Exhibition: Making Things in Global Asia

Visualizing Ports for Imperial Oversight: A Case Study of 粵海關志 (the Gazetteer of the Canton Maritime Customs)

On a fine day in eighteenth-century Canton (modern-day Guangzhou), local residents strolling along the bustling waterfront could see the impressive silhouettes of European cargo ships anchored along the Pearl River. With their towering masts and billowing sails, these vessels marked the seasonal arrival of merchants from more than seven European

Chinese Ships at Nagasaki (c. 1840), unknown artist, Woodblock print (nishiki-e), https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/77014

The Chinese in Nagasaki and Japanese Systems of Trade Control

In the early modern period, the city of Nagasaki, located on the northwest coast of Kyushu Island, served as Japan’s primary port for international trade. Throughout the Edo period (1603-1868), foreign trade and diplomatic relations were also conducted through three other regions, each administered by a local domain: the

Understanding “Aunth” (આન્ટ) in the 18th century: perspectives on money and credit from the EIC factory in Surat

Established in 1612, the Surat factory oversaw a network of agencies at Gogha, Ahmedabad, Broach, Bombay and overseas at Gombroon and Basra. These agencies were important in ensuring steady and regular supplies of textiles and export items for the English East India Company’s (EIC) official investment. These agencies also

The VOC Factories of Bengal

In 1664 a Dutch surgeon named Wouter Schouten spotted the VOC factory in Chinsurah as his ship approached the harbour of Hooghly. Seeing it from a distance, he exclaimed that “nothing shone brighter in Hooghly than the Dutch lodge there, standing tall on a distinct plain, at a musket shot’

Exhibition: Making Things in Global Asia

Maarten Draper

An online exhibition by CAPASIA

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Visualizing Ports for Imperial Oversight: A Case Study of 粵海關志 (the Gazetteer of the Canton Maritime Customs)

The Chinese in Nagasaki and Japanese Systems of Trade Control

Understanding “Aunth” (આન્ટ) in the 18th century: perspectives on money and credit from the EIC factory in Surat

The VOC Factories of Bengal