Footprints of Odysseus in India.

During 17th -18th centuries, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French,

Armenians and later Greek merchants came to India seeking economic and trade
opportunities. Merchants from Portugal, Holland, England and France created
trading companies which had the support of their home governments and
allowed these powers to carve out empires on the Indian subcontinent.1 The
adventurous Greeks will be focus of this paper who went to India during the
second half of the 18th century in search of trading opportunities. They
established small vibrant communities in Kolkatta (Calcutta) and Dhaka with the
Greek Orthodox Church being the central point where young Greeks could learn
their language, history and culture. The Greek diaspora, like any diasporic group,
sought to maintain and preserve its ethnic identity and heritage in an alien and
sometimes hostile environment. 2

Two newspaper articles published in The Times and Morning Chronicle

with the identical title ‘Subscription for the Greeks in India’ on August 27, 1824
will be analyzed and will form the center piece of this paper. However, they will
be placed within the context of the history of the British East India Company and
Greek migration to India during the 18th century and beyond. The small Greek
community and British philhellenes in Calcutta contributed financially towards the
Greek war for independence 1821-30. At this time the British East India
Company governed large tracts of the Indian sub-continent having its own
military force.

1
The literature on the European merchants seeking economic and financial opportunities in India is legion.
However, the following is a sample. See Vahe Baladouni & Margaret Makepeace (eds), Armenian
merchants of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries English East India Company Sources,
American Philosophical Society, 1998; Bhawan Ruangslip, Dutch East India Company, Merchants at the
Court of Ayutthaya, Brill, Leiden, 2007; Ramkrishna Mukherjee, The Rise and Fall of the East India
Company, Monthly Review Press, New York &London, 2009; Sushil Chaudhury & Michel Morineau,
Merchants, Companies and Trade, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999; James D.Tracy, The
Political Economy of Merchant Empires…1350-1750, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991; Joost
Jonker & Keetie Sluyterman, At home on the world markets, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001;
David Ormrod, The rise of commercial empires, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003; Michael
Naylor Pearson, Merchants and Rulers in Gujarat, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976; Sanjay
Subrahmanyan, The political economy of commerce: Southern India 1500-1650, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, 2002; Sudipta Das, Myths and realities of French Imperialism in India, 1763-83,
P.Lang, New York, 1992
2
The following works provide a useful guide to the past and present Greek diaspora. See Vassilis Kardasis,
Diaspora Merchants in the Black Sea. The Greeks of Southern Russia 1775-1861, Lexington Books,
Lanham, Maryland, 2001; Minna Rozen (ed), Homelands and Diasporas. Greeks, Jews and Their
Migrations, I.B. Tauris &Co. Ltd, London, 2008; Dimitri Constas & Athanassios G. Platias, Diasporas in
world politics: The Greeks in comparative perspective, Macmillan, 1993; Anastasio M. Tamis, The Greeks
in Australia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005; Alexandros Kosmas Kyrou, Greek
nationalism and diaspora politics in America, 1940-45, Indiana University, 1993
1. A brief history of the British East India Company

The British East India Company was established in 1600 with a starting
capital of £68,000 by merchants of the Levant Company as a means of by-
passing middle-men in the eastern Mediterranean and “deal direct with the spice
suppliers in the East Indies (modern Indonesia). British and Dutch merchants
wanted to counter Portuguese influence in India. 3

Once the British got a hold in India, the Portuguese allowed the East India
Company in 1634 to establish factories as trading posts on the Indian coast.
The East India Company also had its sights in getting a slice of the spice trade in
Malaya, Java and the Moluccas. On the other hand, the Dutch Compagnie van
Verre (Company of Far Distant Lands) founded in 1602 with a starting capital of
£500,000 was strongly entrenched in the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch fortified
their "trading posts at Batavia (Jakarta), Ambon Island and Moluccas on the
Malaya coast which they took from the Portuguese in 1641."4

The Mughal Emperors of India came to terms with the British East India
Company by granting them concessions to establish trading posts on the western
and eastern coasts of India. Over the remainder of the 17th century, the British
East India Company became involved in carrying goods between India, Southern
Arabia and Far East. It must be stressed that Indian textiles were also carried in
East India company ships to Britain.5

