The Study Of The Relationship Between The Foreign Ships At Whampoa And The Trading Of The Thirteen Hongs （1700-1842）

The thirteen-Hong trading system of Guangzhou was established in the late 17 th century after Kangxi opened the sea.From the 18 th to the 19 th century,the system became more and more mature,and the management of the foreign ships that came to trade became more and more perfect..Just before entering Macau,till the finishing of the trade,the foreign ships and traders must be managed by the Customs and its vice organizations,and restricted by the Thirteen Hong Trading System,and differrnt officers were involved in each step,including pilot that led the ships,taxofficers of Bocca that check the ships’ files,the Hong Merchants and the Hoppo,that trade with the foreign ships in Whampoa and in charge of them.The relationship between Whampoa foreign ships and Thirteen Hongs’ trading were just build via these different adminstrators.While the management procedures of foreign ships was continuously improved,the foreign ships that come to trade are also developing.First came the ships of the East India companies.Some of them were leased,or built by the company’s shipyards,and the goods they brought were textiles and silver from Europe,cotton and spicesfrom India and South-East Asia.As a whole,foreign traders and shipsjust obey the Thirteen Hong rules duringthis period,and the trading system ran smooth.After the 1770 s,with the shortage of capital in trade and the rise of the idea of free trade in Europe,country traders and country ships gradually occupy an important position.They brought different goods to Guangzhou,but also created more accidents and violations,including the import of contraband opium,therefore increased the management burden of both the company’s Administration Associationin Guangzhou and the Guangdong Customs.The strong profit-seeking of thecountry traders made themselvesreach their own profit with all means,leading to the rapid development of the debt of Hong merchants,which not only weakened the monopoly of the thirteen trade system,but also made the Hong merchants become a tool at the mercy of foreign merchants.The Opium War caused by the direct trigger of smoking ban finally ended thethirteen-Hong trading system.Therefore,with the change of Whanpoa foreign ships from Company ships to country（private）ships,the Thirteen Hong system and the relationship between the system and the foreign ships also kept changing.