ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- NOTES ON SPELLING -- GLOSSARY -- EXPLANATION OF THE UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- Outline of the VOC tea trade with China -- Previous research -- Subject and framework -- Source materials -- CHAPTER ONE THE CHINA COMMITTEE AND ITS MANAGEMENT OF THE CHINA TRADE -- Introduction -- Preparations for the improved management of the China trade -- Establishment of the China Committee -- Instructions of the China Committee -- 1. To the Company servants on the China ships and in China -- 2. To the High Government in Batavia -- Trade goods and funds sent from the Dutch Republic -- The China Committee's demands for the "VOC teas" -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER TWO BATAVIA'S ROLE IN THE DIRECT CHINA TRADE -- Introduction -- Batavia's contributions to the direct China trade -- 1. Supply of trade goods -- 2. Supplementing trade funds -- 3. Complement of equipment and personnel -- 4. Assistance with instructions -- Benefits to Batavia from the direct China trade -- 1. Commodities for use in Batavia -- 2. Gold for the intra-Asian trade -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER THREE THE PURCHASE OF THE "VOC TEAS" IN CANTON -- Introduction -- The "VOC teas" -- The "VOC tea"-supplying agents -- The "VOC tea" procurements -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER FOUR THE DUTCH-CHINESE-EUROPEAN TRIANGLE -- Introduction -- Protests against the establishment of the Co-hong -- Purchase of the Herstelder -- Recapture of the Goede Hoop -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER FIVE THE SALE OF THE "VOC TEAS" IN EUROPE -- Introduction -- Company auctions of the "VOC teas" -- Domestic distribution of the "VOC teas" -- Re-export of the "VOC teas" -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER SIX THE "GOLDEN AGE" OF THE TEA TRADE AND ITS CONCLUSION -- The "Golden Age" of the tea trade -- Conclusion of the "Golden Age" -- NOTES -- APPENDICES.

APPENDIX 1 PRECIOUS METALS BROUGHT BY THE VOC CHINA SHIPS INTO CANTON, 1758-1794 -- APPENDIX 2 ASSESSMENTS OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED BY THE VOC INTO CANTON, 1758-1793 -- APPENDIX 3 TEA-SUPPLYING AGENTS OF THE VOC IN CANTON, 1762-1780 -- APPENDIX 4 TEAS EXPORTED FROM CANTON TO THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1742-1794 -- APPENDIX 5 TEAS SENT FROM BATAVIA TO THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1730-1787 -- APPENDIX 6 TEAS AUCTIONED BY THE VOC IN THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1729-1790 -- APPENDIX 7 PRICES OF TEAS AT THE COMPANY AUCTIONS BY THE VOC CHAMBERS, 1777-1780 -- APPENDIX 8 AUCTIONS OF TEAS HELD BY THE ZEELAND CHAMBER, 1758-1776 -- APPENDIX 9 SELLING PRICES OF BOHEA AND SOUCHONG ON THE AMSTERDAM COMMODITY EXCHANGE, 1732-1795 -- APPENDIX 10 SELLING PRICES OF TEAS BY SEVERAL TEA-DEALERS IN AMSTERDAM, 1776-1795 -- APPENDIX 11 AVERAGE WAGES: WESTERN AND EASTERN NETHERLANDS, 1725-1790 -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX -- List of Figures -- Figure 1 Organizational structure of the VOC China Trade, 1757-1794 -- Figure 2. Volumes of teas bought in Canton and Batavia and sold in the Dutch Republic by the VOC, 1729-1790 -- Figure 3. Purchases (in Canton and Batavia) and sales (in the Dutch Republic) of the "VOC teas", 1729-1790 -- List of Illustrations -- Illustration 1 View of the Island of Onrust, near Batavia, from at sea in 1779 -- Illustration 2 Tea garden, tea plant, tea leaves, and tea products -- Illustration 3 The packing of the "VOC teas" in Canton -- Illustration 4 Wooden-framed transom of a tea shop, with the inscription "The Green Tea Tree" -- Illustration 5 Advertisement for the shop "The Old Town Hall" -- Illustration 6 The first shopkeepers of "The Cloverleaf " -- Illustration 7 The shop "The Cloverleaf " -- Illustration 8 Announcement of the tax on coffee, tea, chocolate et al., 1734 -- List of Maps.

Map 1 Sailing routes of the China ships between the Dutch Republic and China, 1729-1794 -- Map 2 Tin and pepper supplying areas of the VOC China trade -- Map 3 The "VOC tea"-producing areas and the routes of transporting teas to Canton -- Map 4 The Pearl River Delta -- List of Tables -- Table 1 Percentage of black teas purchased by the VOC in Canton, 1760-1780 -- Table 2 Percentage of green teas purchased by the VOC in Canton, 1760-1780 -- Table 3 Comparison between the asking, bid, and fixed prices (taels/picul) of several teas by the Dutch supercargoes and their trading partners, 1779 -- Table 4 Number of the tea-buyers at the auctions in Middelburg by the Zeeland Chamber, 1758-1766 and 1772-1776 -- Table 5 The VOC purchase (in Canton) and sales (in the Dutch Republic) prices of Twankay, 1756-1781 -- Table 6 Comparison of volumes between tea sent from Canton and sold at auction in the Dutch Republic, 1756-1790 -- Table 7 Gross profits margins on selling the "VOC teas" by the Company, 1756-1790 -- Table 8 Comparison of prices of teas (stivers/pound) between the tea-dealers Jan Jacob Voute & Sons and the VOC in Amsterdam, 1777-1781 -- Table 9 Prices of teas sold by Jan Jacob Voute & Sons in 1777, 1788, and 1795 (stivers/pound).