China's Growing Sea Trade with Europe 1517-1800

The traditional Chinese world order utilised the tribute system to place China at the centre of the civilised world. In exchange for recognising China's superiority, other states were granted permission to trade with China. It was this China centric world order in 1517 that European ships sailed into. The Chinese perceived each European country as just another nation drawn to China in the way Siam, Japan and others were. The European maritime powers however saw the tribute system as a means to an end not an end in and of itself. After initial attempts to use the system to gain competitive advantage over their rivals, the Europeans played only a nominal role within it.

The Chinese worldview between 1517 and 1800 resulted from a diplomatic tradition that over a long period had defined a set of values, expectations and habits. This tradition was largely an outgrowth of the administration of China itself. Every group in contact with China was entitled to a place in the Chinese world order. The lack of curiosity in neo-Confucian culture and the prevailing idea that foreigners were not worth much attention severely limited how large a part foreigners could play. The main concern of China was to maintain its superiority and in periods of military weakness its security. 

The classical Chinese tradition was to utilise both militant and pacifist approaches to control non-Chinese groups. The pacifist extended trading opportunities in return for peaceful cooperation and the military option was always available should the pacifist approach prove ineffective. The Chinese world order was however only unified at the Chinese end with many groups seeing the benefits of accepting it worth the implication of superiority. Along with other Confucian ideals China's worldview did become accepted in differing degrees in Vietnam, Siam and Central Asia. The Chinese world order presented an ideal of how the world should be, not how they necessarily were

The tribute system was the centrepiece of the Chinese world order. The giving of gifts and the ritual of a foreign prince or his envoy kowtowing in front of the Chinese Emperor were part of a hierarchy that placed the Emperor at the centre of the civilised world. This was seen as foreign acceptance of the superior status of the Chinese Emperor and thus of China itself. China's rulers viewed trade as subordinate to tribute and on many occasions sacrificed economic substance to preserve political form. Tribute missions were presented with valuable gifts that showcased China's economic and cultural supremacy and were allowed to conduct limited trade in Peking. Combined this made tribute missions a profitable activity in and of themselves. Even more important was the trading advantages that could be gained from being enrolled as a tribute-paying nation. The rewards the system offered and the imbalance in power encouraged foreigners to accept the inferior status demanded by the tribute system. Trade with China was always relatively more important to the foreigners than it was to the Chinese rulers who prided themselves on their nation's self-sufficiency. The tribute system was the means by which foreigners were subordinated into China's world order.

Portugal the most adventurous of the European sea faring nations reached China first in 1517. The Portuguese first instinct was to make contact with China's rulers and a mission to Peking by Tome Pires was undertaken in 1520-21. While the Portuguese viewed this as a friendly meeting between the representatives of two equal rulers, the Chinese viewed it within their own diplomatic tradition. They thus recorded the Portuguese as having paid tribute. The Portuguese however were refused the right to offer further tribute to the Ming. From the mid 1550s and probably earlier, local Chinese officials allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macao and use it as an outpost from which they could trade with China. Using Macao, the Portuguese acted as intermediaries trading Chinese goods for spices and other Asian goods, selling portions of all in Europe.

The Portuguese in Macao were regularly cut off from the rest of their Asian empire causing them to become increasingly like the Chinese traders they were constantly in contact with. The Portuguese rarely paid tribute, sending missions only in 1670, 1678, 1727 and 1753 after their initial mission. The 1670 and 1678 missions were undertaken at a time of desperation after the Qing's policy of clearing the coast of China was strangling Macao. Their role as intermediaries in inter Asian trade especially the Sino-Japanese trade rather than as the collection point for transhipment of goods initially intended to Europe displays how Asianised the Portuguese in Macao became.

The Chinese regime considered Macao Chinese territory and intermarriage and the increasing decentralisation and corruption of the Portuguese empire confused the situation further. The sheer size of Chinese trade also ensured the Portuguese were never more than bit players in China's foreign trade. Reliant as the Portuguese were on continued good relations with China to continue trading they were very much the weaker member in the relationship. Their acceptance of this situation allowed them to assume a profitable but subordinated position in the Chinese world order.

