Free trade's first missionary : Sir John Bowring in Europe and Asia / Philip Bowring.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bowring, Philip, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bowring, John, 1792-1872.

Bowring, John.

Free trade--History--19th century.

Free trade.

Linguists--Great Britain--Biography.

Linguists.

Diplomats--Great Britain--Biography.

Diplomats.

Legislators--Great Britain--Biography.

Legislators.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (313 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Porkfulam Road, Hongkong : Hong Kong University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Reformer, intellectual, colonial governor, Sir John Bowring was the archetype of the ambitious men who made Britain a leading global power in the nineteenth century. Born to a modest trading family, he showed an aptitude for languages which led him to literature, then to radical politics in the struggles for liberty in France, Spain and Greece. Taken up by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, he became a figure in the literary world. But his emphasis was on action rather than theories. He became a high-profile advocate of free trade and a liberal foe of Karl Marx. As member of parliament he supported full suffrage and other radical causes. He modernized Britain's public accounts, invented the florin as a first step to decimalization, and became an industrial entrepreneur. Losing his money in the 1848 slump, he took a job as consul in Canton, which led to the governorship of Hong Kong. As Britain's Plenipotentiary in East Asia he negotiated a key treaty with the King Mongkut of Siam but also started a war with China. His term as governor of Hong Kong was plagued with problems. But there as elsewhere he left a legacy of liberal ideas. Bowring's impact was spread over so many fields that his name has been eclipsed by those with a narrower focus. This book brings his life and disparate achievements together, with a particular emphasis on his role in promoting free trade and his much criticized career in Asia.

Contents:

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Exeter lad's radical roots

War, Spain and the Unitarians

Bentham's favourite son

A poisonous Greek pie

Polyglot poet meets Kubla Khan

Reforming politics and public accounts

The new gospel : free trade

Of Egypt and Levantine plagues

Bolton : pit of poverty and progress

Progressive MP coins the florin

An ironmaster derails

Opiate of various peoples

Frustration at Canton

Some progress on the China coast

Arrow ploy sunk by ye

The War of Two Bruces

Hong Kong : good input, little output

High-minded humiliation

The king and he : a lasting legacy

Philippine fiesta

A new wife and energy to the end

Conclusion : why he matters

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed September 18, 2014).

ISBN:

9789888268849

9888268848

OCLC:

887684157