James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape

2021-05-09T17:23:07Z

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{{infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = 1st Earl of Inchcape
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCSI|GCMG|KCIE}}
| image = James Lyle Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape (1852-1932).jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = James Lyle Mackay
| birth_date = {{birth date|1852|09|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Arbroath]], Scotland
| death_date = {{dda|1932|05|23|1852|09|11|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Monte Carlo]], Monaco
| residence =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Businessman, shipping
| party =
| nickname =
| known_for = Co-founder of [[Inchcape plc]]
| parents = James Mackay, Deborah Lyle
| spouse =
| children =
| relations =
}}
'''James Lyle Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCSI|GCMG|KCIE}} (11 September 1852 – 23 May 1932), known as '''Sir James Mackay''' from 1894 to 1911, was a British businessman and colonial administrator in India who became Chairman of the [[Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company]] ("P&O") and founded [[Inchcape plc]].

==Background==
Mackay was the second son and fourth child of James Mackay of [[Arbroath]], Scotland, a well-to-do [[Sea captain|shipmaster]] and his wife, Deborah Lyle. On his eighth birthday, Mackay's father took him on a flax run between [[Montrose, Angus]] and [[Arkhangelsk|Archangel]] in Russia; thereafter he never "missed an opportunity to converse with captains in port."{{sfn|Jones|1986|page=38}}

After employment as a [[scrivener]] in Arbroath, Mackay joined a firm of rope and canvas makers where his employer recorded: "Jeemie is no bad laddie, but he's a damned sicht [sight] ower-ambitious".{{sfn|Bolitho|1936|page=16}}

==Career==
Mackay's parents died when he was twelve, whereupon he inherited a substantial sum from his father. £2,000 of the bequest was invested in [[East India]] shipping, which provided an income of £100 per annum. In 1871, he secured employment with the shipbrokers and agents Gellatly, Hankey and Sewell, who were involved with the newly founded [[British-India Steam Navigation Company]] (BI).{{sfn|Jones|1986|page=39}}

The opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869, which shortened the journey from London to [[Mumbai|Bombay]] by {{convert|4000|mi}}, created a surge in trade between Europe and India.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Suez and Panama Canals and the Age of Empire|url=http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/CoursePacks/TheSuezandPanamaCanalsandtheAgeofEmpireDBQ.pdf|first1=Bill|last1=Hendrick|first2=Brian|last2=Rodahan|first3=Krystle|last3=Rogala|access-date=21 September 2014}}</ref> As a result, BI's [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] agents, Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co., asked their London based counterpart, Gray, Dawes & Co., for a new shipping assistant to handle the increased workload. Mackay got the job despite being the third choice, arriving in India in 1874.{{sfn|Jones|1986|page=41}} With the development of inland transport throughout the sub-continent, export opportunities in indigo, coal, tea, jute and wrought iron abounded and saw Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. enjoy a steady increase in business. The collapse of the [[City of Glasgow Bank]] in October 1878 proved a disaster for BI's Bombay agents, Nichol and Co., but allowed Mackay to establish a new branch of Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. in the city. At the age of 26 he became a partner in the Bombay firm and received a 10% share of the profits, increasing to 15% by 1884.{{sfn|Jones|1986|page=47}} As Mackay later recalled:<blockquote>"Life in Bombay was extremely agreeable. I was elected a member of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. I built a small yacht, which I named the ''Pinafore'' and had many delightful cruises in Bombay harbour. I became a member of the Bombay Hunt ... we had glorious hunts every Sunday in the cold weather, a pack of hounds being brought out every season from home, together with a huntsman. I had a bungalow out at Bandra and here I used to go for the week-ends all year round."{{sfn|Bolitho|1936|page=33}}</blockquote>

In 1881, Mackay returned home to Scotland following an attack of [[typhoid]], apparently so weakened by fever that he had to be carried on board his ship at Bombay.{{sfn|Jones|1986|page=47}}

By 1914, Mackay was the sole surviving senior partner of the company that would be renamed [[Inchcape plc]] in 1981. Mackay was appointed President of the [[Bengal Chamber of Commerce]] in 1890, a member of the Legislative Council of the [[Viceroy of India]] in 1891 and a member of the Council of the [[Secretary of State for India]] in 1897.

