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French Trade and Banking Footholds in Hankow/Wuhan Challenging British Hegemony up the Yangtze (1903–1920)

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The Development of International Banking in Asia

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Abstract

French companies and banks (mainly Banque de l’Indochine) undertook to sustain the momentum launched by the French State, its diplomacy and various business lobbies in favour of the promotion of economic patriotism in China. The coalition of the Consulate, the branch Banque de l’Indochine and trade houses transformed Wuhan/Hankeou into a hub to draw regional commodities and to introduce French goods. Bankers there had to cross military and political events, to resist competition (HSBC, from Shanghai), and to take part to the development of the concession, in the midst of the Yang Ze Kiang valley. They had to get embedded into the connections of Chinese business (through the comprador and trade houses) to avoid the risk of asymmetry of information, to broaden their capital of knowledge about the business opportunities in the area, and to get used to the local uses of payment. Their intimacy with the few French trade houses having offshoots there favoured the development of substantial banking stuff, despite the dependence from the Shanghai marketplace and from the treasury funds of the Banque de l’Indochine branch downstream.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Bonin (2003, 2012).

  2. 2.

    See Bonin (2019).

  3. 3.

    Lee (1989), Weber (1997).

  4. 4.

    Kelly (1963).

  5. 5.

    See Rowe (1984).

  6. 6.

    Gipouloux (2011a, b).

  7. 7.

    See Hentenryk (1972, 1977).

  8. 8.

    Archives of the Banque de l’Indochine, historical archives of Crédit agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 27 July 1911 [BIC, then onwards].

  9. 9.

    A picul (or tam) was a traditional Asian unit of weight, defined as “a shoulder-load”, “as much as a man can carry on a shoulder-pole”. As for any traditional measurement unit, the exact definition of the picul varied historically and regionally: In imperial China and later, the unit was used for a measure equivalent to 100 catties, or around 60 kg (Wikipedia).

  10. 10.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 9 August 1907.

  11. 11.

    See Crisp (1974), Shinonaga (2012).

  12. 12.

    Dean (1972), Edwards (1970).

  13. 13.

    See Warner (1985).

  14. 14.

    Keswick (1982), Blake (1999), Jones (1986).

  15. 15.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 9 August 1907.

  16. 16.

    Tamaki (1990), Ishii (1994).

  17. 17.

    Ibidem, 15 February 1918.

  18. 18.

    Meuleau (1990) .

  19. 19.

    Gonjo (1985), Bonin (1994a, b).

  20. 20.

    The building itself is today the Victori and Café.

  21. 21.

    Along the name of a battle in 1854 where Chinese troops won over foreign ones during the Taipin war, as if anti-imperialism had to be proclaimed against a past when the Powers had predominated.

  22. 22.

    Rihal (2007).

  23. 23.

    Murphey (1970), Fairbank (1970).

  24. 24.

    “Last evening, I dined at the Banque [de l’Indochine], with the O’Neil, the Brandt and Bondeuf. This evening I will dine with the Brandt and tomorrow with the Hervy”, 10 June 1912, in Philippe Marchat, Raphaël Réau, consul à Hankéou pendant la Révolution chinoise et la Grande Guerre, 1910–1916, Paris, L’Harmattan,“Mémoires asiatiques”, 2013, p. 112. On 12 June, Réau had dinner with the Brandt, the O’Neil and Lehman [the deputy-head of the Banque de l’Indochine branch]. “Lehman invited me to the bank along with the O’Neil, very nice”, ibidem, 15 June 2012. Réau was promoted to Hong Kong.

  25. 25.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit agricole SA, correspondence and statistics from the branch to the headquarters, 439AH535, 30 December 1916.

  26. 26.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 9 August 1907.

  27. 27.

    King (2008), Pernotte (1922).

  28. 28.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 15 February 1908.

  29. 29.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondence and statistics, 439AH535, 5 April 1907.

  30. 30.

    Ibidem, 4 April 1903.

  31. 31.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondence and statistics from the branch to the headquarters, 439AH535, 24 March 1914, 11 March 1911.

  32. 32.

    Ibidem, 2 April 1909.

  33. 33.

    Ibidem, 24 March 1914, 11 March 1911.

  34. 34.

    See Footnote 27.

  35. 35.

    Ibidem, January 1916.

  36. 36.

    Ibidem.

  37. 37.

    Ibidem.

  38. 38.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, January 1911.

  39. 39.

    See Hentenry (1977).

  40. 40.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondence and statistics, 439AH535, 5 April 1908.

  41. 41.

    Ibidem, 18 March 1914; 31 March 1915.

  42. 42.

    Ibidem, 7 April 1918.

  43. 43.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, July 1915.

  44. 44.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondance and statistics from the branch to the headquarters, 439AH535, 24 March 1914.

  45. 45.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 9 August 1907.

  46. 46.

    Ibidem, 20 July 1909.

  47. 47.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, 1 July 1916.

  48. 48.

    Ibidem, January 1916.

  49. 49.

    Ibidem, July 1915.

  50. 50.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, Lettres-bilans, from the headquarters to the branch, 439AH535, 19 April 1913.

  51. 51.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, January 1917.

  52. 52.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondence and statistics from the branch to the headquarters, 439AH535, 2 April 1909, 13 March 1916, 12 September 1916.

  53. 53.

    Ibidem, 7 September 1917.

  54. 54.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondence and statistics from the branch to the headquarters, 439AH536, 20 January 1918.

  55. 55.

    At this time, the tael was valued at seven francs.

  56. 56.

    See Footnote 53.

  57. 57.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, January 1917.

  58. 58.

    Ibidem, January 1917.

  59. 59.

    See Footnote 57 (Bonin 2020b).

  60. 60.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, Lettres-bilans, from the headquarters to the branch, 439AH535, 11 April 1914.

  61. 61.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, BE 1047, 439 AH 179, rapports-bilans semestriels, January 1916.

  62. 62.

    Ibidem, 1909.

  63. 63.

    Ibidem, January 1916.

  64. 64.

    Ibidem, “Year 1908”, 1 February 1909.

  65. 65.

    Ibidem, 27 July 1910.

  66. 66.

    Wuhan is known as the birthplace of the Xinhai Revolution, named after the Xinhai year on the Chinese calendar. There are several museums and memorials to the revolution and the thousands of martyrs who died defending the revolution.

  67. 67.

    “Réau Raphaël”, in Bensacq-Tixier (2003), pp. 469–471, Marchat (2013), Rihal (2013).

  68. 68.

    Archives of BIC, historical archives of Crédit Agricole SA, correspondence and statistics from the branch to the headquarters, 439AH535, 13 November 1911.

  69. 69.

    King (1996, 2000).

  70. 70.

    See King (1988).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Modern Economic History at Sciences Po Bordeaux and Research Centre, GRETHA-Bordeaux University, Arcachon, France

    Hubert Bonin

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  1. Faculty of Economics, Kansai University, Suita, Osaka, Japan

    Takeshi Nishimura

  2. Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

    Ayumu Sugawara

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Bonin, H. (2020). French Trade and Banking Footholds in Hankow/Wuhan Challenging British Hegemony up the Yangtze (1903–1920). In: Nishimura, T., Sugawara, A. (eds) The Development of International Banking in Asia. Studies in Economic History. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55615-2_8

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