Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Indian baronet}}
{{short description|Indian merchant (1783–1859)}}
{{for|descendants of the same name|Jejeebhoy baronets}}
{{for|descendants of the same name|Jejeebhoy baronets}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name       = Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Bt
| honorific_prefix  = Sir
| image       = Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy 1959 stamp of India.jpg
| name               = Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy
| image_size  = 245px
| honorific_suffix  = [[Baronet|Bt]], [[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George|CMG]], [[Fellows of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|FRAS]]
| caption     = Jejeebhoy on a 1959 stamp of India
| image             = Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy 1959 stamp of India.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1783|7|15}}
| caption           = Jejeebhoy on a 1959 stamp of India
| birth_place = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Bombay Presidency]]
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1783|7|15}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1859|4|14|1783|7|15}}  
| birth_place       = [[Bombay]], [[Maratha Confederacy]]
| death_place = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British raj|British India]]  
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|1859|4|14|1783|7|15}}
| occupation = Merchandiser, business magnate
| death_place       = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British raj|British India]]
| salary      =
| occupation         = Merchandiser, business magnate
| networth    =
| spouse             =  
| spouse     =
| children    =
| website    =
| footnotes  =  
}}
}}
'''Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet Jejeebhoy of Bombay, [[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George|CMG]]''' (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859<ref>[http://www.leighrayment.com/baronetage/baronetsJ.htm JEJEEBHOY of Bombay, India]. leighrayment.com</ref>), also spelt '''Jeejeebhoy''' or '''Jeejebhoy''', was a [[Parsi]]-[[India]]n [[merchant]] and philanthropist. He made a huge fortune in cotton and the [[History of opium in China|opium trade with China]].<ref>{{citation|title= The Parsis of India the Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City Preservation of Identity in Bombay City By. |last= Palsetia |first= Jesse S |location= Leiden, Netherlands| year=2001|publisher= Brill Academic Publishers |page=55|isbn=9004121145}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Mumbai Fables|last= Prakash |first= Gyan |location= New Delhi| year=2001|publisher= Harpercollins |page=00|isbn=9350291665}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Smuggling as Subversion: Colonialism, Indian Merchants, and the Politics of Opium, 1790-1843
 
|last= Farooqui |first= Amar |location= New Delhi| year=2001|publisher= Lexington Books |page=210|isbn=0739108867}}</ref>
'''Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|list=[[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George|CMG]], [[Fellows of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|FRAS]]}} (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859),<ref>{{usurped|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501224923/http://www.leighrayment.com/baronetage/baronetsJ.htm}}</ref> also spelt '''Jeejeebhoy''' or '''Jeejebhoy''', was an Indian merchant and philanthropist. He made a significant fortune in cotton and was also a participant in the opium trade.<ref>{{citation|title=The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City|last=Palsetia|first=Jesse S.|location=Leiden|year=2001|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|page=55|isbn=9004121145}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Mumbai Fables|last=Prakash|first=Gyan|location=New Delhi|year=2010|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=9350291665}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Smuggling as Subversion: Colonialism, Indian Merchants, and the Politics of Opium, 1790–1843|last=Farooqui|first=Amar|location=New Delhi|year=2005|publisher=Lexington Books|page=210|isbn=0739108867}}</ref>


== Early life and business career ==
== Early life and business career ==
Jejeebhoy was born in [[Mumbai|Bombay]] (now Mumbai) in 1783, the son of Merwanjee Mackjee Jejeebhoy and Jeevibai Cowasjee Jejeebhoy. His father was a textile merchant from [[Surat]], [[Gujarat]], who migrated to Bombay in the 1770s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Jansetjee Jejeebhoy|publisher=Encyclopedia Iranica|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/jejeebhoy-jamsetjee|access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref> Both of Jeejeebhoy's parents died in 1799, leaving the 16-year-old under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, Framjee Nasserwanjee Battliwala. At the age of 16, having had little formal education,<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Jeejeebhoy, Sir Jamsetjee |volume=15 |page=300 |first=Mancherjee Merwanjee |last=Bhownagree}}</ref> he made his first visit to [[Calcutta]] and then began his first voyage to China to trade in cotton and [[opium]].<ref>{{citation|title=The Rise of Business Corporations in India, 1851–1900|last=Rungta|first=Shyam|location=New Delhi|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/riseofbusinessco0000rung/page/57 57]|isbn=0-521-07354-5|url=https://archive.org/details/riseofbusinessco0000rung/page/57}}</ref>


