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" The city of intermediaries : "
Abe, Kaori
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1100869
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| Doc. No
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TLets665457
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| Main Entry
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Abe, Kaori
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| Title & Author
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The city of intermediaries :\ Abe, Kaori
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| College
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University of Bristol
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| Date
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2014
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| student score
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2014
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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The compradors (maiban), who were intermediary elites, played key roles in theformulation of the fundamental social system of the Hong Kong, the system ofintermediation, from the 1830s to the 1880s. This system depends on the existence ofcoordinators mediating between the commercial and political interests of a variety ofpeople and groups; the integration of human, financial, and information resources;and the intermediary elites' participation in public issues. My PhD research exploresChinese compradors serving foreign institutions in Hong Kong in the nineteenthcentury. It describes the evolution of the comprador system in nineteenth centuryHong Kong, with specific focus on individuals working in the colonial governmentand with foreign companies. The First Opium War dismantled and privatised thelicensed comprador system between the late 1830s and the early 1840s. Thereafter, avariety of compradors appeared in Hong Kong, including government compradors,ship compradors, and company compradors. Of these, the company compradors, whoacted as internal staff of the foreign firms as well as their external business, achievednotable economic and political success during the 1870s and 1880s. Collaboratingwith various individuals, institutions, and communities, the company compradorsconsolidated their social status in the commercial and political world of Hong Kongby the late 1880s. The Hong Kong compradors' socio-economic activities eventuallyproduced the social system of intermediation in late nineteenth century Hong Kong.After the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the city continues to be acommercial centre of East Asia, and to intermediate foreign and Chinese economies,politics, and culture. This thesis will promote further understanding of thecontemporary society and people of Hong Kong.
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University of Bristol
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