The Cantonese emigration and family business networks in Hong Kong, South China and North America in the late 19th and the early of 20th centuries: A research note

Abstract

The primary concern of this paper is to examine the business networks of Cantonese merchants in the period of 1850s-1910s, based on what the merchants recorded by themselves in the family correspondences and the wills (the probate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Record Series 144). These materials are informative of the testators’ life stories such as origins of emigration, family details, occupation, involvement of businesses, and location of residence. From these materials emerges the networking pattern that made the Cantonese merchants successful at home and overseas. To examine the hidden aspect of cross border networks of Cantonese, this paper will focus on the following issues: How did the Cantonese successfully extend and maintain their networks of business from Guangdong to Hong Kong, South China, Southeast Asia, Australia and North America? To what extent were the family networks interwoven with the business networks and were they effective in helping production, circulation, and consumption? Above all, did the Cantonese overseas network tell us something unique about Chinese practice of capitalism?