Chapter One A VERY PROFITABLE CRISIS Canton’s American Merchants on the Eve of the First Opium War

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS ix
3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi
4. NOTE ON TRANSLATION AND CURRENCIES xiii
5. ABBREVIATIONS xv
6. GLOSSARY OF PEOPLE xvii
7. GLOSSARY OF TERMS xxi
8. INTRODUCTION An American Firm, a British Colony, and a Global Microhistory 1
9. Chapter One A VERY PROFITABLE CRISIS Canton’s American Merchants on the Eve of the First Opium War 21
10. Chapter Two A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME The American Merchant House in Hong Kong 52
11. Chapter Three LIVES LIVED IN PUBLIC American Encounters with British Colonial Society 84
12. Chapter Four MISSED OPPORTUNITIES Balancing Metropolitan Politics and Private Interests in China 120
13. Chapter Five FRIENDS NEAR AND FAR Creating and Maintaining Global Networks Through Hong Kong 149
14. Chapter Six WEALTH OR EXPERTISE The Social and Professional Paths of Returned American Merchants 186
15. CONCLUSION Lives of Consequence 217
16. NOTES 225
17. BIBLIOGRAPHY 275
18. INDEX 297