During the course of the 18th century, Great Britain expanded her
influence and power by pursuing anti-French and anti-Spanish policies. France
challenged British trade in the Caribbean, North America and on the east coast of
India establishing trading outposts in competition with the British East India
Company. On the other hand, Spanish authorities in America intercepted and
searched British ships carrying contraband which angered British merchants
which resulted in the Anglo-Spanish war 1739-44. Britain was also involved in the
war of Spanish succession (1701-14) and Seven years’ war (1756-61) with
France in Europe, North and South America and India. British Trade was seen as
an important element in creating wealth and making Britain a powerful nation.
War gave British manufacturers the opportunity to produce weapons for the
British East India Company. By 1740 the East India Company as a commercial
enterprise was involved in importing and exporting from its factories in Bombay,
Madras and Calcutta. By 1815 it possessed the strongest army in India where it
governed Bengal and extensive areas of eastern and southern India.6

3
1. Lawrence James, the rise and fall of the British Empire, Abacus, London, 1998, p.25; K.N Chaudhuri,
The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company 1660-1760, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, New York, pp.3-4 & 6-7
4
James, op cit., p.25; Chaudhuri, op cit., pp.115, 199 &208
5
James, op cit., p.26; Chaudhuri, op cit., pp.52-3
6
James., op.cit., pp.56-8,75-6, 124-8; Daniel A. Baugh, The Global Seven Years War 1754-63, Routledge,
New York, pp.66-71; Matt Schumann, Karl W. Schweizer, The Seven Years War, Routledge, New York,
2008, Chs.1-2
 For many middle class English families, India offered many opportunities
for advancement and wealth for their sons who would otherwise achieve nothing
in Britain. Englishmen viewed India as a place where they could make their
fortunes and retire to a comfortable life of retirement in England. It was also a
time when Britain and France clashed for supremacy on the Indian sub-continent
with each supporting native princes who would advance their own interests.

The India Acts of 1773 and 1784 gave the British parliament some
measure of control in the affairs of the East India Company. Making war was
seen by many English officers and East India Company officials as a way of
making huge fortunes and corruption was endemic in Indian society. Some
Indian princes gave financial presents to those who helped them in their wars
against rival princes. Many Englishmen succumbed to the way of Indian life.7

From the 1770’s onwards, the appointment of strong Governor Generals

such as Warren Hastings (1772-85), Lord Cornwallis (1785-92) Marques
Wellesley (1798-1805) , Earl Minto (1807-13) ,Lord Hastings (1813-23) and
Lord Amherst were individuals “who applied, in varying degrees, the traditional
principles of aristocratic government to the people of India, mingling firmness
with benevolent paternalism, and endeavoured to keep a high standard of
personal probity.” 8 These British rulers were interested in stamping out graft and
corruption by bringing the benefits of British civilization to the Indian populous
and at the same time furthering its domination of southern Asia and Indian
Ocean. It also strengthened its trading links that were being extended to China.
Britain held sway from the Red Sea to the Malay Peninsula besides her
Australian colonies.

Considering the British East India Company had made its economic
fortunes by the early 1800’s, land tax became almost its principal source of
revenue from the provinces under its control. The only bright spot in the
operations of the East India Company in the late 18th –early 19th centuries was
increased volume of trade with China involving the exportation of Chinese tea to
Britain and Chinese importation of Bengali opium.9 Over the course of the 19th

7
James, op cit., pp.135-6; The texts of the India Acts of 1773 &1784 is in Panchanandas Mukherjee (ed),
Indian Constitutional Documents (1773-1915), Thacker Spink&Co, 1915, pp.1-27
8
James, op cit. , pp.135-7; There following works are biographies of the early British Governors in India,
Capt Lionel James Trotter, Warren Hastings, W.H.Allen &Co, London, 1878 ; Jeremy Bernstein, Dawning
of the Raj:the life and trials of Warren Hastings, Ivan Dee, Chicago, 2000; Paul David Nelson, Francis
Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of Hastings, Associated University Press, Cranbury, NJ, 2005; P.J Marshall,
'Cornwallis Triumphant', in Lawrence Freedman, Pau Hayes & Robert O'Neill (eds), War, Strategy and
International Politics: Essays in Honour of Sir Michael Howard, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1992,
pp.57-74; MS Renick, Lord Wellesley and the Indian States, Arvind Vivek, Prahashan, Agra, 1987; The
Countess of Minto, Life of Letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot. First Earl of Minto 1751-1806, 3Vols, Longmans,
Green & Co, London, 1874; GS Chhabra, Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Vol.2 1803-
1920), Lotus Press, New Delhi, 2005, Ch.2
9
James, op cit., pp.123, 137-8 &236-8; Britain and China were involved in two Opium Wars of 1839-42
and 1856-58; For the interested reader, the following texts provide a historical analysis of the two opium
century the debts of the British East India Company increased and finally it was
dissolved in 1858.Thereafter the British government placed Indian affairs under
“a secretary of state and ultimately parliament were responsible for the
government of India, with local laws and policy-making in the hands of a viceroy
and provincial governor-generals, assisted by councils composed of bureaucrats
and a handful of Indian princes.” 10