== Mackay Treaty ==
{{Main|Mackay Treaty}}
In October 1901, Mackay was appointed His Majesty´s Special Commissioner to conduct negotiations with representatives of China,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27367 |date=22 October 1901 |page=6846 }}</ref> arriving in Shanghai in early December for negotiations.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Latest intelligence – China |day_of_week=Thursday |date=5 December 1901 |page_number=5 |issue=36630| }}</ref> The following year he and Chinese statesman [[Sheng Xuanhuai]] negotiated the Sino-British "[[Mackay Treaty]]," which anticipated the abolition of [[extraterritoriality]] in China. By late July 1902 the negotiations were reported as practically concluded when the British team arrived back in Shanghai,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Latest Intelligence – The Powers and China|day_of_week=Monday |date=28 July 1902 |page_number=5 |issue=36831| }}</ref> and the treaty was signed by Mackay and Sheng Xuanhua as representatives of their governments on 5 September 1902.

For his work on the treaty, Mackay was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG) in the November [[1902 Birthday Honours]] list.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Birthday Honours |day_of_week=Monday |date=10 November 1902 |page_number=10 |issue=36921| }}</ref><ref name=LG27493>{{London Gazette |issue=27493 |date=7 November 1902 |pages=7161–7163 |supp=y}}</ref>

== Later career ==
In 1907, he was re-appointed as a member of the [[Council of India]] for a further period of five years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Untitled |work=Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser |date=18 April 1907 |access-date=16 September 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19070418/070/0006| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|page=6|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Mackay was largely responsible for solving India's currency problems and for the adoption of the [[Gold Standard]], he was made a baron by [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] for his services to industry and nation in 1911. Mackay later served as Vice-President of the [[Suez Canal Company]], Chairman of the [[Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company]] ("P&O") and a Director of the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company]] and the [[National Provincial Bank]].

Mackay was appointed a Companion of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (CIE) in 1891, a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in 1894, a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG) in 1902<ref name=LG27493 /> and a Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Star of India]] in 1910. In 1911 he was raised to the peerage as '''Baron Inchcape''', of Strathnaver in the County of [[Sutherland]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=28512 |date=11 July 1911 |page=5169}}</ref> He chose the title to commemorate the [[Inchcape Rock]], which lies off [[Arbroath]], and [[Strathnaver]] in Scotland. In 1924 he was made a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India and created '''Viscount Inchcape''', of Strathnaver in the County of Sutherland.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=32900 |date=22 January 1924 |page=684}}</ref> In 1929 he was further honoured when he was made '''Viscount Glenapp''', of Strathnaver in the County of Sutherland, and '''Earl of Inchcape'''.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33509 |date=25 June 1929 |page=4189}}</ref>

== Death and legacy ==
Mackay died on 23{{nbsp}}May 1932 aboard his yacht ''[[Rover (yacht)|Rover]]'' in [[Monte Carlo]], Monaco.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lord Inchcape |work=Hartlepool mail|date=24 May 1932 |access-date=23 September 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000378/19320524/106/0004| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He left unsettled personal estate valued at £552,809 in Great Britain<ref>{{cite news |title=Untitled |work=[[Evening Telegraph (Dundee)|Evening Telegraph]]|date=30 September 1932 |access-date=16 September 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19320930/055/0006| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|page=6|url-access=subscription }}</ref> (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|552809|1932|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} and was buried on the east side of Glenapp Church, [[Ballantrae]], Ayrshire, close to the then family home at [[Glenapp Castle]], on 31{{nbsp}}May 1932. His ebony coffin with silver mountings carried his yachting cap and a wreath of lilies from his wife.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lord Inchcape|work=[[Hull Daily Mail]]|date=1 June 1932 |access-date=20 September 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19320601/080/0008| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|page=6|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Under the terms of his will, Mackay left £100 to each of the 202 commanders of P&O and BI vessels with £50 bequeathed to each of the 200 Chief Officers and 200 Chief Engineers "as a slight memento in acknowledgement of your loyalty and fidelity to me".<ref>{{cite news |title=£40,000 for P. and O. Ships' Officers |work=Western Daily Press|date=26 August 1932 |access-date=23 September 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19320826/120/0010| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Family==
Lord Inchcape married Jean Shanks (c.1861–1937), a childhood friend from Arbroath, on 10{{nbsp}}July 1883.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dowager Countess of Inchcape Dead |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19371111/021/0003 |access-date=23 October 2019 |work=Evening Telegraph |issue=19021 |publisher=The British Newspaper Archive (subscription required) |date=11 November 1937 |location=Dundee |page=3}}</ref> They had five children:

