明代後期，葡萄牙艦隊封鎖咗印度洋航線。嘉靖年間，葡萄牙人入侵廣州，發生屯門及西草灣之戰，明政府擊敗葡人後封鎖廣州。但葡萄牙人轉而佔據咗澳門，基本壟斷咗廣州嘅對外貿易。1567年（隆慶元年），由於沿海倭寇逐漸平定，明朝解除海禁，默許咗私人對外貿易，廣州海外貿易有返發展，廣州專門為外商服務嘅牙行亦不斷擴展。萬曆以後，出現咗專門代理外商嘅買辦商人“十三行”，市舶司外貿具體業務亦畀牙行主導咗。
In the late Ming Dynasty, the Portugal fleet blocked the India Ocean route. During the Jiajing period, the Portugal invaded Guangzhou, and the battles of Tuen Mun and Sai Cao Wan took place, and the Ming government blocked Guangzhou after defeating the Portuguese. But the Portugal instead occupied Macau, essentially monopolizing Guangzhou's foreign trade. In 1567 (the first year of Longqing), due to the gradual pacification of the coastal Japanese invaders, the Ming Dynasty lifted the sea ban and acquiesced in private foreign trade. After Wanli, there were "thirteen lines" of comprador businessmen who specialized in acting as foreign businessmen, and the specific business of foreign trade of the city shipping company was also dominated by the dental bank.