Jejeebhoy's second voyage to [[China]] was made in a ship of the [[British East India Company|East India Company]]'s fleet. Under the command of Sir [[Nathaniel Dance]], this ship drove off a French squadron under Rear-Admiral [[Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois]]<ref name=EB1911/> in the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]].
Jejeebhoy was born in [[Bombay]] in 1783, the son of Merwanjee Mackjee Jejeebhoy and Jeevibai Cowasjee Jejeebhoy. His father was a [[Parsi]] textile merchant from [[Surat]], [[Gujarat]], who migrated to Bombay in the 1770s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy|work=Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/jejeebhoy-jamsetjee|access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref> Both of his parents died in 1799, leaving the sixteen-year-old under the care of his maternal uncle Framjee Nasserwanjee Battliwala. At the age of sixteen, having had little formal education,<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Jeejeebhoy, Sir Jamsetjee|volume=15|page=300|first=Mancherjee Merwanjee|last=Bhownaggree|author-link=Mancherjee Bhownaggree}}</ref> he made his first visit to [[Calcutta]] and subsequently began trading voyages to China involving cotton and opium.<ref>{{citation|title=The Rise of Business Corporations in India, 1851–1900|last=Rungta|first=Shyam|year=1970|location=New Delhi|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/riseofbusinessco0000rung/page/57 57]|isbn=0-521-07354-5|url=https://archive.org/details/riseofbusinessco0000rung/page/57}}</ref>


On Jejeebhoy's fourth voyage to China, the [[Indiaman]] in which he sailed was forced to surrender to the French, by whom he was carried as a prisoner to the [[Cape of Good Hope]], then a neutral Dutch possession.<ref name=EB1911/>  After much delay and great difficulty, Jejeebhoy made his way to [[Calcutta]] in a Danish ship.<ref name=EB1911/> Undaunted, Jejeebhoy undertook another voyage to China which was more successful than any of his previous journeys.<ref name=EB1911/>
Jejeebhoy's second voyage to China was made in a ship of the [[British East India Company]] fleet. Under the command of Sir [[Nathaniel Dance]], the fleet repelled a French squadron under Rear-Admiral [[Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois]] in the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]].<ref name=EB1911/>


By this time Jejeebhoy had established his reputation as an enterprising merchant possessed of considerable wealth.<ref name=EB1911/>  In 1803, he married his maternal uncle's daughter Avabai (d.1870) and settled in Bombay, where he directed his commercial operations on an extended scale.<ref name=EB1911/> Around this time, he changed his name from "Jamshed" to "Jamsetjee" to sound similar to names of the Gujarati community. By the age of 40, he had made over two [[crore]] rupees, a staggering sum in those days. Further riches came to him from the cotton trade during the Napoleonic Wars. He bought his own fleet of ships. [[Lord Elphinstone]], then [[List of governors of Bombay|Governor of Bombay]], said of him, "By strict integrity, by industry and punctuality in all his commercial transactions, he contributed to raise the character of the Bombay merchant in the most distant markets."<ref name="zoroastrians1">{{cite web|url=https://zoroastrians.net/2012/01/30/yatha-ahu-vairyo-mohalla/|title=Yatha Ahu Vairyo Mohalla|date=30 January 2012}}</ref>
On Jejeebhoy's fourth voyage to China, the [[Indiaman]] in which he sailed was captured by the French, who carried him as a prisoner to the [[Cape of Good Hope]], then a Dutch possession.<ref name=EB1911/> After considerable delay, he returned to [[Calcutta]] aboard a Danish vessel.<ref name=EB1911/> He subsequently undertook another voyage to China, which proved more successful than his earlier journeys.<ref name=EB1911/>


In 1814, his co-operation with the British East India company had yielded him sufficient profits to purchase his first ship, the Good Success, and he gradually added another six ships to this, usually carrying primarily opium and a little cotton to China.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bulley|first1=Anne|title=The Bombay Country Ships 1790–1833|date=16 December 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1136833137}}</ref> By 1836, Jejeebhoy's firm was large enough to employ his three sons and other relatives, and he had amassed what at that period of Indian mercantile history was regarded as fabulous wealth.<ref name=EB1911/>
By this time Jejeebhoy had established a reputation as an enterprising merchant and had accumulated considerable wealth.<ref name=EB1911/> In 1803, he married his maternal uncle's daughter Avabai (d. 1870) and settled in Bombay, where he expanded his commercial activities.<ref name=EB1911/> Around this time he adopted the name "Jamsetjee" in place of "Jamshed". By the age of forty he had accumulated more than two crore rupees. Further wealth came from the cotton trade during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. He acquired his own fleet of ships. [[Mountstuart Elphinstone]], Governor of Bombay, remarked that "By strict integrity, by industry and punctuality in all his commercial transactions, he contributed to raise the character of the Bombay merchant in the most distant markets."<ref name="zoroastrians1">{{cite web|url=https://zoroastrians.net/2012/01/30/yatha-ahu-vairyo-mohalla/|title=Yatha Ahu Vairyo Mohalla|date=30 January 2012}}</ref>


Jejeebhoy was known by the nickname "Mr. Bottlewalla".  "Walla" meant "vendor", and Jejeebhoy's business interests included the manufacture and sale of bottles on the basis of his uncle's business. Jejeebhoy and his family would often sign letters and checks using the name "Battliwala", and were known by that name in business and society, but he did not choose this assumed surname when it came to the baronetcy.
In 1814, profits from trade enabled him to purchase his first ship, ''Good Success'', and he gradually expanded his fleet to seven vessels, which primarily carried opium and cotton to China.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bulley|first1=Anne|title=The Bombay Country Ships 1790–1833|date=16 December 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1136833137}}</ref> By 1836, his firm employed his sons and other relatives and had amassed substantial wealth.<ref name=EB1911/>


