Recent from talks
History of Jardine Matheson & Co.
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
History of Jardine Matheson & Co.
Jardine, Matheson & Co., later Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., forerunner of today's Jardines, was a Far Eastern company founded in 1832 by Scotsmen William Jardine and James Matheson as senior partners. Trafficking opium in Asia, while also trading cotton, tea, silk and a variety of other goods, from its early beginnings in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou), in 1844 the firm established its head office in the new British colony of Hong Kong then proceeded to expand all along the China Coast.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Jardine, Matheson & Co. had become the largest of the foreign trading companies in the Far East and had expanded its activities into sectors including shipping, cotton mills and railway construction.
Further growth occurred in the early decades of the twentieth century with new cold storage, packing and brewing businesses while the firm also became the largest cotton spinner in Shanghai.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, doing business in the country became increasingly problematic. As a result, foreign businesses gradually withdrew from the mainland with Jardines leaving in 1954 to reconsolidate its business in Hong Kong. The firm would not return to mainland China until 1979, following the reform and opening up of the country.
The British and other nations had traded informally with China since the beginning of the seventeenth century. Chinese silk and tea gradually became popular in Britain, but imperial China had little need for British manufactured imports such as woollens. Concerned at what they saw as the encroachment of "barbarians" in their Celestial Kingdom, successive Chinese emperors issued numerous edicts restricting trade with foreigners under what was known as the Canton System. From the middle of the eighteenth century merchants were restricted to an area of Canton on the south China coast, where they were permitted to trade with a group of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong who operated from Thirteen Factories located on the banks of the Pearl River. One of the commodities that the Chinese merchants were interested in buying was opium – considered to have been "the world's most valuable single commodity trade of the nineteenth century". Trade in the drug was controlled by the East India Company, who had been granted a monopoly by the British crown in 1773 giving them sole access to the opium of Bengal although independent traders could still obtain supplies in Malwa, India. However, opium imports were banned in China as reaffirmed by a 1796 edict issued by the Jiaqing Emperor and the only way that the drug could enter the country was if it was smuggled in. At the time, opium was legal and considered relatively safe in the West. As a result, the trade hungry British Empire considered China's refusal to allow imports of the drug an affront to their principles of free trade espoused by Adam Smith and other leading thinkers of the day.
William Jardine was born in 1784 in the south west of Scotland and graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in medicine. In 1803, at the age of 19, he became a surgeon on the ships of the British East India Company working the trading routes between London, China and India; a position he held for the next 14 years. As a senior ship's officer, Jardine was allocated an amount of cargo space equal to two chests which he could use to conduct his own business. Using this space, the doctor soon discovered that trading opium was more profitable than practicing medicine. It was during these early days that Jardine found himself on board a ship captured by the French with all its cargo seized. Despite this setback, a trading partnership formed at the time by Jardine with a fellow passenger, a Parsee Indian called Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy, would endure for many years.
In Canton, Jardine met a naturalised Briton of Huguenot extraction named Charles Magniac, brother of Hollingworth Magniac, both of whom would later partner with the Scotsman. Jardine learned that there were ways by which to a small extent the monopoly of the East India Company could be circumvented so in 1819 Jardine left his first employers and began the process of establishing his own private firm. In 1822, he set up in Canton as a free merchant and later, in 1828, joined the established firm of Magniac & Co, which was the forerunner to Jardine Matheson & Co.
James Matheson was born in 1796 in the far north of mainland Scotland and also attended Edinburgh University. He began work in 1815 as a free merchant in Calcutta at his uncle's Agency House, Mackintosh & Co., trading goods and services between different markets and communities. One day his uncle entrusted him with a letter to be delivered to the captain of a soon-to-depart British vessel. Matheson forgot to deliver the missive and the vessel sailed without it. Incensed at his nephew's negligence, the uncle suggested that young James might be better off back in England. He took his uncle at his word and went to engage a passage back home. Instead, on the advice of an old sea captain, Matheson went to Canton. Here he became an independent merchant acting as agent for firms engaged in the rapidly expanding Indian export market. He then entered into a partnership, known as Yrissari & Co, which quickly became one of the five principal Agency Houses in China at the time, branching out into trade with many different countries. After Francis Xavier de Yrissari's death, Matheson wound up the firm's affairs and closed shop. Yrissari, leaving no heir, had willed all his shares in the firm to Matheson. This created the perfect opportunity for Matheson to join in commerce with Jardine. Matheson proved a perfect partner for Jardine. James Matheson and his nephew, Alexander Matheson, joined the firm Magniac and Co. in 1827, but their association was not officially advertised until 1 January 1828. Jardine was known as the planner, the tough negotiator and strategist of the firm and Matheson was known as the organisation man, who handled the firm's correspondence, and other complex articles including legal affairs. Matheson was known to be behind many of the company's innovative practices. The two men were a study in contrasts, Jardine being tall, lean and trim while Matheson was short and slightly portly. Matheson had the advantage of coming from a family with social and economic means, while Jardine came from a much more humble background. Jardine was tough, serious, detail-oriented and reserved while Matheson was creative, outspoken and jovial. Jardine was known to work long hours and was extremely business-minded, while Matheson enjoyed the arts and was known for his eloquence. William C. Hunter, a contemporary of Jardine who worked for the American firm Russell & Co., wrote of him, "He was a gentleman of great strength of character and of unbounded generosity." Hunter's description of Matheson was, "He was a gentleman of great suavity of manner and the impersonation of benevolence." But there were also similarities. Jardine and Matheson were second sons, possibly explaining their drive and character. Both men were hardworking, driven and single-minded in their pursuit of wealth.
