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Britain, industry and perceptions of China : Matthew Boulton, 'useful knowledge' and the Macartney Embassy to China 1792–94
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Berg, Maxine. (2006) Britain, industry and perceptions of China : Matthew Boulton, 'useful knowledge' and the Macartney Embassy to China 1792–94. Journal of Global History, Vol.1 (No.2). pp. 269-288. ISSN 1740-0228
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1740022806000167
Abstract
Global history has debated the emergence of a divergence in economic growth between China and the West during the eighteenth century. The Macartney Embassy, 1792–94, the first British embassy to China, occurring as it did at the end of the eighteenth century, was an event which revealed changing perceptions of China and the Chinese by different British interest groups from government, trade, industry and enlightened opinion. Many histories of the embassy recount failures of diplomacy and cultural misconception, or divergent ideas of science. This article examines attitudes of British industry to the embassy through the part played in its preparations by the Birmingham industrialist, Matthew Boulton, and revealed in correspondence in the Matthew Boulton Papers. The article uncovers debate among different interest groups over the objects and skilled personnel to be taken on the embassy. Were the objects purveyors of trade or tribute, or of ‘useful knowledge’ and ‘industrial enlightenment’?
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JZ International relations D History General and Old World > DS Asia D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History |
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | China -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain, China -- History -- Qianlong, 1736-1795, Macartney, George Macartney, Earl, 1737-1806, Boulton, Matthew, 1728-1809 |
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Global History |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| ISSN: | 1740-0228 |
| Date: | 21 July 2006 |
| Volume: | Vol.1 |
| Number: | No.2 |
| Page Range: | pp. 269-288 |
| Identification Number: | 10.1017/S1740022806000167 |
| Status: | Not Peer Reviewed |
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
| URI: | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/292 |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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