Expanding Possibilities 405
in the broader commercial networks. The westerners needed them
to connect to the local networks for the procurement of local produce
and the distribution of imported goods. That is to say, the two modes of
shipping coexisted, playing their roles separately yet inter-connectedly.
In creating new business opportunities, the Chinese shippers also
had the advantage of their familiarity with the commercial environment.
John Crawfurd reckoned that “[the] Chinese have an intimate knowledge
of the markets, and a skill in assorting and laying in their cargoes,
which no European ... can acquire”.^202 The Europeans, in comparison,
were virtually outsiders in the region. They were no match for the
Chinese merchants who could penetrate local markets. This disparity
offers an explanation of why the Chinese junk traders not only took on
the challenge, but also expanded their operations in regional shipping.
Moreover, providing the numerous Chinese migrants in Siam, Cochin
China, the Straits Settlements and the Indian Archipelago with their daily
necessities, and procuring local produce from the Chinese merchants
spread all over the region, gave them great business opportunities that
were beyond the reach of the western traders.^203 John Bowring agreed
and went on to comment that the numerous Chinese migrants were very
likely to have boosted the rapid development of the Chinese “colonial
shipping” so as to meet their demands.^204
The Min-Yue shippers continued to be involved in the long-distance
shipping between the Nanyang and China, by adopting a different mode
of operation and jumping on the bandwagon of modern vessels. A
glimpse of the maritime trade in Singapore is sufβicient to appreciate the
preference of Chinese shippers for the western vessels. Those who were
engaged in the consignment trade opted for western ships whenever
they dispatched their cargoes to China. From 1850, the Chinese shippers
in the Straits Settlements also consigned most of their cargoes from
Amoy to Spanish-registered steamships.^205 The Fujianese Straits Chinese
were the pioneers among the local Chinese in adopting the new shipping
mode. In a few cases, the Straits Chinese (Anglo-Chinese) even owned
some western vessels βlying European βlags. Their identity as British
protected subjects also cut down the extent of harassment by the Chinese
customs ofβicials in the Treaty Ports.
- John Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago, Vol. 3, p. 178.
- Rutherford Alcock, “Report on Maritime Trade of China” (1848), in FO 17/142,
no. 16, Encl.; BPP; and NCH; see also John Crawfurd, The Crawfurd Papers, p. 8a. - FO 228/136, no. 151, John Bowring to The Earl of Malmesbury, pp. 7b‒8a.
- Wong Lin Ken, “The Trade of Singapore”, pp. 123‒4.