Introduction: A Sea Change -- Acknowledgements -- 1. The Age of Discovery -- 2. Western Approaches -- 3. A Foot in the China Door -- 4. Home Away from Home -- 5. A Tale of Two Plants -- 6. Infectious Distempers -- 7. The Price of Failure -- 8. A Divine Curse -- 9. Bounty Hunters and Pirates -- 10. Reformers and Reactionaries -- 11. The Great Land Grab -- 12. The Reluctant Republic -- 13. Roughshod Riders -- 14. The East is Red -- 15. Three Shades of Red -- 16. A Change of Flag -- Bibliography -- Index.