THE RED-BILL SHIPS DURING THE TAIPING REVOLUTION PERIOD

The red-bill ships were large cargo vessels used by people in Guangdong for overseas trades. During the period of the Taiping Revolution, the Qing government made use of the red-bill ships to put down the peasant uprisings, bringing about great losses to the insurgent army. Due to undue supply of monthly pay, the insurgents illegally set customs pass, robbed the praveling merchants, and killed common people. Their brutality was later exposed and put down. The problem of the red-bill ships has been one the topics worth studying in the history of the Taiping Revolution.