In 1818, he formed the business, trading and shipping firm "Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy & Co." with two other associates Motichund Amichund and Mahomed Ali Rogay as Jejeebhoy's business associates. He was later joined by a [[Goan]] [[Rogério de Faria (Roger Faria)|Rogério de Faria]]. His voyages to China resulted in a long trading partnership with the [[Guangzhou|Canton]] based company [[Jardine Matheson & Co]]. The connection with Jeejeebhoy was instrumental as Jardine and Matheson built up their great firm, continuing the profitable and amiable association with the Parsi entrepreneur. Jeejeebhoy long continued as one of the close associates who served as underwriters to Jardine, Matheson and Company. A tribute to their connection exists even today in a portrait of Jeejeebhoy which hangs in Jardine's Hong Kong office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://industrialhistoryhk.org/jamsetjee-jeejeebhoy-china-william-jardine-celestial-connections/|title=Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy: China, William Jardine, the Celestial, and other HK connections}}</ref> He was seen as the chief representative of the Indian community in Bombay by the British Imperial authorities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Karaka|first1=D. F.|title=History of the Parsis|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.164140|date=1884|location=London}}</ref>
Jejeebhoy and his family were also known by the name "Battliwala", reflecting commercial interests associated with the bottle trade. The name was used in business and social contexts, although he did not adopt it as part of his baronetcy title.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Edward Balfour |title=Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia |edition=3rd |volume=1 |publisher=Bernard Quaritch |location=London |year=1885 |page=XXX |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.181725}}</ref> His family frequently used the name "Battliwala" in business and social contexts, reflecting commercial interests connected with bottle manufacture and trade, though he did not adopt the name formally when granted a baronetcy.
 
In 1818, he established the trading and shipping firm ''Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy & Co.'' with Motichund Amichund and Mahomed Ali Rogay. He later worked with [[Rogério de Faria (Roger Faria)|Rogério de Faria]]. His voyages to China led to a long association with [[Jardine Matheson & Co.]] of Canton. Jejeebhoy served as one of the firm's Indian associates and underwriters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://industrialhistoryhk.org/jamsetjee-jeejeebhoy-china-william-jardine-celestial-connections/|title=Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy: China, William Jardine, the Celestial, and Other HK Connections}}</ref> He was regarded by British authorities as a leading representative of Bombay's Indian mercantile community.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Karaka|first1=D. F.|title=History of the Parsis|date=1884|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.164140}}</ref>
 
He was one of two Indian members appointed to the first board of management of the [[Great Indian Peninsula Railway]], alongside [[Jagannath Shankarsheth]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Patwardhan|first=G. D.|date=15 August 1995|title=Off the Rails|url=https://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/docs/toi/aug15-1995.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Egbers|first1=Vera|last2=Kamleithner|first2=Christa|last3=Sezer|first3=Özge|last4=Skedzuhn-Safir|first4=Alexandra|title=Architectures of Colonialism: Constructed Histories, Conflicting Memories|date=2024|publisher=Birkhäuser|pages=85|isbn=978-3-0356-2670-4}}</ref>


== Philanthropy ==
== Philanthropy ==
[[File:Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.jpg|thumb|Sketch of Jejeebhoy, 1857]]
[[File:Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.jpg|thumb|Sketch of Jejeebhoy, 1857]]
[[File:Residence of Jejeebhoy.jpg|thumb|''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' print of Jejeebhoy's residence, 1858]]
[[File:Residence of Jejeebhoy.jpg|thumb|''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' print of Jejeebhoy's residence, 1858]]
[[File:JJ Hospital.jpg|thumb|Engraving of the Bombay Native Hospital, constructed at the joint expense of Jejeebhoy and the East India Company; it was later renamed "Sir J. J. Hospital".]]
[[File:JJ Hospital.jpg|thumb|Engraving of the Bombay Native Hospital, constructed at the joint expense of Jejeebhoy and the East India Company; it was later renamed "Sir J. J. Hospital".]]
[[File:Baronet,1st,Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy,statue, Tamil Nadu481.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy statue, [[Mumbai]]]]
[[File:Baronet,1st,Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy,statue, Tamil Nadu481.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy statue, [[Mumbai]]]]
An essentially [[self-made man]], having experienced the miseries of poverty in early life, Jejeebhoy developed great sympathy for his poorer countrymen.<ref name=EB1911/> In his later life he was occupied with alleviating human distress in all its forms. Parsi and Christian, Hindu and Muslim, were alike the objects of his beneficence. Hospitals, schools, homes of charity and pension funds throughout India (particularly in Bombay, [[Navsari]], [[Surat]], and [[Poona]]) were created or endowed by Jejeebhoy, and he financed the construction of many public works such as wells, reservoirs, bridges, and causeways.<ref name=EB1911/> By the time of his death in 1859, he was estimated to have donated over £230,000 to charity.<ref name=EB1911/> His philanthropic endeavours began in earnest in 1822, when he personally remitted the debts of all the poor in Bombay's civil jail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/social/history/asia/jejeebhoy.htm|title=Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy|website=www.robinsonlibrary.com}}</ref>  Some of Jejeebhoy's notable charitable works include:


* [[Mahim|Mahim Causeway]]: The British Government had refused to build a causeway to connect the island of Mahim to [[Bandra]]. Jejeebhoy's wife [[Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy]] spent Rs.{{formatnum:155800}} to finance its construction, after whom it was named. The work began in 1841 and is believed to have been completed four years later.
An essentially [[self-made man]], having experienced poverty in early life, Jejeebhoy developed sympathy for those in need.<ref name=EB1911/> During his later years he devoted substantial resources to charitable causes. Hospitals, schools, charitable institutions and pension funds throughout India, particularly in Bombay, [[Navsari]], [[Surat]], and [[Poona]], were created or supported through his donations, and he financed the construction of public works including wells, reservoirs, bridges and causeways.<ref name=EB1911/> By the time of his death in 1859, he was estimated to have donated more than £230,000 to charitable causes.<ref name=EB1911/> His philanthropic activities expanded significantly from 1822, when he paid the debts of poor prisoners confined in Bombay's civil jail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/social/history/asia/jejeebhoy.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422185630/http://robinsonlibrary.com/social/history/asia/jejeebhoy.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=22 April 2017|title=Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy|website=www.robinsonlibrary.com}}</ref>
* He donated Rs. 1,00,000 to build [[Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals|Sir J. J. Hospital]]
 
* Jejeebhoy donated to at least 126 notable public charities, including the [http://www.sirjjschoolofart.in/ Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy School of Art], the Sir J. J. College of Architecture,<ref>"[http://www.sirjjarchitecture.org Sir JJ College Of Architecture, Bombay– Home]". Sir JJ College of Architecture. Accessed 23 May 2010.</ref> the [[Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art]] and the [[Seth R.J.J. High School]]. He also endowed charities dedicated to helping his fellow [[Parsi people|Parsis]] and created the "Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy Parsi Benevolent Fund" in 1849.
Among his notable charitable contributions were:
*He paid two-thirds of the entire cost of the Poona (now [[Pune]]) waterworks, with the remainder coming from the government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/jamsetjee-jejeebhoy-the-opium-trader-who-became-baronet-of-bombay/article27033135.ece|title=The opium trader who became one of India's richest men|last=Manuel|first=Thomas|date=4 May 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=9 May 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
 
*He gave a substantial donation to [[Bombay Samachar]] founded by [[Fardunjee Marzban]] in July 1822. The Bombay Times was launched in 1838 by a syndicate of persons, which included Sir Jamsetjee. In 1861, it was renamed [[The Times of India]]. Jamsetjee also donated handsomely to the [[Jam-e-Jamshed]] Press when it was founded in 1859.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.homidhalla.com/downloads/lesser_known_facts.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712215309/http://www.homidhalla.com/downloads/lesser_known_facts.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 July 2011|title=SIR JAMSETJEE JEJEEBHOY – LESSER KNOWN FACTS|date=12 July 2011|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref>
* [[Mahim|Mahim Causeway]]: The British Government declined to finance a causeway connecting Mahim and [[Bandra]]. Jejeebhoy's wife, [[Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy]], contributed Rs. 155,800 towards its construction. Work commenced in 1841 and was completed several years later.
* The [[Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum]], formerly The Victoria and Albert Museum, which was designed by a London architect was built with the patronage of many wealthy Indian businessmen and philanthropists like Jejeebhoy, [[David Sassoon]] and [[Jaganath Shunkerseth]].
 
*Construction of Charni Road and relief to cattle. Between 1822 and 1838, cattle from the congested fort area used to graze freely at the Camp Maidan (now called [[Azad Maidan]]), an open ground opposite the [[Victoria Terminus]]. In 1838, the British rulers introduced a 'grazing fee' which several cattle-owners could not afford. Therefore, Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy spent Rs. 20,000 from his own purse for purchasing some grasslands near the seafront at [[Thakurdwar]] and saw that the starving cattle grazed without a fee in that area. In time the area became known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called [[Charni Road]].
* He donated Rs. 100,000 towards the construction of [[Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals|Sir J. J. Hospital]].
*He spent Rs. 1,45,403 to set up the Sir J. J. [[Dharamshala (type of building)|Dharamshala]] at Bellasis Road, and until today, innumerable old and destitute people receive free food, clothing, shelter and medicines. All their needs for the past 150 years, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, have been looked after by the Dharamshala, the first free home for the elderly in Asia.<ref name="zoroastrians1"/>
 
*Whether it was the famine of [[Ireland]] (1822), the floods in [[France]] (1856) or the fire, which ravaged both Bombay (1803) and [[1837 Surat fire|Surat (1837)]], this beacon of altruism gave graciously to one and all without discriminating on the basis of [[caste]] or [[creed]].
* Jejeebhoy supported at least 126 public charities, including the [[Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art]], the [[Sir J. J. College of Architecture]],<ref>"[http://www.sirjjarchitecture.org Sir JJ College Of Architecture, Bombay – Home]". Sir JJ College of Architecture. Accessed 23 May 2010.</ref> the [[Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art]], and Seth R.J.J. High School. He also established the ''Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy Parsi Benevolent Fund'' in 1849 for the benefit of members of the Parsi community.
 
