旗昌洋行与19世纪美国对广州贸易

Russell & Co. and American Trade with Canton in 19th-Century

美商在广州建立的旗昌洋行是19世纪美国在东亚最大的代理商行。旗昌洋行的股东与波士顿商业集团及华盛顿政要均有密切关系,在19世纪中叶,旗昌商人囊括了美国驻中国主要通商口岸的领事职位,几乎包办了在华的外交事务。本文利用商行的档案资料以及前辈学者的研究成果,对旗昌洋行进行个案研究,勾勒出旗昌洋行早期在广州发展的线索,揭示商业利益集团对美国对华政策的影响,以加深对中美外交和经济关系的形成和发展的理解。

Russell & Co. was founded in Canton (Guangzhou) by American merchants as a commission firm in the early 19th century. It soon emerged as a leading American commercial establishment in East Asia. Owing to its dominant financial position and its close connections with the Boston concern as well as prominent politicians in Washington, the firm controlled all important US consulates in China in mid 19~ th-century. Based on manuscript materials in the archives of Russell & Co. and the existing scholarship on the subject, this case study delineates the early development of the firm in Canton in order to gain a more exact view about the role of America's trade in China and the relation between US government policy and the economic interests of the American private merchants.