My thesis treats the social life in the foreign quarters of Canton and Macao 1730-1830. As a case study, I focus on the employees of the Swedish East India Company, and their relations to Chinese traders as well as other foreigners. The Swedes worked as go-betweens, demonstrating how multi-ethnic and complex this environment was, and the need to also study small companies from non-colonial countries. I study social relations in five case studies: first an analysis of the group formation and gender relations in the foreign quarters, second a spatial analysis of the foreigners' Canton, third a description of their everyday life, fourth an analysis of how the Swedes communicated with others, and finally how intercultural trust was established and lost. Through these five cases, I demonstrate the need for a social perspective on 18th century Canton, to understand how its power relations were constructed, and changed.