"Asia's 'dark' eighteenth-century has never seemed more lively or dynamic. This book will be treasured by all those struggling to understand the hitherto opaque world of pre-modern Chinese business." -- Anthony Reid, author of Southeast Asia in the Age of

"A remarkable reconstruction of eighteenth-century Canton and Macao merchant practices based upon diverse and scattered archival materials--Van Dyke successfully undermines conventional notions of Chinese 'monopoly' control through showing the concrete act

"Only the most dedicated researcher and extraordinary polyglot could aspire to what Van Dyke accomplishes in Merchants of Canton and Macao. Van Dyke's painstaking research shows that a 200-year-old narrative of Chinese opposition to trade is at odds with

"Paul Van Dyke's knowledge of eighteenth-century Canton and Macau is so detailed that you feel you are on the ground with the men who made this region of southern China one of the most important modern global trading centres. Based on research throughout

"Paul A. Van Dyke's Merchants of Canton and Macao is an invaluable addition to our knowledge of Sino-Western trade in the eighteenth century. The level of detail is outstanding, amassed from a rich source base in multiple languages. And from that data bas

Paul A. Van Dyke is professor of history at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. He has spent many years researching various aspects of life, trade, and societies in the Pearl River Delta and Maritime Asia.