Canton, 1879

“Canton, 1879” is a description of Canton City, now known as Guangzhou, in southern China in 1879. China was conquered by the Qin dynasty in ancient times. It later served as the capital of the independent Nanyue Kingdom. The Han dynasty conquered the Nanyue Kingdom in 111 B.C. and Canton City became a provincial capital. The common English name “Canton” may be a corruption of the name of the city’s province, Guangdong. Canton gained importance as a trade port from the 18th to 19th centuries, when the imperial Chinese Manchu or Qing dynasty made it the sole port that could legally handle foreign commerce.

The Opium War of the 1840s forced China to open up other ports to trade, ending Canton’s monopoly. So after this, Canton’s trade diminished because of increased competition from other ports.