Howqua

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Howqua (Chinese: 伍秉鉴 Pinyin: Wu Bingjian) was the most important of the Hong merchants in the Thirteen Factories, and the leader of the Canton Cohong. He was once one of the richest men in the world. ^[1] ^[2]

Born in Fujian, China, he was known to the West as "Howqua" (the second). His father, Wu Guorong was also "Howqua" (the first) and was founder of the family company. He became rich on the trade between China and the British Empire in the middle of the 19th Century during the Opium Wars. Perhaps the wealthiest man in China during the nineteenth century, Howqua was the senior of the hong merchants in Canton, one of the few authorized to trade silk and porcelain with foreigners. The volume of his wealth was almost unimaginable. In Nanjing Treaty, amount the 3 million dollars of compensations that were required to pay back to the British, he single-handedly contributed one million, one third of the total sum. ^[3] Because his Chinese name was too difficult for western traders to pronounce, the name Howqua comes from his Chinese Business Name "浩官" (Pinyin: Haoguan), very similar to a DBA. ^[4] Portraits of the pigtailed Howqua in his robes still hang in Salem and Newport mansions built by U.S. merchants grateful for his assistance.