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This book is about imperial power and transnational encounters of shipowners and merchants in the South China Sea from 1840 to 1930. With French Indochina and British Hong Kong on its western and northern shores, the “Asian Mediterranean” was for almost a century a crucible of power and an axis of economic struggle among coastal shipping companies from various nations. Merchant steamers shipped cargos and passengers between ports of the region. Saigon, Hong Kong and Haiphong developed into major ports of call and hubs of flows of goods and people, while Kwang-chow-wan survived as almost forgotten outpost of Indochina. While the existing literature on the subject has largely remained within the confines of colonial history, this book uses the examples of French and German companies operating in the South China Sea to show the extent to which transnational actors and business networks interacted in the process of globalisation.