The characteristic feature of trade during most of the 18th century was its sporadic nature, maintained ever since the establishment of the Portuguese ivory trade in the 16th century. This situation changed during the English and Austrian periods of trade, when ivory was supplied on a far more regular basis because of the involvement of the country trade – a coastal trade in Asia, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and, occasionally, the east coast of Africa, conducted by privately owned merchant vessels.Footnote1515 For discussion of the Bombay country trade, see A. Bulley, Bombay Country Ships 1790–1833 (Richmond, Curzon Press, 2000).View all notes The country trade was a special feature of the English East India Company (EEIC) that allowed either servants or ex-servants of the company to import quantities of certain goods on their own accounts.Footnote1616 Ibid., p. vii.View all notes This practice permitted legitimate private transactions, which generated an income in silver, a strength that the Company exploited. As country ships came to dominate English maritime trade, their business became invaluable to the Company that used the ready cash to pay for its annual tea order from China. And because the EEIC formally permitted their servants to conduct private trade, merchants became stakeholders in the company as a whole.Footnote1717 Ibid.View all notes Trade flourished in the Indian Ocean because traders were given the freedom to explore coasts and take advantage of trade within the terms of their licences.Footnote1818 Ibid., p. 3.View all notes It was under these favourable circumstances that Edward Chandler and his experienced crew made their way to Delagoa Bay with an official licence to exploit the ivory market from 1756. The importance of Chandler’s country trade was his access to capital with which to maintain a supply of a large quantity of trade goods, in particular the brass items that were in high demand in the southern hinterland of Delagoa Bay (see Table 1). Besides the limited political interference displayed by Europeans at this time, the greater level of ivory supply to the coast can be attributed to the ample supply of brass
Contents contributed and discussions participated by ntandoelinda
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