2.The migration and settlement of Greeks in India

Greek merchants controlled trade in the Mediterranean and Levant which

served as a springboard for them to seek new markets in Russia and Eastern
Europe. The brave and adventurous Greeks who made their way to India in the
18th century came from every corner of Greece and Asia Minor. It appears from
two graves sites with Greek inscriptions that Greeks may have arrived in India
during the early 1700s. These individuals were lured by the prospects of making
their fortunes through trade in cloth, salt, lime and native products. Many of these
early Greeks who went to India came from Phillipopolis (now known as Plovdiv
located in present day Bulgaria). The Greeks settled in Calcutta and Dhaka (the
capital city of modern day Bangladesh). 11

Panayiotis Alexandros Argyree (also known as Hatzi Alexis) anglicized his

name to Panioty and was regarded as the first head of Greek community in
Bengal. He arrived in Bengal in 1750 and acted an interpreter for Captain
Thornhill. In 1771 Warren Hastings sent Panaghiotis on an official diplomatic
mission to Egypt “to obtain permission for British merchants to trade in Egypt.”
He succeeded in his mission and Hastings gave him the go-ahead to construct a
Greek church in Calcutta. Panioty “shifted his commercial operations to Dhaka
where he died in 1777.”12

Panayiotis Argyree left funds in his estate that was used by his family to
purchase land and for the erection of a Greek Church in Calcutta which
amounted to 30,000 rupees. Besides Argyree’s contribution, other Greeks
donated money towards the construction of the church. When British Governor
General, Warren Hastings learned of this, he “placed his name at the head of the
subscription for two thousand rupees, and thus set an example to the English to

wars, see Peter Ward Fay, The Opium War 1840-42, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975;
William Travis Hanes, Frank Sanello, Opium Wars, Sourcebooks, 2002
10
Lawrence James op cit., p.230
11
Helen Abadzi, Glimpses of the Greek Community from the Dhaka University Gravestones, World Bank,
2000, pp.3-4 in
http://www.academia.edu/5121053/Glimpses_of_the_Greek_Community_from_the_Dhaka_University_Gr
avestones (accessed October 1, 2015); Demetrios Th.Vassiliades. The Greeks in India, Munshiram
Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi, 2000, pp.162-3
12
HEA Cotton, Calcutta Old and New, W.Newman, Calcutta, 1907, pp.256 & 656-7; The Greek
community in Bengal 1774-1857, p.79 in http://www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf
(accessed October 1, 2015); Historical and Ecclesiastical Sketches of Bengal, from the earliest settlement
until the virtual conquest of that country by the English in 1757, Oriental Press, Calcutta, 1831, p.222
encourage the pious intentions of the Greeks. The English Gentlemen
contributed largely, and the few poor Greeks trading to Bengal added their mite
to the aggregate.” 13

Hastings was impeached on charges of corruption in the British

Parliament and the Greek merchants and clergy never forgot his generosity. In
1788, they signed a petition addressed to the Court of Directors of the East India
Company in support of Hastings. It read:

We take the liberty of testifying and declaring by this humble

representation his Christian and universal character, his beneficent and
charitable disposition to all mankind, his just and impartial love of all the
native inhabitants, whether high or low, of this Kingdom and his fervent
zeal for the prosperity of this country in general and of every individual in
it, manifesting to all and every one of them marks of paternal affection and
stretching forth his hand to those whom he found indigent circumstances
and destitute of the necessities of life. He was a zealous patron for the
dispensation of justice to every individual and of faithful balance of equity.
In a word, he was enriched with all human and moral endowments and
famous not only for his moral and political virtues but worthy of praise and
to be highly spoken of his desire to preserve and improve the literature of
this country , all of which excellencies will render him admired and
immortal throughout the universal world.14

Their petition was included in the minutes of the trial, whether it helped his
defense or not is difficult to gauge but certainly could not have harmed him
either. The trial ran from 1788-95 where it received extensive coverage in the
Times of London and finally was found not guilty of all charges laid against him.15

