A Research On The Sino-Anglo Goods-for-Goods Exchange In The Daoguang Reign

This thesis mainly discuss the goods-for-goods exchange in Sino- Anglo trade. On the eve of the Opium War, there existed an opinion at the Qing Court which vigorously advocated the goods-for-goods means for foreign trade, directly due to the unlimited spread of opium harm and the subsequent outflow of silver bullion. As an important part of the foreign trade during Daoguang period, the contents of goods-for-goods exchange between China and Britain changed substantially, with the Opium War as its turning point. What抯 more important, gradually, the British opium dealers replaced the Qing state to hold sway on this goods-for-goods exchange; the centre of Sino-Anglo trade turned to Shanghai from Guangzhou; the exchange itself mingled legal and illegal dealings together rather than the pure legal dealing during the first stage. To some extent, this change influenced the social evolution of China, reflecting the vicissitudes of Chinese society. Starting with this detail, the thesis tries to expose the relationship between goods-for-goods exchange and the expose the economic and political condition of that time, through studies on its causes, operation, scales and effects. The Opium War is an important turning point of Chinese society and the goods-for-goods exchanges discussed in this article has strengthened this conclusion from a particular angle of view.