Controlling the Choke Points: Warehouses and Wharves

“Often it took five months to reach Bombay from England, but the new steamship services would surely send up the values ofall foreshore property. With his first profits David Sassoon therefore began to buy up wharfages in Bombay. He was following in the tracks of the Parsees, but with one essential difference. They acted mainly as local middlemen and used their assets to buy land or lend money to the peasants. He preferred to nuzzle the warmth of foreign trade and was quickly among the captains of the bulging dhows which poured ceaselessly into the Bay of Bengal. By offering them dock space, he automatically had the first pick of goods before they reached the city booths. Many a trader would be stranded in port and short of money while waiting for the monsoons to pass. When they were ready to sail home, half their fresh cargoes would often be Sassoon merchandise. Some who had sold their own wares in Bombay were also tempted to invest in wools, gay chintzes, dye-stuffs and turquoises for the return journey. For this they needed additional capital or the services of a trusted go-between. Sassoon was at hand in both capacities.”

“There were many larger and older-established China traders than David Sassoon & Sons, but none more flexible or so diversified. They became shippers without the risks of shipowning, and acted as brokers or bankers to smaller traders in need of capital. They also started up as commission agents, buying and selling cargoes for others who discovered that the Sassoon turnover guaranteed them excellent cargo space at reasonable freight rates. Above all, they were warehousemen with an interest in some of the choicest wharves in the Far East.”