Panayiotis Argyree and his son, Alexander Panioty worked tirelessly to

ensure that the Greek Orthodox Church in Bengal remained strong to meet the
spiritual needs of the Greek communities in Calcutta and Dhaka. On February
21, 1774 seven Greek merchants: George Baraktaroglou, Hatzi Alexios Argyree,
Argyrees Angelee, Georgios Manolakee Arikoglou, Constantinos Georgiou,
Theocharees Georgiou and Michalis Andreou of Calcutta addressed a letter to
13
Historical and Ecclesiastical Sketches of Bengal, from the earliest settlement until the virtual conquest of
that country by the English in 1757, p.223
14
Vassiliades, op cit., p.190fn.3; Norris provides a breakdown of place names of the signatories on the
petition, see The Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, pp.79-81 in
http://www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 1, 2015)
15
Docs 34 & 35, Minutes of the Evidence taken at the Trial of Warren Hastings Esquire, Late Governor
General of Bengal, at the Bar of the House of Lords, in Westminster Hall, Upon an Impeachment against
him for High Crimes and Misdemeanors Vol.4., pp.2440-2; Jakob Fortunat Stagl, The rule of law against
the rule of greed, pp.110-11 in
https://www.academia.edu/2593258/The_Rule_of_Law_against_the_Rule_of_Greed_Edmund_Burke_agai
nst_the_East_India_Company (accessed October 1, 2015) ; The Times 1788-95 passim., and found not
guilty in news article titled ‘Correct list of the Peers’, April 25, 1795, p.3 ;
the Archbishop of Sinai requesting a clergyman be sent out to minister to the
Greek community. Greek Orthodox churches: Transfiguration of Christ of Mt.
Tabor and St. Thomas were consecrated in Calcutta and Dhaka in 1782 and
1812 respectively. A Greek church conducted divine service in Calcutta in 1772
with “occasionally performed there by the few Greeks in the settlement since the
year 1769.”16

The first Greek priest to arrive in Calcutta, Constantinos Parthenios in

1775 was born in Corfu. Originally a monk from Mt Sinai who conducted the
divine liturgy until his death in 1803. Other clergy who followed were Nicophoros
Ananias, Father Gabriel, Ambrosius Ghimouschanales, Joseph of Zakynthos and
Archimandrite Athanasios Alexiou. Nathaniel of Siphnos who conducted the
divine liturgy in Dhaka died in 1810. Gregorios of Siphnos was the first clergyman
sent by Greek Patriarch in Constantinople to perform the first liturgy in the newly
constructed church in Dhaka in 1812.17

During the period 1818-42, two Epirotes -Constantine Pantazes and Peter
Protopapas – were two very important figures who contributed to the Greek
community of Calcutta. The former was a merchant who arrived in Calcutta in
1818 who previously had been involved in trade in Agra between 1795-1818. He
was also regarded as the community leader in Calcutta between 1818-42 and
maintained contact with the Patriarch of Constantinople and Archbishop of Sinai.
The latter merchant arrived in Bengal sometime between 1818 and 1821.18

Both of them wanted Greek youngsters to preserve and maintain their

Greek cultural heritage in India through education. Pantazes contributed money
towards the establishment of a Greek school in Calcutta as a way of countering
the local British and Indian influences in the Greek community. There was
intermarriage between Greeks and European and occasionally with Indian
women where such unions would lead to a diminution of the “Greek character
and the cultural heritage of Hellenism.”19 On the other hand, Protopapas involved
himself in the local Greek school and never forgot his native Epirus by sending
large amounts of funds for the maintenance of schools. Unfortunately his money
was “seized and misappropriated by one of the nobles of Coucoulias.”20

16
The Bengal Obituary: or , a record to perpetuate the memory of departed worth, being a compilation by
Holmes & Co , Calcutta, India, 1851 , p.313 in https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=T-
HwSiLns14C&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PR1 (accessed October 1, 2015); The
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, p.78 in
http://www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 1, 2015); Historical and
Ecclesiastical Sketches of Bengal, from the earliest settlement until the virtual conquest of that country by
the English in 1757, Oriental Press, Calcutta, 1831, p.222
17
Vassiliades, op cit., p.163
18
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, pp.83-4 in http ://
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (Accessed October 2, 2015)
19
Ibid., pp.83-4
20
Ibid., p.83
 Dimitrios Galanos might be considered the most famous of the early
Greeks who settled in Calcutta in 1786. From 1793 till his death in 1833, he lived
in Benares. He came to take charge of the Greek school and became very fluent
in the English, Persian, Urdu and Sanskrit languages. It is the latter language
that he became recognized as one of the world’s foremost scholars and
translated important “Indian texts on religion, philosophy and literature into
Greek.” He also produced “dictionaries from Persian, Indian (i.e Sanskrit,
Bengali, Hindi) and English into Greek.” 21

