Apcar and Company was a firm founded in 1819 in India that engaged in shipping, import and export. The most profitable trade was in opium, shipped from India to Hong Kong and the Pearl River. The Apcar Line also carried Indian and Chinese laborers for work in Malaya and Singapore. The line was sold to the British India Steam Navigation Company in 1912.
Arratoon Apcar was an ethnic Armenian born in 1779 at New Julfa in Isfahan, Persia. He was the second son of Apcar, the ancestor of the family. He came to Bombay when he was sixteen and found employment with an Armenian merchant there, trading with China and Manila. After his patron died, he continued in this trade in his own right.[1] His brother Gregory Apcar came to India in 1808 and joined Arratoon in Bombay.[2] The trading company of Apcar & Co. was founded in 1819 by Arratoon Apcar.[3]
Growth
Arratoon Apcar moved his company to Calcutta around the end of 1830.[4] In Calcutta the company moved into shipping, carrying both passengers and freight. The most profitable cargo was opium.[5] Until P&O began shipping opium from Calcutta in 1851, the trade was divided between Jardine, Skinner and the Apcar Line. Even then, P&O had limited shipping capacity.[6] While Jardines carried opium for the larger suppliers, the Apcars with their Arratoon Apcar and Catherine Apcar sailing boats catered to many smaller local dealers. With slower boats, they charged much lower rates than Jardine Skinner, ranging from Rs8 to Rs10 per chest compared to upward of Rs28 per chest charged by Jardine Skinner. However, the Apcars may have had private arrangements with the dealers that locked them into using Apcar services.[7]
The Apcar Line's fleet became well-respected, efficiently carrying both cargo and Chinese coolies, mostly between Singapore, Hong Kong and Amoy, but also making regular voyages to Japan.[8] From 1855 Apcar & Co. started to convert their fleet to steam.[7] The Apcar Line was providing regular service to Singapore from 1856.[9] The Apcar clippers dominated the opium trade until the 1870s, carrying their cargoes from Bombay or Calcutta, with a stop in Singapore, on to Hong Kong or the Canton River. 43 voyages of opium ships to China were listed in 1865, of which 17 were Apcar ships.[5] The Apcars and Jardine Skinner exported opium to Singapore for use by the Chinese in the Malay Peninsula or for distribution to other locations in southeast Asia.[10] Eventually the Apcars were forced out of the Dutch East Indies by protectionist measures.[11] Between 1875 and 1880 Captain Chapman James Clare (1853-1940) served on Apcar & Co. opium steamers trading between Hong Kong and Calcutta.[12]
In the 1880s the Apcar Line was sailing monthly from Calcutta to Hong Kong via Penang and Singapore.[5] On 22 May 1888 the steamship Arratoon Apcar collided with the steamship Hebe in the Strait of Malacca, with both ships suffering considerable damage.[13] Both vessels were held to have been at fault.[14] In 1901 the firm of David Sassoon, Sons & Co. were still the agents in Hong Kong of the Apcar Line.[15] They maintained this agency after the purchase of the Apcar Line by the British India Steam Navigation Company.[16]
Family interests
In 1843 Arratoon Apcar founded the Armenian Patriotic School in his home town of New Julfa in Isfahan, Persia. The school was entirely funded by Apcar & Co.[17] The Apcars also owned collieries.[4]Sitarampur Colliery was opened by Apcar & Company around 1846.[18] In 1865 Apcar was working a seam of coal 13 feet (4.0m) deep near Charanpur.[19] They had another mine at Sitarampur, a seam said to be 12 feet (3.7m) deep and excellent in quality.[20]
Gregory Apcar worked for Apcar & Co. until his death on 23 June 1847 at the age of 52.[2] Arratoon Apcar died on 16 May 1863 at the age of 85.[17]Apcar Alexander Apcar (1850-1913), grandson of Arratoon Apcar, became head of the family firm after the death of his three elder brothers, Apcar, Seth and Thomas.[21] He continued the family trading business, living at their home in Russell Street, where he entertained many people.[22] He was vice-president of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce in 1903, and its president from 1904 to 1907. He represented the Chamber of Commerce in the Viceregal Legislative Council from 1900 to 1909, in the Bengal Legislative Council and in the Port Trust. In 1903 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India (C.S.I.), and later that year was knighted at a Royal Durbar in Delhi.[23]
The Arratoon Apcar, a 275-ton brig, began making regular voyages in the mid-1840s between Calcutta, Penang, Singapore and China, taking about two months each way. After a few years the company added the Ararat and the 400-ton Catherine Apcar, which was named after the wife of Arratoon Apcar.[5] In 1846 Apcar and Company had three of the eleven tugs operating at Calcutta, one of 120hp and two of 150hp.[24] The first steam clippers added to the fleet were the 315-ton (673grt) Lightning in 1855 and 593-ton (947grt) Thunder.[7] These were followed by the 938-ton Arratoon Apcar and the Armenia in 1858. In 1861 the 204-ton Thunder, a screw-driven steam ship, made the journey from Hong Kong to Singapore in just five days.[5] A great cyclone hit Calcutta on 4 October 1864.[25] It caused great damage to the shipping in the harbor. Apcar & Co.'s Thunder was driven onto the Strand at the foot of Hastings Street.[26]
SS Arratoon Apcar was an iron-hulled steamship with a 1,480 ton displacement built in Renfrew, Scotland, 1861. She was sold in 1872 to H.F. Swan Company.[27]
The 1019-ton steam ship Catherine Apcar was built in 1865, and soon after the 1476-ton Hindustan and 1471-ton China were added. The Japan was commissioned in 1872. In 1873 the 2153-ton Arratoon Apcar was built. In 1891 the Apcar Line acquired the new 3,250-ton steam ship Lightning. Cabin passengers were accommodated in the poop. The ship carried Indian and Chinese laborers to Singapore and Penang as deck passengers. In July 1893 the Japan was retired, replaced by the 2,715-ton Catherine Apcar.[5]
The Hyson passenger/cargo liner, built in Belfast and launched in 1895, was purchased by the Apcars and renamed Arratoon Apcar in 1899. She was taken over by the British-India Steam Navigation Company in 1912 when they purchased the Apcar Line, retaining her name. Eventually she was demolished in 1932.[28] The 4,563-ton Gregory Apcar joined the fleet in 1902, and the new Japan in 1906.[5] Until well into the 20th century the ships had to be prepared for attack by Chinese pirates, and were armed and sandbagged for defense.[8]
William Jardine was a Scottish physician, opium merchant and trader who co-founded the Hong Kong based conglomerate Jardine, Matheson & Co. Following his return to England from the Far East, between 1841 and 1843, he was Member of Parliament for Ashburton representing the Whig party.
