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Southern Ming Maritime Trade

Type Event Region East Asian seas Time 1651–1660

From 1651 to the 1660s, Zheng Chenggong's Southern Ming maritime forces taxed trade across East Asian sea lanes, financing their anti-Qing military o…

Timeline

  1. 1651–1653Xiamen and the Taiwan Strait · FujianZheng Chenggong used Xiamen as a hub, effectively controlling commerce between southern Fujian and the Taiwan Strait by levying 'transit taxes' on passing merchant ships and issuing trade licenses, converting maritime trade revenues into military funding.
  2. 1653–1657East Asian seas · South China SeaThe Zheng clan actively developed exports of raw silk and porcelain to Nagasaki in Japan, extending its commercial network to Southeast Asian ports such as Luzon (the Philippines) and Batavia (Indonesia), forming a multi-directional trade system spanning East Asia.
  3. 1656–1660East Asian seas · South China SeaAlthough the Qing court's coastal evacuation order struck at coastal supply sources, the Zheng clan sustained its economy through its oceanic trade network and gradually shifted its commercial bases to Taiwan, laying the commercial and financial groundwork for the 1661 campaign to take Taiwan.

Sources