The Chinese Role in the American Revolution

On December 16, 1773, Americans and Chinese hardly knew each other. Yet, both took part in the historic Boston Tea Party that heralded the American Revolution (1775-1783).

Well before 1773 Chinese tea had already filled American teapots on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, the Chinese tea trade was a major source of income for New Englanders. Imagine their indignation at the tea tax slapped on them by the British.

In a typically American way, Bostonians threw King George III a tea party. Incidentally the tea dumped into the Boston Harbor was shipped from Xiamen, Fujian. Wasn't it a Chinese Tea Party, after all?

Let's fast-forward to 1776, the year 56 American Founders signed their death warrant otherwise known as the Declaration of Independence.

A leading Declaration signer, General George Washington was desperately looking for financing. As a former British colonel, he understood too well that his Revolutionary army was marching on its stomach. No serious war was cheap.

However, the French were not yet quite ready to invest in the American Revolution. The belligerent British had the Atlantic Ocean as their pond. So? Go east! The China trade made tons of sense and cents.

In Peking (Beijing) the Qing court had no idea what the American Revolution was about. Indeed, Chinese couldn't care less. But, they cared about the astonishing range of exotic merchandise coming from a distant corner of the world. Chinese paid silver coins for America's seal skins, otter pelts, sandalwood, sea cucumbers, and ginseng. Yes, Chinese have a very long history of consuming American ginseng. (Here, for historical accuracy, I must add that some Americans did join their British rivals in the opium trade.)

Taking advantage of Qing officials' corrupt practice, Washingtonian America enjoyed impressive trade surpluses that tided it over till a better tomorrow. After all said and done, China had contributed significantly to the American cause, unknowingly.

What a world of difference between now and then!

Author: renqiulan


A good read:

 

 

Hi, renqiulan! Aren't we living in the golden era of

Patrick Mahomes?

I can't help but say this: he sucked the oxygen out of

Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, idiomatically speaking.

乾隆年间？ What a world of difference between then and after !

No doubt. He was a hero at a pivotal moment. Viva Chiefs!

Yes, Quanlong was the reigning Chinese emperor during

the American Revolution. Hi, moonlight7!

the tea dumped into the Boston Harbor was shipped from Xiame

So 蓝灵 is a football fan. Why am I not surprised?

Thanks for sharing this piece of history。秋兰，晚安 ~ ~

哈哈，蓝灵也喜欢马洪。

Hi, 盈盈! Right. It turned out to be "Fujian tea."

I don't envy you. I just admire you. Goodnight, 盈盈！

盈盈, you can say that again. Actually, I like good athletes.

羡慕我要早睡早起早搬砖？搬砖这个词，秋兰看得懂吗？哈哈，晚安。

Happy Chinese new year, 秋兰

方外居士好！祝新春快乐，龙年康泰！

陶侃传人，赞嘆！认真的，盈盈是香港人称的“打工仔”。快点休息吧。再谢一个！

My pleasure, 盈盈！

I get that. Good night, 盈盈!

We three are football fans. It's a small world.

盈盈这个马洪，译名一如其人，赞！

It sounds like a Shire horse to me.

Hahaha!

Right on, 蓝灵！

Meanwhile, Mahomes is agile like a mustang.

What a quarterback!

I am a Monday morning quarterback.

Haha! You are not the only one here.

Hi there, my fellow Monday morning quarterback!

So you are good at offering hindsight, right?

Right. I don't do forecast.

So people should be content to enjoy the benefits

of your hindsight.

That's the historian in me.

I'm glad to tip my hat to you.

You won't regret it. Haha!

You are funny.

盈盈说的搬砖，纫秋兰说的打工，异曲同工。香港人也称“捱骡仔”。

"捱骡仔” working like a mule?

內地人所称的受苦群众。听过许冠杰的“打工仔”么？

It rings like a bell.

“我哋呢班打工人，一生喺處為錢幣，做奴隸。”

Go on.

“嗰種辛苦折墮講出嚇鬼，死俾你睇……”

Life is hard.

It could be harder.

I am thinking of a crucible.

Indeed it is.

Did the U.S. send an envoy to the Qing court?

On July 3, 1844,Cushing and the Qing Dynasty official Qiying

signed the Treaty of Wangxia.

望厦条约。

The Treaty of Wanghia was the first of the unequal treaties

imposed by the United States on the Qing dynasty.

That must be a consequence of the first Opium War.

The First Opium War was the beginning of

the Century of Humiliation. It's also when Hong Kong became

a British colony.

I'm quite familiar with that part of history.

You're from Hong Kong, after all.

Speaking of which, I must say Margaret Thatcher made a

serious mistake by asking Deng Xiaoping to

let Britain keep Hong Kong under the British administration.

Do you mean the Iron Lady wasn't sensitive to how Chinese

felt about the First Opium War and the consequent

unequal treaties?

Exactly. She badly miscalculated and misfired. No Chinese

leaders would sign away Hong Kong again. She should not

even bring it up in the first place no matter what.

You have a point. The late British prime minister had

no idea about the Century of Humiliation.

Viva the Chiefs dynasty!

100% Hong Kong Cantonese. Amazing!

A must read prose on this topic! I listened the audiobook

"The Cause", learned a bot about the revolutionary war

it might have been a divine cause

+1

"The China trade made tons of sense and cents."

A good read makes great sense! 谢谢秋兰分享读后感。

+1

Thank you, 小西, for your kind words!

Hi, 颤音! Thank you for your remarks!