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Lange's Business
Although Kuta at the time was the gateway to the island's rich inland economy of coffee, tobacco, and other cash crops which Lange brokered, his major business derived from a monopoly on the sale of Chinese 'kepeng', which became the island's dominant monetary unit. Lange would buy the round coins cheap and sell them on Bali at 100% profit or else trade them for rice. Large quantities of these coins were sent from China to Singapore, from where Lange would import them to Bali along with opium, iron, arms, and textiles. Working through Chinese agents, Lange maintained a system of storehouses on neighboring islands where his fleet of 12 ships would gather raw produce to resupply stocks on Bali. Numerous European ships called at Kuta to buy rice, coconut oil, animals, hides, cotton, tobacco, coffee, and other goods. He maintained two slaughterhouses, killing oxen to supply dried beef for the Dutch garrisons on Java. His close relationship with the local ruling elite allowed him to expand his trade and commercial contacts without competition or political risks. Lange became an immensely rich and powerful man. |
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