Jardine, Skinner & Co
| Industry | Trading |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged into Jardine Henderson |
| Founded | Bombay, India (1825) |
| Defunct | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Calcutta, India |
|
Area served
|
Britain, India, China |
| Products | Textiles, opium, tea etc. |
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.
Jardine, Skinner & Co. was founded in 1825 in Bombay. The early partners of Jardine Skinner were from Scotland, as were the partners of many of the British managing agencies of Bombay and Calcutta. Kinship ties were important, with new members often drawn from Scottish relatives. In 1844 the company was reformed in Calcutta by David Jardine and Charles B. Skinner. David Jardine (1819-1853) was the eldest son of William Jardine's sister Margaret.
Jardine Skinner was a merchant and also became a shipping agent and shareholder in shipping companies. The company imported cotton goods from Manchester and Glasgow, and exported indigo, silk, and later jute. Their agents in Glasgow were James Ewing & Co., and their agents in Manchester were Matheson & Scott. The latter was associated with Matheson & Company of London and Jardine Matheson of Hong Kong. Jardine Skinner and Jardine Matheson were not legally connected, although both used the facilities of Matheson & Co., which James Matheson founded in 1848 after he returned from China.
With high levels of competition in the textile trade, Jardine Skinner earned additional income by shipping opium to Jardine Matheson in China. While Jardines carried opium for the larger suppliers, Apcar and Company catered to many smaller local dealers. With slower boats, the Apcars charged much lower rates than Jardines, ranging from Rs8 to Rs10 per chest compared to upward of Rs28 per chest charged by Jardines. The Apcars and Jardine Skinner also exported opium to Singapore for use by the Chinese in the Malay Peninsula or for distribution to other locations in southeast Asia.
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