Roles, structures, and international characters of Hoi An trading port

Abstract

In the past decades, Vietnamese and international scholars have gained many important achievements in research on Hoi An and the ancient trading port system of Vietnam. The study of sea trade has been making an important contribution to clarifying many aspects of the nation's history. Looking back, it is clear that the researchers have reached basic awareness about the formation process and great changes in Hoi An and some central trading ports through historical periods. There have also been quite a few research works on potentials and strengths; guidelines and policies of the Cochinchina government; social and cultural life; the presence of many local, regional and international business communities in Hoi An in the context of Asian and world economic and social history. Many experts believe that Hoi An is an international trading port with several special features. The question is that internationality is expressed by engaging in which system and in which way? Locating Hoi An in the East Asian trading system and the relationship between the trading ports of Cochinchina, this article focuses on clarifying the basis, motivation, and basic conditions for the formation of this trading port; its roles, structure, especially the international characters of Hoi An - as a major trading port, of leading importance in Vietnam in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.