Howqua

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Howqua

Howqua (* 1769 ; † 1843 ; Chinese: 伍 秉 鉴; Pinyin: Wu Bingjian) was a Chinese merchant. He made a tremendous fortune through his trading activities and at the same time played an important role in the relations between China and Europe . The name Howqua is a combination of the name of the family business Haoguan (chin .: 浩 官) and the syllable qua .

Live and act

Wu Bingjian was born in 1769 as the third son of the merchant Wu Guorong (often referred to as Howqua or Howqua I in literature) in Fujian Province . Wu Guorong was a founding member of the Cohong (chin .: 公 行) at the end of the 18th century . However, it was his son who built a fortune trading with European and American foreign countries.

Wu Bingjian

Relations between the Western traders and the Cohong were not always easy, especially for the Cohong the purchase of British imported goods for tea and other goods was mostly a loss. Opium was an exception. However, since the opium trade was forbidden, few Hong merchants were involved in it for fear of severe punishment. There are sources that said Wu Bingjian was also involved in the opium trade on a smaller scale. Wu Bingjian, on the other hand, preferred business contacts with America, as he could sell them tea for silver from South America and thus make a profit.

At times, Wu Bingjian used his immense fortune to charter ships of his American business partners and to send them loaded with tea and other goods to Europe. In several cases he also lent money to other Hong merchants, more rarely to smaller, foreign companies and in one case he himself helped the British East India Company financially.

Through skillful trading he managed to build a fortune that made him one of the richest people in the world. In 1834, his fortune was estimated at $ 26 million (the equivalent of $ 3 billion today). This fact often led foreign observers to believe that the Hong merchants were generally very wealthy.

Because of the unprofitable trade, bankruptcies among Hong merchants were not uncommon. However, this did not pose a threat to foreign business partners, as a joint fund ( Consoo Fund ) of the Cohong paid for the losses. However, these funds were often used for gifts to the imperial court and high officials. The translator JR Morrison compiled a list in his Commercial Guide which shows that the Hong had to invest around 425,000 tael of silver annually for gifts. In addition, in addition to the low level of merchants in the Confucian social system , membership of the Cohong was viewed as a burden. Wu Bingjian made three attempts to quit in the course of his life (1810, 1827, and 1832); however none succeeded.

When the new Commissioner Lin cracked down on opium smuggling in 1839, Wu Bingjian advised foreign business partners to move their trade to Singapore and burn their opium. His advice was not followed, but Matthew Jardine fled China before his arrest warrant was issued.

Shortly thereafter, the First Opium War broke out , as a result of which the Cohong alone were used to pay reparations of 2 million dollars to England. Wu Bingjian's stake in this was $ 1.1 million.

Wu Bingjian passed away in 1843.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Canton Register of April 21, 1831 etc.
  2. ↑ Cynthia Crossen: The Rich and How They Got That Way . 2000, p. 172 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 11, 2016]).
  3. ^ W. Travis Hanes III, Frank Sanello: The Opium Wars . 2002, p. 42 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 11, 2016]).
  4. ^ Michael Greenberg, British Trade and the Opening of China, p.47
personal data
SURNAME Howqua
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 伍 秉 鉴 (Chinese); Wu Bingjian (Pinyin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION chinese merchant
DATE OF BIRTH 1769
DATE OF DEATH 1843