項次 1830

First Opium War – The Opium Trade Opium Clipper Ship Hercules: 1836 (6 June, and 16 June) two letters with separate account written on board the ‘Hercules’ at Cumsingoon Island to Edward Crooke in Canton; there are no postal markings other than two Chinese ink characters ”局碌”on the flap; there is the usual light horizontal filing fold. Very Good mails from Cumsingmoon. Hercules was built at Calcutta in 1814. She traded between Britain and India under a license from the British East India Company, before returning to Calcutta registry. She then traded opium between India and China before becoming an opium receiving ship for Jardine Matheson. In 1839 she was one of the vessels that surrendered her store of opium to be burned at the behest of Chinese officials at Canton. Cumsingmoon is the prominent water gateway of Canton River for the smugglers to privately ship opium chests into Whampoa during 1830s at the beginning of opium smuggling period. A very nice group of opium trade related materials.

鴉片煙快速大飛艇“Hercules”: 1836年3月26日寫於金星門往廣州 的 Hercules之信函, 寄給廣州的Edward Crook。