Galanos was born in Athens in 1760 and studied at Messologhion from

1774-78 under the famous teacher Panagiotis Palamas. He continued his studies
at the Greek Orthodox Seminary on the island of Patmos which would have
prepared him for the priesthood. Galanos was a very bright student who
“absorbed all there was to know in Greek philology, theology and other
subjects.”22 He declined his uncle’s request to join the priesthood and decided to
leave Constantinople for India. Apart from his scholarly pursuits, Galanos was
involved in some type of business where he left 80,000 drachmae in his will. He
bequeathed his Sanskrit collection to the Academy of Athens.23

Whilst Greek merchants were doing well in Calcutta, so too were their
compatriots in Dhaka for a time. It appears the first Greeks settled in Dhaka
around 1772 with trade expanding from 1800-39 and almost vanishing by 1851.
Alexander Panioty was considered the community leader of the tiny Greek
community in Dhaka and did everything in his power to maintain his Greek way
of life in an alien environment. 24 The names of Greek merchants in Dacca were
listed in the Bengal Directories from 1818 onwards which included: Alexander
Panioty, Demetrios Elias, Nicholas Kalonas, Lucas Theodoro, George Athanas
and Primo and Anthony Foscholo. They were located at Naraingurj, a river port
close to Dhaka and a trade center for salt, grain, sugar, ghee, tobacco, metals,
timber and lime. An earlier Dhaka listing of 1795 showed thirty seven names but
only eleven families had established themselves: Panioty, Lucas, Athanas,
Calogreedy, Kalonas, Elias, Foscholo, Mavrody, Esau and Jordan. The British
Civil Surgeon, James Taylor noted there were 12 Greek and Armenian families
domiciled in Dhaka in 1838. 25

21
Vassiliades, op cit., pp.145-6; For a discussion on Dimitrios Galanos scholarly achievements in
India. see Siegfried A.Schulz, Demetrios Galanos (1760-1833):A Greek Indologist, Journal of the
American Oriental Society, Vol.89 No.2 (Apr.-Jun., 1969) , pp.339-56 in www.jstor.org/
(Accessed on August 28, 2015)
22
Siegfried A. Schulz, op cit., pp.348-9
23
Ibid., pp.349 & 354
24
Historical and Ecclesiastical Sketches of Bengal, from the earliest settlement until the virtual conquest of
that country by the English in 1757,p.224; Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, p.84 in http ://
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 3, 2015)
25
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, pp.84-5 in http ://
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 3, 2015); James Taylor, A Sketch
of the Topography and Statistics of Dacca, GH Huttmann, Military Orphan Press, Calcutta, 1840, pp.254-5
 As the 19th century progressed trading opportunities declined for the
Greeks in India. Large business enterprises with head-offices in Europe
dominated commerce in India and “on a scale that was never attained by the
early Greek merchants.” Some of the leading Greek trading firms operating in
Calcutta were: P. T Ralli &Co, Ralli and Mavrojani, Argenti Sechiari, Agelesto
Sagrandi, Vlasto & Co, Petrocochino Bros, Tamvaco & Co, Schlizzi and Co (,
Paul Tambaci &Co, Georgiadis and Co, N. Valetta &Co, Nichaci and Co, Ziffo
&Co and Pallachi &Co. These Greek families involved in commercial activity in
Bengal had established close family ties through marriage were all originally from
the island of Chios.26

According to the Bengal Directory 1876-78, the following Greek firms

Nichaci and Co, Ralli and Mavrojani, Petrocochino Bros, Ralli Bros, Sagrandi and
Tamvaco and Co were listed as members of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce.
Each of these firms were involved in partnerships and had their own agents. For
e.g Ralli and Mavrojani had agents in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Alexandria
and Corfu. Other firms such as GA Georgiadi was involved in indigo, silk and
produce whereas C.Christophoridi ,CE Ionides. Lambrinudi, Ziffo, and C.& P
Valetta had freight and shipping interests. 27 Some of these partnerships were
dissolved for e.g Argenti, Schillizi &Co in 1867, Argenti Sechiari in December
1866, Agelasto Petrocochino & Co in December 1869, and Agelasto & Sagrandi
in August 1873.28 The firms of Andreicopoulos &Co, D.Macropolo, Pistis &
Pelekanos and Th.Vafiadis &Co were Greek tobacconists firms in Calcutta.
Andreicopoulos and Vafiadis were also cigarette manufacturers with the latter
having branches in London and Rangoon with agents in Colombo, Penang and
Melbourne.29