*[[Kenneth Mackay, 2nd Earl of Inchcape]] (1887–1939). Married Frances Caroline Moriarty (1896–1933), daughter of [[John Francis Moriarty]] (1858–1915), Irish [[Lord Justice of Appeal]], and his first wife Catherine Beatrice Kavanagh (1859–1898), on 22 September 1915; they were divorced in 1931.<ref>Ruth Fleischmann, Ed., ''Joan Denise Moriarty, Founder of Irish National Ballet'', Cork 1998, p. 268.</ref> Married Leonora Brooke, daughter of [[White Rajahs|White Rajah]] [[Charles Vyner Brooke]] and [[Sylvia Brett]], Ranee of [[Sarawak]] on 1{{nbsp}}June 1933.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lord Inchcape |work=Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette|date=17 May 1933|access-date=20 September 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000640/19330517/038/0002| publisher = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|page=6|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
*Lady Margaret Cargill Mackay (d. 1958), married [[Alexander Shaw, 2nd Baron Craigmyle]].
*Lady Janet Lyle Mackay (d. 1972), married Lt-Col Frederick Bailey, landowner.
*[[Elsie Mackay|Lady Elsie Mackay]]<ref name="Elsie">[http://www.thepeerage.com/p18000.htm The Peerage.com]</ref> (circa 1893–1928), aviator, actress, and interior designer for [[Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company|P & O]], married (later annulled) actor, [[Dennis Wyndham]]. Disappeared at sea while attempting an east-westerly Atlantic flight.
*Lady Effie Mackay (1895–1984), married [[Eugen Millington-Drake|Sir Eugen Millington-Drake]], diplomat. Amongst their four children were the artist [[Teddy Millington-Drake]] (1932–1994) and the daughter Marie (1924–1973), who in 1960 married the 12th [[Duke of Carcaci]], of an ancient Sicilian aristocratic family.

==Styles==
*1852–1891: James Lyle Mackay
*1891–1894: James Lyle Mackay, [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]]
*1894–1902: Sir James Lyle Mackay, [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]]
*1902–1910: Sir James Lyle Mackay, [[GCMG]], KCIE
*1910–1911: Sir James Lyle Mackay, GCMG, [[Order of the Star of India|KCSI]], KCIE
*1911–1924: [[The Right Honourable]] the [[Lord Inchcape]], GCMG, KCSI, KCIE
*1924–1929: The Right Honourable the [[Viscount Inchcape]], [[GCSI]], GCMG, KCIE
*1929–1932: The Right Honourable the [[Earl of Inchcape]], GCSI, GCMG, KCIE

== See also ==
*[[Lord Inchcape]]
*[[Rover (yacht)|''Rover'']], Lord Inchcape's luxury yacht built in 1930

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Bibliography
*{{cite book|first1=Hector|last1=Bolitho|title=James Lyle Mackay: First Earl of Inchcape|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=msNmAAAAMAAJ&q=ower-ambitious|year=1936|publisher=J. Murray}}
*{{cite book|first1=Stephanie|last1=Jones|title=Two centuries of overseas trading: the origins and growth of the Inchcape Group|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23UEAQAAIAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Macmillan in association with Business History Unit, University of London|isbn=978-0-333-37172-5}}

==External links==
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-james-mackay-1 | the Earl of Inchcape }}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/008523}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Inchcape, James Mackay, 1st Earl Of}}
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Administrators in British India]]
[[Category:Anglo-Persian Oil Company]]
[[Category:BP people]]
[[Category:Directors of the Great Western Railway]]
[[Category:1852 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:Deputy Lieutenants of Ayrshire]]
[[Category:Sheriffs of Kolkata]]
[[Category:Peers created by George V]]

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James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape