Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/740

 730 CANTON highly favorable. The river Pe, or North stream, and the Yuh, or Western stream, with their confluents, which have deep waters and a gentle current, are navigable throughout the whole extent of the rich provinces of Quang- see and Quang-tung. The products of the rich valley bounded by the Mei-ling, Yung-ling, Ya-shan, and Lo-feu-shan ranges of mountains, with an area of 150,000 sq. m. and a popula- tion of 60,000,000, have no other market but Canton. Before the establishment of Shang- hai as a port of foreign entry, the products of the Yang-tse valley and the populous Po- yang lake basin were brought down the Kan river to Nan-ngan ; thence by portage through a pass in the Mey-ling mountains, 24 m., to Nan-hiung, a considerable town at the head of navigation of the Pe, and thence down to Canton. The natural waterways of the rich valley which forms the background of Canton are tapped at innumerable points by artificial conduits, forming a network of irrigation and water communication, far surpassing anything of similar character in any other country. The aspect of the landscape, beheld from the forti- fications in the rear of the city, is exceedingly picturesque. Far away among the beautiful verdure and shrubbery of the plain you behold the gilded masts of junks gliding in all direc- tions, intermingled with the pointed roofs of villages and the spires of pagodas. This beau- ty of distant Chinese scenery does not appear in the approach to Canton, and the traveller who for the first time passes through the great delta or archipelago below the city, is disap- pointed by the aspect of the sluggish stream, the low mud banks, and the dead treeless level lying beyond. Formerly the whole of the for- eign trade was carried on by sailing ships, but since the establishment of the colony of Hong Kong there has sprung up a line of river steamboats, chiefly of American build, which ply daily between Canton, Macao, and Hong Kong, and convey the greater part of the pro- duce and merchandise for foreign and native consumption, as well as passengers. The mouth of the river, or rather the gulf of Canton, un- like other Asiatic rivers, is not blocked by sand banks, and the channels separating the islands present no serious danger to shipping ; but in consequence of the strong eddies and intricate navigation in the estuary and inner waters of the Canton river, it is necessary to take a pilot as far as the Boca Tigris, whence another pilot conducts to the anchorage at Whampoa, 12 miles from the city. From the rise of the tide and the nature of the ground it has been found advantageous to construct several docks for re- pairing ships. From these facilities a number of vessels enter which have no traffic at this port, so that the shipping returns are in excess of the commercial tonnage. According to Chinese authorities, Canton has existed as a city for 40 centuries, and was originally called Nan-keao. Whether those accounts are cor- rect or not, traces are found of Nan-wo-ching (the martial city of the south) 1,200 years be- fore our era. Its name was changed several times, and its population and importance rap- idly increased. Commercial relations were formed with the merchants of India, and to- ward the 8th century it had an extensive trade. At the end of the 9th century it was besieged by the Cochin Chinese. Canton dis- tinguished itself, about 1650, by an obstinate resistance to the Mantchoo Tartars, who then established the dynasty which now rules China, which was followed by a fearful mas- sacre after its capture. Chinese writers esti- mate the number of those killed during the siege and subsequent massacre at 700,000. In 1839 a fire destroyed about 10,000 houses. The first intercourse of Europeans with this city was in 1517, when Emanuel of Portugal sent eight ships of war to accompany an am- bassador, who went to Peking and obtained permission for his government to establish a trading post near Canton, which was ultimate- ly fixed at Macao. In 1596 the English failed in an attempt to open trade there. In 1634 they made another attempt with a greater num- ber of ships ; but the expedition was abortive through the machinations of the Portuguese. In 1680 an English factory was established at Canton. The perseverance of the English finally gained for them a superior position in the European trade with Canton, which they still maintain. Their imports in 1842, before the opening of other ports to foreign trade, were about $17,500,000 of British manufac- tures, and $13,000,000 of colonial produce; with exports valued at $19,000,000, of which $15,000,000 was of tea. The United States rank next to Great Britain in commercial im- portance at Canton. The enterprising mer- chants of Salem were pioneers of this trade, commenced at great risk amid the dangers and vicissitudes of the war of the revolution. Raw silk has become the most important article of export from the province of Canton to the United States. In the summer of 1871 the value of raw floss and woven silks shipped from the port of Canton to this country amounted to $1,222,911. The value of the other exports to this country, as tea, drugs, cassia, lacquered ware, and other Chinese manufactures, amount- ed to $1,178,599. The total quantity of silk exported in 1871 from Canton was 2,153,300 Ibs. Up to 1850 Canton was the chief foreign emporium in China, when it began to be sur- passed by Shanghai. On May 26, 1841, the British, failing to obtain redress for certain grievances, captured the forts which command the city, and compelled it to pay a ransom of 6,000,000 to save it from bombardment; and by the treaty of Nanking on Aug. 26 of the following year it was opened to English com- merce. In 1847 the British again took pos- session of the outer fortifications of Canton. Again, in combination with the French, they commenced hostilities in October, 1856, against the city, which they captured without much