Questionnaire concerning Chinese junks and English ships from and to Amoy, Canton and Ningpo answered by Chinese nakhodas, 20 January 1701

Answers to the questions of the Chinese

Questions asked the nachodas junks.

Nimpho (Ningbo)

Last year eight junks sailed from here to Nimpho, five of which arrived safely the other three foundered.

Last year how many junks returned to Nimpho from here and did all of them arrive safely.

Last year two junks left Banjar for Nimpho, of which one foundered during the voyage.

Idem ditto, two junks left Johor for Ningpho, which failed to complete the voyage; one arrived in Tonkin; the other (it is thought) was bound for Canton. Last year there were no Ningbo junks in Siam, Cambodia or Quinam.

Item whether any junks from Banjar or Johor, Siam or Cambodia arrived in Nimpho and how many.

This year four junks were ready to set to sail to Batavia from Nimpho and three of them arrived, and there were no other junks except these in Nimpho were [ready] to trade anywhere.

How many junks in total were ready to sail from Nimpho and if any were ready to sail to Banjar or other places.

Last year four English ships put in to Nimpho.

Item: How many English ships were there at Nimpho last year to trade; were they large or small.

They traded various goods, of their own manufacture, such as broadcloth, grosgrain, serge perpetuans, amber, silver ingots, tin and putchuck [incense], as well as other wares, too insignificant to mention.

What goods [in the form of] textiles, pepper, and other wares, including silver, did the English ships take there to trade.

And in return they purchased at the dearest prices a reasonable quantity of gold shoes, silk damask, pelangs, alum etc., but unable to specify the exact quantity of each.

And what Chinese goods did the same Englishmen buy up in return.

The English pursued their trade on the island of Xeuxan and not in Ningbo, which not a single one of them ever visited.

Whether the English or other traders pursued their trade in Ningbo itself or on Xeuxan or Pope Island (papen eylant).

They restricted themselves to the aforesaid island.

Whether the chiefs among the English ever visited the regents in Ningbo once or on various occasions, or did they remain together on Pope Island.

The three junks which are here sailed from Ningbo on 10 December last and arrived here on 9 or 10 [January].

How long ago or when did these junks leave Ningbo.

When they left Ningbo the English were still at said island with their ships, engaged in loading them, without knowing when they would leave, but rumour had it, that some were bound to England and the others to Surat.

And, if all the English ships were still there, how long did rumour have it before they would depart and whether they were all bound for England or to Coromandel or Surat.

The Emperor of China was then in sound health and his realm was at peace.

If the Emperor of China was still in good health and all was at peace in the Chinese empire.

Amoy

All the junks leaving from here last year, for Amoy, five in all, arrived there safely.

How many junks left from here last year bound for Amoy and if they all arrived there safely.

Last year there were five English ships in Amoy, but only four to trade, but not known where they came from.

How many English ships were there in Amoy last year to trade, and if they were all from England or were there also some from Coromandel or Surat.

One English ship ran aground on the rocks and broke up in the approach to the Amoy River, but this ship had only come there for repairs, and it is said that earlier [she] had been on a patrol in the region, to watch some pirates of her nation, and also that [she] was ready to be broken up.

Whether or not an English ship had been wrecked on the rocks at Amoy.

When they sought permission from the regents in Amoy to repair their vessel, they were given permission to do this in the Amoy River, as this vessel was manned by 274 European crew members and her main cargo was not a large amount of ammunition.

How many crew members were there and what was the cargo of the wrecked English ship.

The goods consist of cannon, gunpowder and lead and various guns. All these English are located on a small island near Amoy called Kolongsu [Gulangyu 鼓浪屿] under the guard and protection of some Chinese soldiers, because the Chinese regents insisted that other English should take them to crew their ships, but the latter refused to comply with this.

What happened to the crew and the cargo of the ill-fated ship.

One of the four English trading vessels had left Amoy before these junks set sail, but her destination was unknown, and the other three were still being loaded, but not known when and where they would sail.

Whether these English ships had left Amoy before these junks departed and whither they were bound.

