War, trade and piracy in the China Seas, 1622-1683
Approaching its demise, the Ming imperial administration enlisted members of the Cheng family as mercenaries to help in the defense of the coastal waters of Fukien. Under the leadership of Cheng Chih-lung, also known as Nicolas Iquan, and with the help of the local gentry, these mercenaries became the backbone of the empire¿́¿s maritime defense and the protectors of Chinese commercial interests in the East and South China Seas. The fall of the Ming allowed Cheng Ch¿́¿eng-kung¿́¿alias Coxinga¿́¿and his sons to create a short-lived but independent seaborne regime in China¿́¿s southeastern coastal provinces that competed fiercely, if only briefly, with Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and English merchants during the early stages of globalization
History
1 online resource (xxiii, 365 pages) : maps
9789004253537, 9789004250666, 900425353X, 9004250662
1066447114
Introduction: The Missing Link
The tributary system challenged
Nicolas Iquan before 1627
The survival game of the mercenaries, 1628-1631
The establishment of the An-Hai trading emporium, 1630-1633
Stormy weather at the imperial court and on the south China coast, 1632-1633
The winding ways towards the western ocean
The risk of politics and the politics of risk, 1636-1640
In search of silver in a changing world, 1640-1646
The open coast of the Chinese empire, 1646-1650
Fukienese exceptionalism transformed into a political project, 1650-1654
The passions of a merchant prince, 1654-1657
From defeat to victory, 1658-1662
All acknowledged by the kings, 1663-1667
Monopoly lost, 1669-1683
Conclusion: defensive and aggressive monopolies