Book review: Opium and Empire, by Richard J. Grace

by Richard J. Grace
McGill-Queen's University Press

In their day, Scottish traders William Jardine and James Matheson were seen by the Chinese as "barbarians" - predatory invaders peddling "foreign mud": that is, opium.

But most of their 19th-century British contemporaries admired them, according to revisionist Richard Grace. In his intriguing new chronicle, Opium and Empire, he aims to prove the pair were more than one-dimensional villains.

"Although they were disliked by a few of their competitors and by some people at home in Britain, they were respected by many more, and genuinely admired for their business integrity, their skills at identifying and pursuing profitable opportunities, and their management talents," the American history professor writes, branding them reverse robber barons.

Jardine was feted at his base, Canton (Guangzhou), on leaving, and at London on arriving. Likewise, Matheson was honoured by Bombay's Parsi merchants, Grace writes. Both served in Parliament while pursuing influential City business careers. Matheson was made a baronet by Queen Victoria.

They were seen as gentlemen by most who knew them, Grace writes. "They were venturesome capitalists." The two Scots were agents for clients in Britain, Australia, Singapore and India. Cotton and silks were part of their repertoire.

Despite their entrepreneurial zest and flair for adventure, their backgrounds were staid. Educated in medicine at the University of Edinburgh, in 1802 Jardine won a diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The same year, he became a surgeon's mate aboard the ship Brunswick belonging to the East India Company, and sailed for India.