Hub AI
History of Jardine Matheson & Co. AI simulator
(@History of Jardine Matheson & Co._simulator)
History of Jardine Matheson & Co.
Jardine, Matheson & Co., later Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., forerunner of today's Jardines, was a Far Eastern company founded in 1832 by Scotsmen William Jardine and James Matheson as senior partners. Trafficking opium in Asia, while also trading cotton, tea, silk and a variety of other goods, from its early beginnings in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou), in 1844 the firm established its head office in the new British colony of Hong Kong then proceeded to expand all along the China Coast.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Jardine, Matheson & Co. had become the largest of the foreign trading companies in the Far East and had expanded its activities into sectors including shipping, cotton mills and railway construction.
Further growth occurred in the early decades of the twentieth century with new cold storage, packing and brewing businesses while the firm also became the largest cotton spinner in Shanghai.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, doing business in the country became increasingly problematic. As a result, foreign businesses gradually withdrew from the mainland with Jardines leaving in 1954 to reconsolidate its business in Hong Kong. The firm would not return to mainland China until 1979, following the reform and opening up of the country.
The British and other nations had traded informally with China since the beginning of the seventeenth century. Chinese silk and tea gradually became popular in Britain, but imperial China had little need for British manufactured imports such as woollens. Concerned at what they saw as the encroachment of "barbarians" in their Celestial Kingdom, successive Chinese emperors issued numerous edicts restricting trade with foreigners under what was known as the Canton System. From the middle of the eighteenth century merchants were restricted to an area of Canton on the south China coast, where they were permitted to trade with a group of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong who operated from Thirteen Factories located on the banks of the Pearl River. One of the commodities that the Chinese merchants were interested in buying was opium – considered to have been "the world's most valuable single commodity trade of the nineteenth century". Trade in the drug was controlled by the East India Company, who had been granted a monopoly by the British crown in 1773 giving them sole access to the opium of Bengal although independent traders could still obtain supplies in Malwa, India. However, opium imports were banned in China as reaffirmed by a 1796 edict issued by the Jiaqing Emperor and the only way that the drug could enter the country was if it was smuggled in. At the time, opium was legal and considered relatively safe in the West. As a result, the trade hungry British Empire considered China's refusal to allow imports of the drug an affront to their principles of free trade espoused by Adam Smith and other leading thinkers of the day.
William Jardine was born in 1784 in the south west of Scotland and graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in medicine. In 1803, at the age of 19, he became a surgeon on the ships of the British East India Company working the trading routes between London, China and India; a position he held for the next 14 years. As a senior ship's officer, Jardine was allocated an amount of cargo space equal to two chests which he could use to conduct his own business. Using this space, the doctor soon discovered that trading opium was more profitable than practicing medicine. It was during these early days that Jardine found himself on board a ship captured by the French with all its cargo seized. Despite this setback, a trading partnership formed at the time by Jardine with a fellow passenger, a Parsee Indian called Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy, would endure for many years.
In Canton, Jardine met a naturalised Briton of Huguenot extraction named Charles Magniac, brother of Hollingworth Magniac, both of whom would later partner with the Scotsman. Jardine learned that there were ways by which to a small extent the monopoly of the East India Company could be circumvented so in 1819 Jardine left his first employers and began the process of establishing his own private firm. In 1822, he set up in Canton as a free merchant and later, in 1828, joined the established firm of Magniac & Co, which was the forerunner to Jardine Matheson & Co.
James Matheson was born in 1796 in the far north of mainland Scotland and also attended Edinburgh University. He began work in 1815 as a free merchant in Calcutta at his uncle's Agency House, Mackintosh & Co., trading goods and services between different markets and communities. One day his uncle entrusted him with a letter to be delivered to the captain of a soon-to-depart British vessel. Matheson forgot to deliver the missive and the vessel sailed without it. Incensed at his nephew's negligence, the uncle suggested that young James might be better off back in England. He took his uncle at his word and went to engage a passage back home. Instead, on the advice of an old sea captain, Matheson went to Canton. Here he became an independent merchant acting as agent for firms engaged in the rapidly expanding Indian export market. He then entered into a partnership, known as Yrissari & Co, which quickly became one of the five principal Agency Houses in China at the time, branching out into trade with many different countries. After Francis Xavier de Yrissari's death, Matheson wound up the firm's affairs and closed shop. Yrissari, leaving no heir, had willed all his shares in the firm to Matheson. This created the perfect opportunity for Matheson to join in commerce with Jardine. Matheson proved a perfect partner for Jardine. James Matheson and his nephew, Alexander Matheson, joined the firm Magniac and Co. in 1827, but their association was not officially advertised until 1 January 1828. Jardine was known as the planner, the tough negotiator and strategist of the firm and Matheson was known as the organisation man, who handled the firm's correspondence, and other complex articles including legal affairs. Matheson was known to be behind many of the company's innovative practices. The two men were a study in contrasts, Jardine being tall, lean and trim while Matheson was short and slightly portly. Matheson had the advantage of coming from a family with social and economic means, while Jardine came from a much more humble background. Jardine was tough, serious, detail-oriented and reserved while Matheson was creative, outspoken and jovial. Jardine was known to work long hours and was extremely business-minded, while Matheson enjoyed the arts and was known for his eloquence. William C. Hunter, a contemporary of Jardine who worked for the American firm Russell & Co., wrote of him, "He was a gentleman of great strength of character and of unbounded generosity." Hunter's description of Matheson was, "He was a gentleman of great suavity of manner and the impersonation of benevolence." But there were also similarities. Jardine and Matheson were second sons, possibly explaining their drive and character. Both men were hardworking, driven and single-minded in their pursuit of wealth.
Recent media