* He paid two-thirds of the cost of the Poona (now [[Pune]]) waterworks project, with the remainder funded by the government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/jamsetjee-jejeebhoy-the-opium-trader-who-became-baronet-of-bombay/article27033135.ece|title=The opium trader who became one of India's richest men|last=Manuel|first=Thomas|date=4 May 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=9 May 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
 
* He contributed financially to [[Bombay Samachar]], founded by [[Fardunjee Marzban]] in 1822. He was also among the early supporters of ''The Bombay Times'', established in 1838 and later renamed ''[[The Times of India]]'' in 1861. He additionally supported the [[Jam-e-Jamshed]] Press when it was founded in 1859.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.homidhalla.com/downloads/lesser_known_facts.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712215309/http://www.homidhalla.com/downloads/lesser_known_facts.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 July 2011|title=Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy – Lesser Known Facts|date=12 July 2011|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref>
 
* The [[Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum]], originally known as the Victoria and Albert Museum, was established with financial support from several prominent Bombay philanthropists, including Jejeebhoy, [[David Sassoon (treasurer)|David Sassoon]], and [[Jaganath Shankerseth]].
 
* He spent Rs. 145,403 establishing the Sir J. J. [[Dharamshala (type of building)|Dharamshala]] on Bellasis Road.<ref name="zoroastrians1"/>


== Baronetcy ==
== Baronetcy ==
Jejeebhoy's services were first recognised by the British Empire in 1842 by the bestowal of a [[Knight|knighthood]] and in 1857 by the award of a [[baronet]]cy.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=22003 |date=19 May 1857 |page=1770}}</ref> These were the very first distinctions of their kind conferred by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] upon a British subject in India.<ref name=EB1911/>


On Jejeebhoy's death in 1859, his Baronetcy was inherited by his eldest son [[Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 2nd Baronet|Cursetjee Jejeebhoy]], who, by a special Act of the Viceroy's Council in pursuance of a provision in the letters-patent, took the name of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy as second baronet.<ref name=EB1911/>
Jejeebhoy's services were recognised by the British government when he was knighted in 1842 and later created a [[baronet]] in 1857.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=22003 |date=19 May 1857 |page=1770}}</ref> These honours were the first knighthood and baronetcy conferred by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] upon an Indian subject.<ref name=EB1911/>


== Jejeebhoy and the Parsi community==
Upon his death in 1859, the [[Jejeebhoy baronets|baronetcy]] passed to his eldest son, [[Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 2nd Baronet|Cursetjee Jejeebhoy]], who subsequently assumed the name Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy under the provisions of the original letters patent.<ref name=EB1911/>
From 1838 onward, the Bombay Parsi ''[[Panchayat]]'' came to be increasingly disregarded as the instrument for regulating the affairs of members of the community that resided in the [[Bombay Presidency]]. Amidst calls for dissolution of the (then) 110-year-old institution for nepotism and fiscal mismanagement (it would eventually be reestablished as administrator of community property), the community gradually came to depend on prominent individuals not connected to the ''panchayat'' and its improprieties. This was especially true for Jejeebhoy, thanks to his wealth and charitable works and the recognition afforded him by the British authorities due to his baronetcy.
 
When Jejeebhoy died in 1859, a Bombay newspaper described him as:
 
<blockquote>
"Simple in his tastes and manners, and dignified in his address, the personal appearance of Sir Jamsetjee, in later years, was a picture of greatness in repose. He had done his work, and entered upon the sabbath of his life."
</blockquote><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-04-29|title=What it takes for Sir J J Agiary in Pune's Camp to keep the flame alive|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/pune-sir-jj-agiary-camp-flame-alive-8582368/|access-date=2023-05-04|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref>


== Advocate of non-violence ==
== Advocate of non-violence ==
In 1855, under royal patronage, the Patriotic Fund was launched to aid the wounded soldiers and widows of those who had died in the [[Crimean War|Russo-Turkish war]].  Jamsetjee donated Rs. 5,000/- for this cause.  But some remarks from his speech on this occasion are most significant:


<blockquote>Of none of the great evils which afflict our race do we form such inadequate conceptions as of the evils of war. War is exhibited to us in the dazzling dress of poetry, fiction, and history, where its horrors are carefully concealed beneath its gaudy trappings; or we see, perhaps, its plumes and epaulettes, and harlequin finery, we hear of the magnificence of the apparatus, the bravery of the troops, the glory of the victors, but the story of the wholesale miseries and wretchedness and wrongs which follow in its train is untold … What nation is not groaning under war-debts, the greatest of national burdens! Had the inconceivable sum wasted in the work of human butchery been applied to promote individual comfort and national prosperity, the world would not now be so far behind as it is in its career of progress … Our duty to relieve the sufferers in this great war would have remained the same whether the war had been a just one or not; but, considering the nature and objects of this war, we extend this relief now more as a privilege than as a duty … To the call of our gracious Sovereign, and to the call of humanity, the Parsis, my lord, will cordially respond.</blockquote>
In 1855, under royal patronage, the Patriotic Fund was established to assist wounded soldiers and the families of those who had died during the [[Crimean War]]. Jejeebhoy contributed Rs. 5,000 to the fund. In a speech delivered on the occasion, he expressed opposition to the human and economic costs of war:
 
<blockquote>
Of none of the great evils which afflict our race do we form such inadequate conceptions as of the evils of war. War is exhibited to us in the dazzling dress of poetry, fiction, and history, where its horrors are carefully concealed beneath its gaudy trappings; or we see, perhaps, its plumes and epaulettes, and harlequin finery, we hear of the magnificence of the apparatus, the bravery of the troops, the glory of the victors, but the story of the wholesale miseries and wretchedness and wrongs which follow in its train is untold … What nation is not groaning under war-debts, the greatest of national burdens! Had the inconceivable sum wasted in the work of human butchery been applied to promote individual comfort and national prosperity, the world would not now be so far behind as it is in its career of progress … Our duty to relieve the sufferers in this great war would have remained the same whether the war had been a just one or not; but, considering the nature and objects of this war, we extend this relief now more as a privilege than as a duty … To the call of our gracious Sovereign, and to the call of humanity, the Parsis, my lord, will cordially respond.
</blockquote>
 
His concern for the welfare of animals was reflected in his support for efforts to prevent cruelty towards them. During the nineteenth century, the East India Company maintained a policy of destroying stray dogs in Bombay, which generated public opposition. In response to concerns regarding animal welfare, Jejeebhoy and Amichand Shah helped establish the Bombay Panjrapole on 18 October 1834.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bombaypanjrapole.org.in/history/|title=History |website=Bombay Panjrapole|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref>
 
== Arms ==
 
{{Infobox COA wide
|image=Arms of Jejeebhoy of Bombay.svg
|escutcheon = Azure: a sun rising above a representation of the [[Western Ghats|Ghauts]], or mountains near Bombay, in base, and in chief two bees volant, all proper.
|crest = A mount, thereon amidst wheat, a peacock, in the beak an ear of wheat, all proper.
|motto = Industry and liberality.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burke|first1=Bernard|title=The Heraldic Register: 1849–1850, With an Annotated Obituary|publisher=E. Churton|year=1850|page=[https://archive.org/details/heraldicregister00burkiala/page/73 73]|url=https://archive.org/details/heraldicregister00burkiala}}</ref>
}}


His non-violent attitude extended also to the animal kingdom.  He would not allow any form of cruelty towards animals.  The East India Company introduced a rule "for the annual destruction of dogs in Bombay island, and a considerable number were from time to time destroyed, in spite of frequent petitions from the public".  This mass dog killing led to a serious riot.  To alleviate this suffering, Jamsetjee with others founded Panjrapole on 18 October 1834.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bombaypanjrapole.org.in/history/|title=History {{!}} Bombay Panjrapole|website=www.bombaypanjrapole.org.in|language=en-US|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref>
== General and cited references ==


==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
* {{cite book|author=B. K. Karanjia|author-link=B. K. Karanjia|title=Give me a Bombay merchant anytime!: the life of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Bt., 1783–1859|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMvsAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=University of Mumbai}}
|author=B. K. Karanjia
|author-link=B. K. Karanjia
|year=1998
|title=Give Me a Bombay Merchant Anytime!: The Life of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Bt., 1783–1859
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMvsAAAAMAAJ
|publisher=University of Mumbai
}}


== References ==
== References ==
Line 77: Line 108:


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet}}
* [http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/persons/jamsetjee-jeejeebhoy.html Brief profile of Sir J.J.]
* [http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/persons/jamsetjee-jeejeebhoy.html Brief profile of Sir J.J.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206104508/http://www.zav.org.au/pages/heroes/jamsetjee.htm Brief biography of Sir J.J.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206104508/http://www.zav.org.au/pages/heroes/jamsetjee.htm Brief biography of Sir J.J.]
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Jejeebhoy, Jamsetjee, 1}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jejeebhoy, Jamsetjee}}
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[[Category:1859 deaths]]
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[[Category:Businesspeople from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Indian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from British India]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in textiles]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in the textile industry]]
[[Category:Indian merchants]]
[[Category:Merchants from British India]]
[[Category:Opium Wars]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Parsi people]]
[[Category:Parsi people]]
[[Category:People from Bombay Presidency]]

Latest revision as of 17:10, 4 June 2026


For descendants of the same name, see Jejeebhoy baronets.