The Ralli Brothers: Pandias (1793-1865), Zannis (1785-1859), Augustus

(1792-1878) and Eustratios (1800-1884) built a vast business empire that had

26
For a discussion on the international business activities of the Greek diaspora in the 18 th -20th
centuries. See Jonathan Harris, Ch.2 'Silent Minority' & Maria Christina Chatziioannou, Ch.3
Greek Merchants in Victorian England' , in Dimitris Tziovas (ed), Greek Diaspora and Migration
Since 1700, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Farnham, England, 2009 in
http://5595mg.s3.amazonaws.com/Greek-Diaspora-and-Migration.pdf (Accessed August 28,
2015); Manos Charitatos & Helene Beneke, Ploto: Greek shipowners from the late 18th Century
to the eve of World War 11, Hellenic Literary & Historical Archive, Athens, 2003; Richard Clogg
(ed) , The Greek diaspora in the Twentieth Century, Macmillan Press, London, 1999; Vasilis
A.Kardases, Diaspora Merchants in the Black Sea, Lexington Books, Lanham, Maryland, 2001;
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, p.122 in http ://
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 3, 2015)
27
The Bengal Directory 1876, 1877, 1878, Thacker, Spink & Co, Calcutta, 1876-78, the following pages for
(1876): pp.378, &386-88; for (1877) pp.280, & pp.287-89; for (1878) pp.233, & 288, 288a, l, k, i
28
The Manchester Commercial List 1867-68, Estell &Co, London, 1867, p.229; The London Gazette,
December 31, 1869 p.7484 & August 1, 1873, pp. 7484 & 3607;
29
American Trade with India. A Report by the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, Philadelphia, 1898,
p.33-4; Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, p.122 in
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 3, 2015)
branches in Odessa, Marseilles, London, Manchester Liverpool and Tabriz
(Persia) during the first half of the 19th century. By 1865, the Ralli Brothers had
“fifteen centers interlocked partnerships in Europe, India and Middle East.”30
Pandias was the driving force behind the growth and expansion of this business
enterprise with the creation of branches in Calcutta (1851), Bombay (1861) and
Karachi (1861) which ceased operating in 1866. It reopened again in 1882. The
firm was dissolved after Pandias death in 1865 with the creation of a new
partnership with Stephen, Augustus and John Eustratios Ralli on January 1,
1866.31

The Ralli Brothers took advantage of the prevailing economic conditions to

expand their business interests wherever it existed. From the early 1850s-1919,
the Ralli Indian operations proved very profitable as it also coincided with British
business expansion in the Indian sub-continent. Jute, hessian sacks, rice and
wheat were imported to Britain from India.32 With the American Civil War 1861-
65, India became an important supplier of raw cotton to the Lancashire mills
which Ralli exploited to their own advantage.33 During the 1930s, Ralli was one
the most prominent commodity traders in India and also established “ a 65 per
cent owned Japanese firm –Showa Menka KK to sell Indian cotton to Japan.”
Furthermore, Ralli signed collusive agreements with other firms to protect its
market share for e.g groundnuts with French rival, Dreyfus. 34

The British War Office without consulting the Government of India, India
Office and jute suppliers in Calcutta awarded an exclusive contract to the Ralli
Brothers for the supply of raw jute for the manufacture of Dundee war bags in
1916. These were used as sandbags during the 1914-18 war. When this became
public knowledge, jute suppliers in Calcutta became outraged in being excluded
from this arrangement.35 On October 20, 1916 the Times reported that the Ralli
30
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, pp.115-17 in
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 3, 2015); Stanley Chapman,
Merchant enterprise in Britain, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, p.155; Geoffrey Jones,
Merchants to Multinationals, Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 2000, pp.24-5
31
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857 , pp.117 & 122 in
www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf (accessed October 3, 2015); The London Gazette,
January 5, 1866, p.101; Pandias obituary can be found in The Examiner (London), July 15, 1865
32
Chapman, op cit., pp.205-6;
33
Greek community in Bengal 1774-1857, p.117 in www.arts.yorku.ca/hist/Egallant/documents/norris.pdf
(accessed October 6, 2015);
34
Jones, op cit., pp.107&113
35
‘Indignation at Calcutta over jute bag contract’, The Courier & Argus (Dundee,
Scotland), August 22, 1916, p.5; ‘Ab Indian Jute Contract’, The Times, August 13, 1916,
p.13; ‘Monopoly purchase of Jute for War Bags’, The Courier & Argus, September 4,
1916, p.6; ‘The Ralli Jute Contract’, The Times, September 21, 1916, p.12; ‘Ralli
Brothers…’, Economic Times, August 2, 2015 in
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/ralli-brothers-the-history-remains-
as-a-reminder-of-entrepreneurial-abilities-of-economically-shattered-
greeks/articleshow/48311628.cms (accessed October 6, 2015)
Jute contract had been cancelled due to strong representations of the
Government of India and India Office. A Jute Commissioner appointee in India
was “to supervise the purchases of the various firms, and by inspection of their
accounts and supervision of their non-Government purchases, to secure that
they are not unduly favouring private business.” Whilst Ralli would have been
unhappy with this decision but there was nothing to impede them in competing
“for non-Government business with Dundee.”36 It should be noted that Dundee
was the center of jute production before being overtaken by Bengal after 1855.
Several factors favored Bengal such as cheaper labor costs, close proximity to
the raw material, slack working and factory conditions compared to Britain.37

