Jardine, Matheson & Company

Jardine, Matheson & Company was formed by William Jardine (1784-1843) and James Matheson (1798-1878) in July 1832, following the restructuring of the China firm Magniac & Co. After the East India Company lost its monopoly on trade with China, the new company sent the first private shipments of tea to England in 1834. In January 1839 William Jardine retired, leaving James Matheson in charge of the company, with his nephew Alexander and Henry Wright as partners. Matheson retired from the Far East in 1842.

During the First Chinese War the company promoted the founding of Hong Kong, buying land in 1841, and moving the main office there in 1844. Over the course of the next decade the firm opened offices in Shanghai, Canton, Macao and Amoy, and began to handle a wide range of imports into China, such as coal, metals and machinery. The 1850s saw new offices opened in Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki and other ports, while the company inaugurated the steam cargo line from Calcutta to China in 1855.

...