Americans in eastern Asia, revisited: Anglo-American rivalry and the China market

In the early to mid-nineteenth century a bitter rivalry between the US and Britain over world markets shaped US East Asia policy and determined how the West interacted with East Asia, I argue that contrary to the standard interpretation of US and British cooperation in the region, the two countries were in fact engaged in a rivalry over how to define and shape the spatial order of the earth. The US sought to route all trade, commerce, and financing through New York, while Britain fought to keep it in London. I further argue that as part of a larger American vision of world hegemony, the US government assumed a positive role in East Asia at mid century with the first articulation of US China and East Asia policy in 1844 with the Treaty of Wangxia---not, as commonly held, in 1898 with the Open Door Notes---and the opening of Japan in 1853.