During its 160-year presence, Rallis has reinvented itself and diversified
its business interests in India. In 1948, this company diversified into producing
tractors, ballpoint pens and fertilizers. It posted a number of losses in the early
1950s forcing it to terminate the manufacture of tractors and ballpoint pens and
also shifting its head office from Calcutta to Mumbai (Bombay). In 1962, Fisons
and Tatas became the principal shareholders of Rallis India.
During the period 1981-2000, it dropped its cotton trading and engineering
operations as they were posting losses. Furthermore, its fertilizer and
agrochemical divisions are very profitable contributing to the Tata Group
finances.38

3. A news analysis39

The two news articles titled ‘Subscription for the Greeks in India’ were
published in the Morning Chronicle and The Times newspapers on August 27,
1824 and both were reproduced from the Traveller and Globe. Both articles are
identical but with the exception of the opening sentence.40

The Morning Chronicle’s opening sentence “among those who are in the
habit of ruling absolute power a subject nation of conquered strangers, we should
be prepared to expect but little aid towards the emancipation of a struggling
nation like the Greeks’’ is excluded in the Times version. In the former
newspaper it immediately sets the tone that the Greeks require assistance in

36
‘City Notes. Cancellation of the Ralli Jute Contract’, The Times, October 20, 1916, p.14
37
AZM Iftikhar-ul-Awwal, The Industrial Development of Bengal, 1900-39, Vikas, New Delhi, 1982,
pp.158-9
38
www.rallis.co.in/history.aspx?menuID=39 (accessed October 7, 2015); ‘Company History-Rallis India
Ltd’, Economic Times, in economictimes.indiatimes.com/rallis-india-ltd/infocompanyhistory/companyid-
13204.cms (accessed October 7, 2015); ‘Ralli Brothers’ & ‘Reasons for Ralli Brothers setback’, Financial
Times, March 3, pp.1&2, 1955; ‘Ralli Brothers Limited’, The Economist, March 11, 1961, pp.1003-4
39
See Appendix 2 The text of the article in Morning Chronicle
40
Morning Chronicle; The Times
their war of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Why the Times news editor
chose to omit the opening sentence is difficult to say. 41

The articles mention that wealthy Englishmen who lived in the East were
prepared to spend their money on a picture, vase, dinner or masquerade ball
rather than assisting those in distress. Certain exiled Scottish Highlanders from
Sutherland who lived in abject poverty approached their countrymen for
assistance in India. A public meeting organized in India for these Scottish
Highlanders saw the Chairman and two Englishmen contributing to this worthy
cause. However, the Scotsmen of India snubbed their countrymen “because it
was understood to be unpalatable to a certain Scottish interest that then directed
the patronage of India.” This showed a complete lack of compassion and
sympathy on the part of the British elite in Calcutta towards the Scottish
Highlanders, which would also be exhibited to the Greek cause.42

The new Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, Dr Heber was the first Englishman
to contribute to the Greek cause who saw his offering in assisting a desperate
people and fellow Christians to win their freedom from Ottoman rule. Dr Heber
was imbued with “English and classic feelings “towards the Greek people.
He may have been influenced by Lord Byron and the London Greek Committee.
On the other hand, not ‘a single individual, either in the civil or military service or
his Majesty’s or East India Company “contributed to the Greek cause. A paltry
1000 shillings was collected for the Greek subscription according to the news
stories.