Sir

Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy

Bt, CMG, FRAS
Jejeebhoy on a 1959 stamp of India
Born(1783-07-15)15 July 1783
Bombay, Maratha Confederacy
Died14 April 1859(1859-04-14) (aged 75)
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
OccupationMerchandiser, business magnate

Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet, CMG, FRAS (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859),[1] also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian merchant and philanthropist. He made a significant fortune in cotton and was also a participant in the opium trade.[2][3][4]

Early life and business career[edit | edit source]

Jejeebhoy was born in Bombay in 1783, the son of Merwanjee Mackjee Jejeebhoy and Jeevibai Cowasjee Jejeebhoy. His father was a Parsi textile merchant from Surat, Gujarat, who migrated to Bombay in the 1770s.[5] Both of his parents died in 1799, leaving the sixteen-year-old under the care of his maternal uncle Framjee Nasserwanjee Battliwala. At the age of sixteen, having had little formal education,[6] he made his first visit to Calcutta and subsequently began trading voyages to China involving cotton and opium.[7]

Jejeebhoy's second voyage to China was made in a ship of the British East India Company fleet. Under the command of Sir Nathaniel Dance, the fleet repelled a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois in the Battle of Pulo Aura.[6]

On Jejeebhoy's fourth voyage to China, the Indiaman in which he sailed was captured by the French, who carried him as a prisoner to the Cape of Good Hope, then a Dutch possession.[6] After considerable delay, he returned to Calcutta aboard a Danish vessel.[6] He subsequently undertook another voyage to China, which proved more successful than his earlier journeys.[6]

By this time Jejeebhoy had established a reputation as an enterprising merchant and had accumulated considerable wealth.[6] In 1803, he married his maternal uncle's daughter Avabai (d. 1870) and settled in Bombay, where he expanded his commercial activities.[6] Around this time he adopted the name "Jamsetjee" in place of "Jamshed". By the age of forty he had accumulated more than two crore rupees. Further wealth came from the cotton trade during the Napoleonic Wars. He acquired his own fleet of ships. Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, remarked that "By strict integrity, by industry and punctuality in all his commercial transactions, he contributed to raise the character of the Bombay merchant in the most distant markets."[8]

In 1814, profits from trade enabled him to purchase his first ship, Good Success, and he gradually expanded his fleet to seven vessels, which primarily carried opium and cotton to China.[9] By 1836, his firm employed his sons and other relatives and had amassed substantial wealth.[6]

Jejeebhoy and his family were also known by the name "Battliwala", reflecting commercial interests associated with the bottle trade. The name was used in business and social contexts, although he did not adopt it as part of his baronetcy title.[10] His family frequently used the name "Battliwala" in business and social contexts, reflecting commercial interests connected with bottle manufacture and trade, though he did not adopt the name formally when granted a baronetcy.

In 1818, he established the trading and shipping firm Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy & Co. with Motichund Amichund and Mahomed Ali Rogay. He later worked with Rogério de Faria. His voyages to China led to a long association with Jardine Matheson & Co. of Canton. Jejeebhoy served as one of the firm's Indian associates and underwriters.[11] He was regarded by British authorities as a leading representative of Bombay's Indian mercantile community.[12]

He was one of two Indian members appointed to the first board of management of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, alongside Jagannath Shankarsheth.[13][14]

Philanthropy[edit | edit source]

Sketch of Jejeebhoy, 1857
The Illustrated London News print of Jejeebhoy's residence, 1858
Engraving of the Bombay Native Hospital, constructed at the joint expense of Jejeebhoy and the East India Company; it was later renamed "Sir J. J. Hospital".
Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy statue, Mumbai

An essentially self-made man, having experienced poverty in early life, Jejeebhoy developed sympathy for those in need.[6] During his later years he devoted substantial resources to charitable causes. Hospitals, schools, charitable institutions and pension funds throughout India, particularly in Bombay, Navsari, Surat, and Poona, were created or supported through his donations, and he financed the construction of public works including wells, reservoirs, bridges and causeways.[6] By the time of his death in 1859, he was estimated to have donated more than £230,000 to charitable causes.[6] His philanthropic activities expanded significantly from 1822, when he paid the debts of poor prisoners confined in Bombay's civil jail.[15]

Among his notable charitable contributions were:

  • Mahim Causeway: The British Government declined to finance a causeway connecting Mahim and Bandra. Jejeebhoy's wife, Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, contributed Rs. 155,800 towards its construction. Work commenced in 1841 and was completed several years later.
  • He paid two-thirds of the cost of the Poona (now Pune) waterworks project, with the remainder funded by the government.[17]
  • He spent Rs. 145,403 establishing the Sir J. J. Dharamshala on Bellasis Road.[8]

Baronetcy[edit | edit source]

Jejeebhoy's services were recognised by the British government when he was knighted in 1842 and later created a baronet in 1857.[19] These honours were the first knighthood and baronetcy conferred by Queen Victoria upon an Indian subject.[6]

Upon his death in 1859, the baronetcy passed to his eldest son, Cursetjee Jejeebhoy, who subsequently assumed the name Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy under the provisions of the original letters patent.[6]

When Jejeebhoy died in 1859, a Bombay newspaper described him as:

"Simple in his tastes and manners, and dignified in his address, the personal appearance of Sir Jamsetjee, in later years, was a picture of greatness in repose. He had done his work, and entered upon the sabbath of his life."

