'Informal Empire in Crisis: British Diplomacy and the Chinese Customs Succession, 1927-1929'

Typescript thesis, 'Informal Empire in Crisis: British Diplomacy and the Chinese Customs Succession, 1927-1929', for the degree of MA at Cornell University, USA, 1992.

The Chinese Maritime Customs (formerly the Imperial Maritime Customs) collected customs duties from foreign ships and administered port facilities on behalf of the Chinese Government. It was managed mainly by foreigners, largely British. The appointment of a new Inspector-General in 1928 caused controversy between the Chinese and British governments, having implications for Western business interests in China and relations between the two countries.

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Presented by the author in 1992.

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds records relating to the Chinese Maritime Customs, including papers of Edward Charles Mackintosh and Cecil Arthur Verner Bowra (Ref: PP MS 69), Sir Robert Hart (Ref: PP MS 67), and Sir Frederick Maze (Ref: PP MS 2). SOAS also holds the papers of Sir John Pratt (Ref: PP MS 5) and records of John Swire & Sons Ltd (Ref: JSS) relating to China, consulted for M P Atkins's thesis.