'The Canton Connection' At Historic Deerfield

DEERFIELD, MASS.

:America's fight for independence not only secured the colonies' freedom from British tyranny, but also enabled the fledgling country to take part in one of the most lucrative practices of Eighteenth Century commerce: China Trade. Free of embargoes and monopoly restrictions imposed while under England's rule, America found itself pointing her own ships toward the Orient to directly obtain the silks, porcelains and tea that other countries had been privy to for centuries. These fascinating journeys are revealed in the exciting new exhibition at Historic Deerfield, "The Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the China Trade 1784-1860," which is on view through August 2006.

The exhibition focuses on the period after the American Revolution when the doors of free trade had suddenly sprung open and America angled to procure the treasure trove of goods to be had in the Orient. According to curator Amanda Lange, "One port that was opened to us now that we were a new nation, as opposed to when we were a colony and shut out under the navigation acts that were imposed by Britain, was China. And it was kind of a leap of faith that China would even want to trade with this new nation. They didn't know us, they had no background."