Britain's Imperial Cornerstone in China: The Chinese Maritime Customs Service, 1854-1949

The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was an institution which for over eighty years held an integral role in facilitating foreign trade along the China coast and waterways. Established as the Imperial Maritime Customs Service in the wake of China`s defeat in the Opium Wars (1842-43), it became a central feature of the Treaty Port system. This British-dominated service also encompassed other responsibilities such as harbour maintenance, lighthouse service, quarantine, anti-piracy patrols and postal services. The Maritime Customs Service sat at a crucial juncture between Chinese and foreign interests, and was intimately linked to British interests and fortunes in the Far East (most particularly through the aspirations of the British Inspectors General at its helm). It was these inherent conflicting interests that led the Service to face serious challenges to its integrity in the 1920s and 1930s; and these challenges are examined in detail in this work. This book provides an overview of the development of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service as an essentially imperial institution focusing especially on the fate of the foreign inspectorate in its last decades when it faced challenges from nationalist elements, civil unrest and war, compounded with tensions between the inspectorate and British interests in China.

Donna Brunero is Research Fellow in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Bristol