[20]

Advocate of non-violence[edit | edit source]

In 1855, under royal patronage, the Patriotic Fund was established to assist wounded soldiers and the families of those who had died during the Crimean War. Jejeebhoy contributed Rs. 5,000 to the fund. In a speech delivered on the occasion, he expressed opposition to the human and economic costs of war:

Of none of the great evils which afflict our race do we form such inadequate conceptions as of the evils of war. War is exhibited to us in the dazzling dress of poetry, fiction, and history, where its horrors are carefully concealed beneath its gaudy trappings; or we see, perhaps, its plumes and epaulettes, and harlequin finery, we hear of the magnificence of the apparatus, the bravery of the troops, the glory of the victors, but the story of the wholesale miseries and wretchedness and wrongs which follow in its train is untold … What nation is not groaning under war-debts, the greatest of national burdens! Had the inconceivable sum wasted in the work of human butchery been applied to promote individual comfort and national prosperity, the world would not now be so far behind as it is in its career of progress … Our duty to relieve the sufferers in this great war would have remained the same whether the war had been a just one or not; but, considering the nature and objects of this war, we extend this relief now more as a privilege than as a duty … To the call of our gracious Sovereign, and to the call of humanity, the Parsis, my lord, will cordially respond.

His concern for the welfare of animals was reflected in his support for efforts to prevent cruelty towards them. During the nineteenth century, the East India Company maintained a policy of destroying stray dogs in Bombay, which generated public opposition. In response to concerns regarding animal welfare, Jejeebhoy and Amichand Shah helped establish the Bombay Panjrapole on 18 October 1834.[21]

Arms[edit | edit source]

Template:Infobox COA wide

General and cited references[edit | edit source]

  • B. K. Karanjia (1998). Give Me a Bombay Merchant Anytime!: The Life of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Bt., 1783–1859. University of Mumbai.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080501224923/http://www.leighrayment.com/baronetage/baronetsJ.htm[usurped]
  2. ↑ Palsetia, Jesse S. (2001), The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City, Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, p. 55, ISBN 9004121145
  3. ↑ Prakash, Gyan (2010), Mumbai Fables, New Delhi: HarperCollins, ISBN 9350291665
  4. ↑ Farooqui, Amar (2005), Smuggling as Subversion: Colonialism, Indian Merchants, and the Politics of Opium, 1790–1843, New Delhi: Lexington Books, p. 210, ISBN 0739108867
  5. ↑ Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. Retrieved 16 August 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bhownaggree, Mancherjee Merwanjee (1911). "Jeejeebhoy, Sir Jamsetjee". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 300.
  7. ↑ Rungta, Shyam (1970), The Rise of Business Corporations in India, 1851–1900, New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, p. 57, ISBN 0-521-07354-5
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Yatha Ahu Vairyo Mohalla". 30 January 2012.
  9. ↑ Bulley, Anne (16 December 2013). The Bombay Country Ships 1790–1833. Routledge. ISBN 978-1136833137.
  10. ↑ Edward Balfour, ed. (1885). Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). London: Bernard Quaritch. p. XXX.
  11. ↑ "Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy: China, William Jardine, the Celestial, and Other HK Connections".
  12. ↑ Karaka, D. F. (1884). History of the Parsis. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ↑ Patwardhan, G. D. (15 August 1995). "Off the Rails".
  14. ↑ Egbers, Vera; Kamleithner, Christa; Sezer, Özge; Skedzuhn-Safir, Alexandra (2024). Architectures of Colonialism: Constructed Histories, Conflicting Memories. Birkhäuser. p. 85. ISBN 978-3-0356-2670-4.
  15. ↑ "Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy". www.robinsonlibrary.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Sir JJ College Of Architecture, Bombay – Home". Sir JJ College of Architecture. Accessed 23 May 2010.
  17. ↑ Manuel, Thomas (4 May 2019). "The opium trader who became one of India's richest men". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  18. ↑ "Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy – Lesser Known Facts" (PDF). 12 July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  19. ↑ "No. 22003". The London Gazette. 19 May 1857. p. 1770.
  20. ↑ "What it takes for Sir J J Agiary in Pune's Camp to keep the flame alive". The Indian Express. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "History". Bombay Panjrapole. Retrieved 4 May 2018.

External links[edit | edit source]

Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Bombay)
1857–1859 		Succeeded by
Cursetjee Jejeebhoy
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