Printed Accounts, etc. of the East India Company’s China trade, 1830. (PRO 30/9/4/38)
Transcript
No. 1. – AN ACCOUNT of all GOODS IMPORTED from CHINA into GREAT BRITAIN from the Year 1811 to the Year 1828 both inclusive, specifying the Quantity and Value of the principal Articles imported, and distinguishing the Trade of the EAST INDIA COMPANY from the PRIVILEGE TRADE.
| COMPANY’S TRADE | |||||||
| 1st May to 1st May | Teas. | China Raw Silk. | Nankeen Cloth. | TOTAL. | |||
| Quantity. | Value. | Quantity. | Value. | Quantity. | Value. | Value. | |
| 1811 | lbs.
19,710,735 |
£
3,263,338 |
lbs.
81,822 |
£
133,302 |
Pieces.
121,000 |
£
36,300 |
£
3,432,940 |
| 1812 | 26,162,885 | 4,219,620 | 87,070 | 135,321 | 194,800 | 52,758 | 4,407,699 |
| 1813 | 28,232,812 | 4,731,342 | 145,882 | 197,548 | 194,600 | 79,462 | 5,008,352 |
| 1814 | 24,727,393 | 4,048,977 | 140,125 | 186,249 | 183,130 | 68,674 | 4,303,900 |
| 1815 | 35,671,389 | 5,291,630 | 209,064 | 232,584 | 322,700 | 91,432 | 5,615,646 |
| 1816 | 23,282,540 | 3,409,624 | 42,861 | 45,718 | 131,700 | 34,022 | 3,489,364 |
| 1817 | 30,465,252 | 4,544,695 | 70,327 | 94,648 | 243,000 | 63,787 | 4,703,130 |
| 1818 | 20,296,092 | 2,939,037 | 58,635 | 80,867 | 209,000 | 66,183 | 3,086,087 |
| 1819 | 23,193,285 | 2,987,702 | 58,151 | 67,843 | 186,700 | 49,787 | 3,105,332 |
| 1820 | 26,605,685 | 3,536,901 | 90,203 | 90,203 | 183,700 | 35,209 | 3,662,313 |
| 1821 | 32,856,997 | 4,507,032 | 141,414 | 132,576 | 262,000 | 45,850 | 4,685,458 |
| 1822 | 32,478,272 | 4,499,320 | 108,730 | 98,310 | 174,000 | 34,800 | 4,632,430 |
| 1823 | 28,700,957 | 3,950,558 | 78,311 | 5,428 | 30,000 | 5,375 | 4,013,361 |
| 1824 | 25,851,696 | 3,551,457 | 39,737 | 38,081 | … | … | 3,589,538 |
| 1825 | 28,500,834 | 3,704,806 | … | … | … | … | 3,704,806 |
| 1826 | 29,777,879 | 3,599,532 | … | … | … | … | 3,599,532 |
| 1827 | 42,972,858 | 4,919,997 | … | … | … | … | 4,919,997 |
| 1828 | 24,059,373 | 2,720,656 | … | … | … | … | 2,720,656 |
| 503,546,934 | 70,426,224 | 1,352,332 | 1,590,678 | 2,436,330 | 663,639 | 72,680,541 | |
- Look at Source 2a (the advertisement). Based on the wording in the tagline, do you think tea in the 1800s was a common or occasional purchase?
- This advertisement depicts a fictional East Asian woman whose style and surroundings incorporate stereotypical elements of both China and Japan. Why do you think she has been used to sell tea?
- Now look at Source 2b (the table). By looking at the table, can you list three goods that were imported from China into Britain in the early 1800s?
- Look at the numbers at the very bottom of the table. Based on them, can you tell which item was the most popular and most profitable?
- What does this table tell you about the British East India Company and their role in British trade at this time?
- By looking at Source 2a and b together, how would you describe Britain’s relationship to tea in the 1800s?