Consentia Gigua

Consentia Giqua was a Chinese merchant in Canton that traded with foreign companies and had also owned 4 junks for trade with Southeast Asia. He was also known as Ye Chunyi, while his Romanized name “Consentia” was a Portuguese or Spanish word meaning conscientious or honest.

The first reference to Consentia Gigua trading in Canton comes from 1729. During the 1730s he traded with a partner named Manila, and they operated out of the firm Houde Hang. In the next decade he was in partnership with the Hong merchant Swequa. These two decades were fairly stable years for his trade. In 1750s and 1760s several small porcelain dealers channeled goods through his firm Guangyuan Hang. He was specialized in porcelain trade, but he traded in other products such as tea and silk. Giqua traded regularly with English, Swedish, Dutch and Danish East India Company. At some point he also took in a new partner named Huiqua, who appears in the records taking care of Giqua's affairs after he died in 1765.