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China was a bank incorporated in London in 1853 by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.
P&O was a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World currently operate several P&O branded businesses, P&O Ferries, Istithmar P&O Estates, and P&O Maritime Logistics. It also operates P&O Heritage, which is the official historic archive and collection of P&O.
Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet, FRS, was a Scottish opium trader and taipan. Born in Shiness, Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, he was the son of Captain Donald Matheson. He attended Edinburgh's Royal High School and the University of Edinburgh. He and William Jardine went on to co-found the Hong Kong-based trading conglomerate Jardine Matheson & Co. that became today's Jardine Matheson Holdings.
Dent & Co. or Dent's, was one of the wealthiest British merchant firms, or Hongs, active in China during the 19th century. A direct rival to Jardine, Matheson & Co, together with Russell & Co., these three companies are recognised as the original Canton Hongs active in early Colonial Hong Kong.
The Apcar family is an Armenian family originally from New Julfa in Isfahan, Persia. After moving to India they became prominent in commerce and industry. Later members were involved in the practice of law and the legislature.
Steam Navigation Companies became widespread during the 19th century after the development of steam-powered vessels, both steamboats, which were generally used on lakes and rivers, and ocean-faring steamships. Companies that share the name Steam Navigation Company include the following, listed by their country of ownership.
HMS Curlew (1812) was a Royal Navy Cruizer class brig-sloop built by (William) Good & Co., at Bridport and launched in 1812. She served with the Navy for only 10 years. During the War of 1812 she sailed from Halifax and captured several American privateers. Her greatest moment was her role in the 1819 British occupation of Ras Al Khaimah, leading to the signature of the General Maritime Treaty of 1820, which established the Trucial States, today the United Arab Emirates. Curlew was sold in 1822 in Bombay. She then had a 13 or so year career as an opium runner for James Matheson, one of the founders of the firm Jardine Matheson.
Sylph was a clipper ship built at Sulkea, opposite Calcutta, in 1831 for the Parsi merchant Rustomjee Cowasjee. After her purchase by the Hong Kong-based merchant house Jardine Matheson, in 1833 Sylph set a speed record by sailing from Calcutta to Macao in 17 days, 17 hours. Her primary role was to transport opium between various ports in the Far East. She disappeared en route to Singapore in 1849.
Russell & Company was the largest American trading house of the mid-19th century in China. The firm specialised in trading tea, silk and opium and was eventually involved in the shipping trade.
The Indo-China Steam Navigation Company, Limited (ICSNC), was established in 1873 as a subsidiary of Hong Kong based Jardine, Matheson & Co., one of the largest trading companies in the Far East at that time.
Jardine, Matheson & Co., later Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., forerunner of today's Jardine Matheson Holdings, 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, 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.
Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong-based, Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange and Bermuda Stock Exchange. The majority of its business interests are in Asia, and its subsidiaries include Jardine Pacific, Jardine Motors, Hongkong Land, Jardine Strategic Holdings, DFI Retail Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Astra International. It set up the Jardine Scholarship in 1982 and Mindset, a mental health-focused charity, in 2002.
Red Rover was the name of two clipper ships.
Sir Apcar Alexander Apcar was a wealthy Armenian businessman in Calcutta, India. His family had made their fortune in the opium trade with China. He was president of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, sat on the Imperial Legislative Council, and in 1903 was knighted. He owned a racehorse stud, and for several years was the leading figure in the Indian racing world.
SS Arratoon Apcar was an iron-hulled sail and steam merchant ship that was built in Scotland in 1861 and wrecked off the coast of Florida in 1878. Her wreck in shallow water on Fowey Rocks is now a scuba diving site.
Jardine, Skinner and Company was a trading company based in Calcutta, India. It was founded in 1825, initially dealing in textiles. Later it branched out into opium, tea, timber and petroleum. The company was closely associated with Matheson & Company of London and Jardine Matheson & Co. of Hong Kong.
David Sassoon & Co., Ltd. was a trading company operating in the 19th century and early 20th century predominantly in India, China and Japan.
Hercules was built at Calcutta in 1814. She acquired British registry and traded between Britain and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC), before returning to Calcutta registry. She then traded opium between India and China, and became an opium receiving ship for Jardine Matheson. In 1839 she was one of the vessels that surrendered her store of opium to be burned at the behest of Chinese officials at Canton. This incident was one of the proximate causes of the First Opium War (1839–1842). Her owners apparently sold her to American owners in 1839.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
