Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy
Encyclopedia
Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was a Parsi
-Indian merchant
and philanthropist
.
(now Mumbai) in 1783, of poor parents who died shortly afterwards, leaving him an orphan. At the age of sixteen, having had little formal education, he made his first visit to Calcutta and then began his first voyage to China to trade in cotton
and opium
.
Jejeebhoy's second voyage to China was made in a ship of the 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
in the Battle of Pulo Aura
.
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. After much delay and great difficulty, Jejeebhoy made his way to Calcutta in a Danish ship. Undaunted, Jejeebhoy undertook another voyage to China which was more successful than any of his previous journeys.
By this time Jejeebhoy had fairly established his reputation as an enterprising merchant possessed of considerable wealth. He settled in Mumbai, where he directed his commercial operations on an extended scale. 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.
Jejeebhoy was known by the nickname "Mr. Bottlewaller". "Waller" meant "trader", and Jejeebhoy's business interests included the manufacture and sale of bottles. Jejeebhoy and his family would often sign letters and checks using the name "Bottlewaller", and were known by that name in business and society, but he did not choose this assumed surname when it came to the baronetcy.
An essentially self-made man, having experienced the miseries of poverty in early life, Jejeebhoy developed great sympathy for his poorer countrymen. 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 Mumbai, 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. By the time of his death in 1859, he was estimated to have donated over £230,000 to charity. Some of Jejeebhoy's notable charitable works include:
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 to be known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road.
cy. These were the very first distinctions of their kind conferred by Queen Victoria
upon a British subject in India.
On Jejeebhoy's death in 1859, his Baronetcy was inherited by his eldest son 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.
. 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.
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
-Indian merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Early life and business career
Jejeebhoy was born in BombayMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
(now Mumbai) in 1783, of poor parents who died shortly afterwards, leaving him an orphan. At the age of sixteen, having had little formal education, he made his first visit to Calcutta and then began his first voyage to China to trade in cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
.
Jejeebhoy's second voyage to China was made in a ship of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
's fleet. Under the command of Sir Nathaniel Dance
Nathaniel Dance
Sir Nathaniel Dance was an officer of the Honourable East India Company who had a long and varied career on merchant vessels, making numerous voyages to India and back with the fleets of East Indiamen...
, this ship drove off a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois
Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois
Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, Comte de Linois was a French admiral during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. He won a victory over the British at the Battle of Algeciras in 1801 and was reasonably successful in a campaign against British trade in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea in...
in the Battle of Pulo Aura
Battle of Pulo Aura
The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large squadron of Honourable East India Company East Indiamen, powerful and well armed merchant ships, intimidated, drove off and chased a powerful French naval squadron...
.
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
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, then a neutral Dutch possession. After much delay and great difficulty, Jejeebhoy made his way to Calcutta in a Danish ship. Undaunted, Jejeebhoy undertook another voyage to China which was more successful than any of his previous journeys.
By this time Jejeebhoy had fairly established his reputation as an enterprising merchant possessed of considerable wealth. He settled in Mumbai, where he directed his commercial operations on an extended scale. 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.
Jejeebhoy was known by the nickname "Mr. Bottlewaller". "Waller" meant "trader", and Jejeebhoy's business interests included the manufacture and sale of bottles. Jejeebhoy and his family would often sign letters and checks using the name "Bottlewaller", and were known by that name in business and society, but he did not choose this assumed surname when it came to the baronetcy.
Philanthropy
Navsari
Navsari is a city and municipality in the Surat Metropolitan Region and also the administrative headquarters Navsari District of Gujarat, India. Navsari is also the Twin City of Surat, and only 37 km south of Surat.-Geography:...
, Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
, and Poona) were created or endowed by Jejeebhoy, and he financed the construction of many public works such as wells, reservoirs, bridges, and causeways. By the time of his death in 1859, he was estimated to have donated over £230,000 to charity. Some of Jejeebhoy's notable charitable works include:
- Mahim CausewayMahimMahim is a neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station in Mahim area, on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. In ancient times, the area was known as Maijim, Mejambu, Mahikawati....
: The British Government had refused to build a causeway to connect the island of Salsette to Mumbai. Jejeebhoy's wife Avabai Jamsetjee JeejeebhoyAvabai Jamsetjee JeejeebhoyAvabai, Lady Jeejeebhoy was the wife of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, 1st baronet. She is best known for having funded the construction of the Mahim causeway in Mumbai , which serves today as an important link between the island city of Mumbai with its north-western suburbs.-Personal life:Avabai was...
spent ₨.1,55,800 to finance its construction, after who it was named. The work began in 1841 and is believed to have been completed four years later. - Sir J. J. Hospital
- Jejeebhoy donated to at least 126 notable public charities, including the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, the Sir J. J. College of Architecture, the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied ArtSir J.J. Institute of Applied ArtSir J. J. Institute of Applied Art is an Indian applied art institution based in Mumbai. It is a state government college that was created through its sister school, the Sir J. J. School of Art. The "Sir J. J." in the name stands for Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy, a Parsi philanthropist whose name is...
and the Seth R.J.J. High SchoolSeth R.J.J. High SchoolSeth R.J.J. High School is one of the oldest schools in Navsari, India. It was founded in 1846 by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy, an Indian merchant and philanthropist.-External links:**...
. He also endowed charities dedicated to helping his fellow Parsis and created the "Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy Parsi Benevolent Fund".
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 to be known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road.
Baronetcy
Jejeebhoy's services were first recognized by the British Empire in 1842 by the bestowal of a knighthood and in 1858 by the award of a baronetBaronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
cy. These were the very first distinctions of their kind conferred by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
upon a British subject in India.
On Jejeebhoy's death in 1859, his Baronetcy was inherited by his eldest son Cursetjee Jejeebhoy
Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 2nd Baronet
Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 2nd Baronet, CSI, , was an Indian businessmen.Born Cursetjee Jeejeebhoy, he was the eldest son of Sir Jamsetjee 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.
Jejeebhoy and the Parsi community
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 PresidencyBombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...
. 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.