The Dutch despite making regular tribute missions and even providing military support had great difficulty in establishing a satisfactory trading relationship with the Qing. The Dutch conquered Taiwan in the 1620s with the aim of creating a base for trade with China.

The consolidation of the Manchu rule saw the Dutch send tribute missions to China in 1656, 1663 (not formally accepted), 1667 and 1686 in the hope of gaining trading concessions. Dutch requests included permission to trade every year, a fortified trading post in the Amoy-Quemoy area and a joint military attack on Taiwan after its fall to Ming loyalists. Successful joint military operations were undertaken against Quemoy but disagreements between the two allies decreased their desire for future cooperation. Meagre results from tribute missions and disappointing profits from trade led to a decline in Dutch interest in trading directly with China. After a period of frequent contact the Dutch did not send a single ship to China between 1690 and 1729. Chinese junks continued to trade with Batavia providing the Dutch with an alternative source for Chinese goods.

by James Graham

History of Australia

Main article: History of Australia

Australia named New Holland, in 1794 Samuel Dunn Map of the World

Exploration by Europeans till 1812

  1606 Willem Janszoon

  1606 Luis Váez de Torres

  1616 Dirk Hartog

  1619 Frederick de Houtman

  1644 Abel Tasman

  1696 Willem de Vlamingh

  1699 William Dampier

  1770 James Cook

  1797–1799 George Bass

  1801–1803 Matthew Flinders

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago,^[37] possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now South-East Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturalists and hunter-gatherers.^[38]
Following sporadic visits by fishermen from the Malay Archipelago,^[39] the first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent were attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula on an unknown date in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River on the western shore of Cape York, near the modern town of Weipa.^[40] The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement.^[40] William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer landed on the north-west coast of Australia in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.^[41] Cook's discoveries prepared the way for establishment of a new penal colony. Captain Arthur Phillip led the First Fleet into Port Jackson on 26 January 1788.^[42] This date became Australia's national day, Australia Day. (The British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788, but 26 January has entered the popular consciousness as the effective date of its foundation.) Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825.^[43] The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1828.^[44]

Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859.^[45] The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia.^[46] South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony.^[47] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts.^[48][49] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.^[50]

Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest gaol for transported convicts.

The indigenous population, estimated at 750,000 to 1,000,000 at the time of European settlement,^[51] declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.^[52] The "Stolen Generations" (removal of Aboriginal children from their families), which historians such as Henry Reynolds have argued could be considered genocide,^[53] may have contributed to the decline in the Indigenous population.^[54] Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by conservative commentators such as former Prime Minister John Howard as exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.^[55] This debate is known within Australia as the History wars.^[56] The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum.^[57] Traditional ownership of land—aboriginal title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius ("land belonging to no one") before European occupation.^[58]

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s,^[59] and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.^[60] Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.^[61] The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs,^[62] defence,^[63] and international shipping.

The Last Post is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Similar ceremonies are held in most suburbs and towns.

On 1 January 1901 federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation, and voting.^[64] The Commonwealth of Australia was established and it became a dominion of the British Empire in 1907. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was constructed.^[65] The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.^[66] In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoing Commonwealth Liberal Party and the incoming Australian Labor Party.^[67] Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front.^[68] Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.^[69] Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action.^[70][71] The Kokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.^[72]

Australia's national flag comprises the Union Jack, the Commonwealth Star, and the Southern Cross.

Britain's Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australia adopted it in 1942,^[73] but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.^[74][75] The shock of the UK's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.^[76] Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under the ANZUS treaty.^[77] After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted.^[78] As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image were transformed.^[79] The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London.^[80] In a 1999 referendum, 55 per cent of Australian voters and a majority in every Australian state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972,^[81] there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.^[82]