European agency houses and the Malay states
The agency house was a particular type of mercantile firm which evolved to engage in the business of international trade. The origin of the agency houses lay in the late 18th and 19th centuries with British merchants trading in Asia, principally in India and China, dealing in the export of local products. As the Industrial Revolution in the West gathered pace, British companies found it convenient to also use these agencies in the East to sell manufactured goods on commission.
- Information in the full article includes
- The early agency houses
- Financial structure
- Conditions in the Malay states
- Security
- The agency houses at their zenith
