page 151
Table 7 Gross profits margins on selling the “VOC teas” by the Company, 1756-1790......Page 153
Table 8 Comparison of prices of teas (stivers/pound) between the tea-dealers Jan Jacob Voute & Sons and the VOC in Amsterdam, 1777-1781......Page 155
Table 9 Prices of teas sold by Jan Jacob Voute & Sons in 1777, 1788, and 1795 (stivers/pound)......Page 156