Local administration in northern Chekiang and the response to the pirate invasions of 1553-1556
Date
1976
Authors
Fitzpatrick, Merrilyn Anne
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Abstract
Chia-hsing in northern Chekiang was part of one of the most advanced
and prosperous sectors of the Ming empire. The pirate invasions of 1553
to 1556 were the direct outcome of the extra-legal overseas trade which had
arisen in the region as a consequence of its expansive economic capacity.
Contradictions within the conduct of overseas trade suddenly changed into
large-scale piracy when the Ming government re-enforced the ban on overseas
trade and travel. The crisis therefore which threatened the security of
Ming authority in the south-east, developed in intimate relationship with
the policies and practices of the Ming government, and the society and
economy of the south-east. The military crisis created by the invasions put to the test the
resources of an administration geared to long years of peace. The positional
defence and fragmentary military control of the peace-time Ming defence
system were ill-equipped to cope with an emergency which called for decisive
and co-ordinated action. Because of the nature of military resources
available to the civil bureaucracy, the emphasis in the anti-pirate activity
was placed on the defence of walled towns (which housed the local administrations).
The provision of fortifications therefore constituted a majorelement
in the overall defence strategy. The crucial role played by local
administration in the wall-building programmes of this period reflects
the degree to which the central government depended on ]oca] initiatives
and efficiency to provide resources for the general defence of the region.
Defence of the countryside and unwalled towns was almost entirely left
to local effort. Little attempt was made by local elites or administration
to mobilize the people of the region for defence. Troops wereinstead
from outside of the region, and for the general population, there was often
Uttle difference between the depredations of the pirates and the demands
of the troops. Many local people joined forces with the pirates, threatening
the stability of the region's social and economic life. However, the strong
participation by the local bureaucratic elite in a regional defence
administration led by men with roots and a clear understanding of conditions
Ln the south-east enabled the government to suppress the piracy in the
Uiiang-Che region before it did lasting harm to the structure and power of
MLng rule in that area.
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