Product Description

The letters of William Jardine and James Matheson, co-founders of the Hong Kong Trading Firm Jardine, Matheson and Co., shed new light on the important commercial, economic and political developments of the nineteenth century. Local and world politics, debate about freedom, monopoly and free trade, the conduct of the Opium War and the beginnings of British rule in Hong Kong are passionately discussed alongside the immediate business concerns of tea, opium and British exports to China. The letters from the Jardine Matheson Archive, collected here for the first time, portray a fascinating commercial, political and personal drama played out in England, Scotland, India, and China. A substantial introduction provides the historical background of British involvement in Eastern trade from the eighteenth century up to the beginnings of British Rule in Hong Kong.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1027661 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-28
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .3 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 592 pages

Review
Alain Le Pichon provides a comprehensive and very readable introduction to the trade in East Asia in the first half of the 19th century... handsomely produced, with useful maps and a good selection of plates, it is also very reasonably priced. J. E. Hoare, Asian Affairs A good introduction to the Jardine archive and a valuable companion for scholars who wish to pursue further research. Hsien-Chun Wang, The English Historical Review.

From the Publisher
4 maps, 6 b&w plates, tables

About the Author
Alain Le Pichon is at Department of English, Universite de Paris IV Sorbonne.