This index to the Despatches from U.S. Consuls in Canton, China, 1790-1906, collection provides the dates each reel covers. Government Information MAY NOT hold all of these reels. The record in the library catalog describes the extent of our holdings. For help, or to make an appointment to view a reel, email rad@colorado.edu
On the 20 rolls of this microcopy are reproduced 20 volumes that consist, for the most part, of despatches addressed to the Department of State by United States consular officials at Canton, China, between February 21, 1790, and August 9, 1906. These despatches, with their enclosures, are arranged, with few exceptions, in chronological order. The contents of despatches dated prior to July 14, 1830, are not registered; after that date they are registered on the first roll of this microcopy.
During the period covered by these volumes Canton was classified as a consulate by the Department of State until December 9, 1902, when the status of the post was changed to that of a consulate general. Within the consular district of Canton, and reporting to the Department of State through Canton, there were, for brief periods, consular agencies at Macao, Whampoa, Swatow, Hoikow, Pakhoi, and Kiimg-Chow (Hainan Island).
A large number of the despatches are covering letters for enclosures of a routine nature forwarded by consular officials to the Department of State, such as tables (frequently prepared on printed forms), consular fees received, arrivals and departures of American vessels, trade statistics, and other data collected in the ordinary course of consular duty. In accordance with departmental policy adopted in 1870, however, most statistical enclosures were removed from their covering letters and distributed among other records of the Department of State or, if the enclosures related to fiscal affairs of the consulate, among records of the Department of the Treasury.
In addition there are, occasionally, fairly detailed despatches covering a wide range of subjects. Included among these are reports of the impressment of American seamen by the British prior to the War of 1812; the early opium trade; piracy; anti-foreign and anti-missionary disturbances, including the Boxer Rebellion and the anti-American boycott of 1905; Chinese immigration to the United States and other countries; rebellions in Kwangsi and Yunan provinces and Hainan Island; the construction of the Canton-Hankow Railroad; and floods, famines, and epidemics.
The spreadsheet attached below contains a reel-by-reel description of the complete collection.