| The problem dealt with in this dissertation is the insolvency of the Hong merchants. During the period between 1760 and 1843, while the business of China's foreign trade was prospering, most of the Hong merchants were in financial straits. The insolvency of the Hong merchants was not only a wide-spread phenomenon, but also a chronic one. Based primarily on the British East India Company's archives now kept in the India Office Library and Records, this dissertation means to inquire into the causes of the Hong merchants' insolvency and the way their debts were settled.;Except the Introduction and the Conclusion, this dissertation is divided into two parts. The first part, from Chapter II to Chapter IV, deals with the profitability of the Hong merchants' trade; the charges and expenses they ware liable to; and the issue of their financial predicament. Generally speaking, the business of the Hong merchants was profitable, and their expenses and charges coverable by their profits. The fundamental cause of their insolvency resided in their lack of capital and the dearth of cash in the Canton market. On account of these factors, the Hong merchants were subject to exorbitant interest rates or other detrimental methods to raise funds.;The second part, including Chapter V and Chapter VI, deals with the settlement of the Hong merchants' debts. What the Chinese government usually did was to pass on the debts of the bankrupts to the still viable Hong merchants. The British East India Company, on the other hand, preferred some sort of private arrangements. In a few cases, its servants even took into their own hands the management of the insolvent Hong merchants' routine business or financial arrangement for the recovery of the Company's claims. But their efforts were not quite successful.;In addition to the above discussion, an appendix containing the house histories of thirty-six hongs is provided to give more informations about individual Hong merchants. |
