Publication Date:
1973-09-01
Description:
The growth of British interest and activity in areas east of the Bay of Bengal during the latter half of the eighteenth century has often been explained as a response o t the problems posed by the expanding China trade. The drain of specie from Europe and India to Canton, so the argument goes, rendered necessary the establishment of a commercial emporium to the east of India which would attract Chinese products, notably tea, in exchange for Indian textiles, saltpetre, opium and cotton, and spices from the Malay archipelago.1 Such an entrepot would also free the trade from the vexatious customs and restrictions which applied increasingly at Canton after 1757. Yet it is the central argument of this article that the rival interests and behaviour of other Europeans in areas beyond India provided a significant inducement for intervention.
Print ISSN:
0022-4634
Electronic ISSN:
1474-0680
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Political Science
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