The Role of Tonkin and Taiwan in the English East India Company’s East Asian Commercial Strategy in the Late Seventeenth Century: A Comparative Perspective

In 1672, the English East India Company set up factories in Taiwan and Tonkin.The Taiwan factory lasted only for 11 years (1672 -1683), but the Tonkin branch operated for 25 years (1672 -1697).Both factories had a similar role in the English East Asian commercial strategy as they served as intermediaries for trading indirectly with mainland China and Japan.Initially, the two factories were established to support English trade in Japan.However, when that plan failed, they mainly helped the English to collect Chinese products indirectly, and they were used as gateways to trade with mainland China.This article argues that the English factories in Taiwan and Tonkin played a noticeable role in maintaining the English East Asian trade in the late seventeenth century.They worked as intermediaries to maintain the Company's position and expansion in East Asia by connecting with the key markets of Japan and mainland China.Additionally, the English used small factories such as Taiwan and Tonkin in this period as a way of adapting to the special trading conditions in East Asia, where key markets were difficult to access.Moreover, the article also presents the ways in which the EIC used its overseas factories in East Asia to maintain and expand its trade there.