British merchants and the Qing dynasty. Despite the Daoguang Emperor's many opium prohibition edicts throughout the early nineteenth century, the Western trade upon which the Cohong merchantmen built their livelihoods now centered around the drug, and as such the merchants participated heavily in the narcotic trade. Within the city of Canton, in which western trade represented the center of the economic structure, the Qing Emperor's edicts held little effect over the trade hierarchy. From Lintin Island, the small island near Guangzhou on which the European states moored their boats, the Cohong merchants facilitated the use of small smuggling vessels known as "fast crabs" or "shifting dragons" in order to transport the illicit substance from Lintin to the warehouses within Canton. These boats were necessary to avoid Qing search and seizure of the opium and ensure its arrival in Canton, after which the Cohong took over the process, trading their goods for the opium and preparing it to enter Qing Territory. While the Cohong did not participate directly in the opium trade within China (this was accomplished through other merchants, and the distribution handled by criminals and social outcasts, such as migrants), they were the first part of the process through which the substance entered China. End After the British victory in the First Opium War, the Treaty of Nanjing, signed in 1842, extracted several British demands from the Qing government, in particular the end of the Canton system and the dissolution of the Cohong merchants' guilds. In the wake of this decision, trade moved from the Confucian merchant-to-merchant systems of the Qing Empire to the more diplomatic official-to-official trading systems of the British Empire. See also Germania (guild) – Merchants' guilds in Valencia, Spain Guildhall Museum Guild of Romanists Club in 17th century Antwerp Hanseatic League – Merchants' guilds in Europe, especially the Baltic region Howqua Jāti – guilds (of mediaeval origin) in India Marketplace Old China Trade Painter's Guild in New Spain Retail Shreni – Association of merchants, traders and artisans in India Trade Guilds of South India Trade union Za (guilds) – Merchants' guilds in Japan Ten Great Merchant Guilds References Economic history of China Foreign relations of the Qing dynasty Economy of Guangzhou History of foreign trade in China Guilds