The English brought there to trade and sold various goods of their own manufacture,  to wit amber, blood coral, putchuck etc. in the very cheap price and once again purchased the most expensive tea, gold in the form of shoes, silk damasks, white and coloured, spelter, powdered and cane sugar and other trifling wares whose quantity the nachodas did not know.

What merchandise, silver etc. did the English ships bring to trade in Amoy and what sort of Chinese goods did they buy up to take back.

A small Moorish ship had also been there with a cargo of putchuck which she traded locally and when these junks were about to leave they were engaged in buying a little gold, spelter, copper staves, some porcelain, and poor quality tea. It is unknown whither she was bound.

If any other foreign ships apart from the English had been to Amoy to trade.

The overseer of the foreign traders levies the toll directly and is entitled the Honpho [Hoppo 戶部].

Who is put in charge of supervising foreign merchants in Amoy by the Chinese regents.

The regent of Tayoan (Taiwan) appointed by the Emperor of China is a Tartar and is under the authority of the man in Hokzieuw [Fuzhou 福州].

What sort of Chinese or Tartar regent has been appointed in Tayoan (Taiwan) by the Emperor of China, and is he subordinate to the chief Hokzieuw [Fuzhou 福州], or does he govern independently.

The Chinese now live in Taiwan in great numbers and all of them obey the Emperor.

How many Chinese now live in Taiwan, are all of them imperial soldiers or are some of these inhabitants traders and fishermen.

This year seven junks bound for here were ready in Amoy, two of them have already arrived. Rumour has it that two were to sail to Banjar to trade and they could not say anything about Johor and Siam.

How many junks in Amoy are preparing to sail to Batavia this year and if there are more, how many are bound for Banjar, Johor or Siam to trade.

Canton

Last year two junks left here for Canton and arrived there safely.

Last year how many junks left here bound for Canton and arrived there safely.

Two junks from Canton have put in here this year, and no more are scheduled to follow. This year one sailed to trade in Banjar, but none to either Johor or Siam.

How many junks are scheduled to leave Canton for here this year and are there others that will sail to Banjar, Johor or Siam.

Last year three ships were in the region of Canton to trade, all were English, no French were seen.

How many English ships were in Canton last year, and how many French.

They brought various wares of their own manufacture to trade, broadcloths, serge, grosgrain,  as well as amber and bar silver etc.

What merchandise, pepper, silver, etc. did the English and the French bring there to trade.

Once again they bought gold shoes, satins, damasks, Chinese linen, spelter, alum, powdered and cane sugar, China root, liquorice and various sorts of porcelain, as well as Japanese copper staves and black pepper which were purchased from Chinese who had sailed from here for  five  taels per picul.

What sort of goods did the English and French buy and acquire in China.

The English lay with two of their ships at Hangsano [possibly Hengqin Island 橫琴島] near Macao and one at Whampoa [黃埔] near Canton, and [Chinese] from Canton went to Hangsano to purchase English goods there, but the English at Whampoa went to Canton daily in their boats and skiffs to trade their wares, thus successfully buying the return cargo from the Chinese.

If the English and French had actually been in the city of Canton itself or the adjacent islands with their boats and skiffs, or whether they had had traded around Haytimon.

No.

If there are any English or Frenchmen with a lodge or living in Canton.

Again no.

Idem, if there were French or Portuguese priests in Canton.

In Macao there was one small Portuguese vessel which (rumour had it) would come here to trade, however, she did not do so but the anachodas did not know the reason.

Whether a small Portuguese vessel would come to Batavia this year.

The anachodas could say nothing about this.

And how many small vessels will sail from Macao to Goa or to Timor.

When these junks sailed the English were still loading their two ships in the two afore-mentioned places, and it was unknown when they would leave or where they were bound.

When these junks were about to sail, were the English and the French ships still in Canton, and [if so] how long was it estimated before they would depart.

[No answer]

Were they were all bound for England or France, or were some preparing to go to Coromandel or Surat.

Thus compiled, questioned and answered, Batavia 20 January anno 1701.