Sir James Matheson | |
|---|---|
 James Matheson (published 1837) | |
| Member of Parliament forAshburton | |
| In office 1843–1847 | |
| Preceded by | William Jardine |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Matheson |
| Member of Parliament forRoss and Cromarty | |
| In office 1852–1868 | |
| Preceded by | James Mackenzie |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Matheson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1796-11-17)17 November 1796 |
| Died | 31 December 1878(1878-12-31) (aged 82) Menton, France |
| Citizenship | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Occupation | Taipan |
| Known for | Co-founder ofJardine Matheson & Co. |
Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet,FRS (17 November 1796 – 31 December 1878), was a Scottish opium trader andtaipan. Born in Shiness,Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, he was the son of Captain Donald Matheson.[1] He attendedEdinburgh'sRoyal High School and theUniversity of Edinburgh. He andWilliam Jardine went on to co-found the Hong Kong-based trading conglomerateJardine Matheson & Co. that became today'sJardine Matheson Holdings.
After leaving university, Matheson spent two years in a Londonagency house before departing forCalcutta, India and a position in his uncle's trading firm, Mackintosh & Co.[2]
In 1807, Matheson was entrusted by his uncle with a letter to be delivered to the captain of a soon-to-depart British vessel. He 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 Britain. He took his uncle at his word and went to engage a passage back home. However, a chance encounter with an old sea captain instead led to Matheson departing for Canton (Guangzhou).[citation needed]
Matheson first metWilliam Jardine in Bombay in 1820.[3] The two men later formed a partnership which also includedHollingworth Magniac andDaniel Beale. At first, the new firm dealt only with trade between Canton, Bombay and Calcutta, at that time called the "country trade" but later extended their business to London.
In 1827 Alexander Matheson lent James a small hand press for the printing of theCanton Register which James founded as the first English language news sheet in China,[4][5] which was edited byWilliam Wightman Wood, an American fromPhiladelphia who would later work for rival trading house Russell & Co.[6]
On 1 July 1832,Jardine, Matheson and Company, a partnership, between William Jardine, James Matheson as senior partners, and Hollingworth Magniac, Alexander Matheson, Jardine's nephew Andrew Johnstone, Matheson's nephew Hugh Matheson, John Abel Smith, and Henry Wright, as the first partners was formed in Canton,[7] and took the Chinese name 'Ewo' (怡和 "Yee-Wo" LiterallyHappy Harmony). The name was taken from the earlierEwo Hong founded byHowqua[8] which had an honest and upright reputation.
In 1834, Parliament ended the monopoly of the British East India Company on trade between Britain and China. Jardine, Matheson and Company took this opportunity to fill the vacuum left by the East India Company. With its first voyage carrying tea, the Jardine shipSarah left for England. Jardine Matheson began its transformation from a major commercial agent of theEast India Company into the largest British tradinghong, or firm, in Asia from its base in Hong Kong.[9]
Jardine wanted the opium trade to expand in China and dispatched Matheson to England to lobby the Government to press theQing government to further open up trade. Matheson's mission proved unsuccessful and he was rebuked by the then British Foreign Secretary theDuke of Wellington. In a report, Matheson complained to Jardine over being insulted by an "arrogant and stupid man". Matheson expressed his views plainly, contemporaneously describing, "... the Chinese [as] a people characterised by a marvellous degree of imbecility, avarice, conceit and obstinacy..."[10]
Matheson returned to Asia in 1838 and the following year Jardine left for England to continue lobbying.[7]
Jardine's lobbying efforts proved more effective than his partner's and he succeeded in persuading the new British Foreign SecretaryLord Palmerston to wage war on Qing China. The subsequentFirst Opium War led to theTreaty of Nanking which allowed Jardine Matheson to expand from Canton to Hong Kong and mainland China.
After Jardine died a bachelor in 1843, his nephews David and Andrew Jardine assisted James Matheson in running the hong astaipan. Matheson retired as taipan during the early 1840s and handed over to David Jardine, another nephew of Jardine.
On 29 November 1834, Matheson became chairman of the newly formed "Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China". The committee members represented a wide section of the business and missionary community in Canton:David Olyphant, William Wetmore, James Innes, Thomas Fox,Elijah Coleman Bridgman,Karl Gützlaff andJohn Robert Morrison.John Francis Davis, at that time chief superintendent of British trade in China, was made an honorary member.[11]
In 1844 Matheson bought the ScottishIsle of Lewis for over half a million pounds and builtLews Castle, nearStornoway, clearing more than 500 families off the land by arranging their emigration toCanada.[12] In 1845, he began a programme of improvements on the island, including drainage schemes and road construction. He increased the programme during theHighland Potato Famine and by 1850 had spent £329,000 on the island. Between 1851 and 1855 he assisted 1,771 people to emigrate.
When in London Matheson lived at 13 Cleveland Row. He was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in 1846.[13] As a result of his actions during the Highland Potato Famine, Matheson was awarded abaronetcy in 1851.[14] He became Member of Parliament (MP) forAshburton from 1843 to 1852 on the death of William Jardine (the previous incumbent) and forRoss and Cromarty from 1852 to 1868. He led an active public life into his eighth decade, and for many years served as chairman of thePeninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.[15] His nephews succeeded him as directors ofJardine Matheson andMatheson & Company.[15]
Matheson died in 1878 at the age of 82 inMenton, France. He had married on 9 November 1843 Mary Jane Perceval[15] the daughter of Michael Henry Perceval (1779–1829), illegitimate son of assassinated British Prime MinisterSpencer Perceval,[16] Commissioner of thePort of Quebec from 1826 and a member, fromSpencer Wood, of theLegislative Council of Lower Canada. The Mathesons had no children[15] and the baronetcy became extinct. The Lewis estate passed to his widow and subsequently to his nephew Donald (1819–1901) and great-nephew Colonel Duncan Matheson (1850–1930).
His widow erected a memorial to him in the grounds of Lews Castle.[17]
He left £1,500 to help pay for the construction of the harbour atPort of Ness.[18]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forAshburton 1843 –1847 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRoss and Cromarty 1852–1868 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire 1866–1878 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of The Lews) 1850–1878 | Extinct |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