It is possible that British Conservative individuals might have regarded the

Greeks as rebels who were challenging the authority of the Sultan. Some of the
British ruling elite may have been sympathetic to the Ottoman Empire.
Furthermore, some of them may not have cared at all for the Greek cause as it
didn’t affect their material interests in India. Therefore, Lord Amherst, the
Governor General in India 1823-28, and his private secretary, Mr. Adams tried to
discourage the collection of funds as reported in the news articles.
After all Britain was an imperial power with vast interests in India with Moslem
and Hindus subjects under her control. The British were mindful of the unrest that
occurred amongst Indian troops in 1809 and the Mahrath war 1817-19. From
1817-1824, the British signed a series of treaties with the native rulers to ensure
that their rule in British was further strengthened.43

41
Morning Chronicle; The Times; For a discussion of the Greek war of independence of 1821, the
interested reader might wish to consult the following works see John TA Koumoulides [ed], Greece in
Transition Essays in history of Modern Greece, Zeno Publishers, London, 1977, esp Chs 1, 3-4 & 11;
Richard Clogg, A Concise history of Greece, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992, repr.1995;
Douglas Dakin, The Unification of Greece 1770-1923, St Martin’s Press, New York, 1972 chs.2-4; Douglas
Dakin, The Greek struggle for Independence 1821-1833, BT Batsford Ltd, London, 1973
42
Morning Chronicle ; The Times
43
Morning Chronicle; The Times; House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, Treaties with Native Powers
in India, RG Clarke, Westminster, 1825; For a discussion on British native policy in her empire see
 Captain Nicholas Chiefala was dispatched by the Provisional Government
of Greece to raise funds from friends in the “East Indies” for the Greek campaign.
Chiefala was an adventurer born in Zakynthos in 1765 who made two trips to
India and also “published two books on India.” He became well acquainted with
Dimitri Galanos.44

His mission to India raised the following sum of money as shown in Table 1
below: -

Name Rupees Name Rupees

The Lord Bishop 100 George Kallonas 100
of Calcutta (2nd
subscription)
The Greek Church 2000 Antony 100
in Calcutta Christodolous
The Rev 500 George Esau 50
D.George
The Rev Mr. 500 John George 10
Ambrosius
D.Galanos 1000 P.J Paul 20
John Lucas 1500 Nicolas Spiridon 16
M.Kyriak 200 Magdelene 150
Christodoulous
D, Nicolas 200 Constantine 1000
Pandazie
George Emanuel 50 J.D Kalogridy 100
Ereny Panioty 300 N.Paleologos 100
Alexander Ducas 100 Athanass Benes 30
Total 8146

Chiefala was an energetic individual who managed to raise additional funds in a

second subscription. This figure is reproduced in Table 2 below.

Name Rupees Name Rupees

For subscription 8146 Messrs Colvin 250
&Co
M. Athanass 1000 John Palmer 250
E.M Athanass 300 E. Nosky 100
M.J Athanass 250
GM Athanass 150
James Cullen 100 TOTAL RUPEES 10,546

Bernard Porter, The Lion’s Share: a short history of British Imperialism 1850-1970, Longman, London &
New York, 1975, pp.17-25; Lawrence James, op cit., pp. 130 & 138
44
Morning Chronicle; The Times; Schulz, op cit., pp.350fn51 & 351
The news stories also mention that Dr. Heber, John Palmer, Colvin &Co and
James Cullen contributed to the Greek fund. John Palmer and Colvin &Co were
large merchant houses involved in various commercial activity such as shipping,
indigo, opium trade and finance whereas John Cullen worked for Cruttenden,
MacKillop &Co, in Calcutta. 45 John Palmer was dubbed the ‘prince of merchants’
who lived an opulent lifestyle and enjoyed an active public life. He established his
own newspaper Calcutta Journal in 1818 and had good relations with Indian
merchants and sympathy for ordinary Indian workers. No one wonder why he
was one of the very few Englishmen to contribute to the Greek fund.46

Both newspapers reported that Chiefala “whose generous ardour and

perseverance in the cause of patriotism and humanity is entitled to the warmest
praise.” It might be inferred that both newspapers were sympathetic to the Greek
cause and critical of the uncharitable shown by the English in Calcutta.47

There are four observations noted from the subscription lists above. First
the Greeks of Calcutta who contributed funds belonged to the business/merchant
class and possessed the financial means to assist their fellow compatriots in
Greece. It should be noted that the Greek Church and Clergy also contributed to
assist their Orthodox brethren; second Dr Heber’s example may have inspired
other Englishmen in Calcutta to contribute money to this worthy cause. These
individuals were philhellenes or sympathizers for Greece; third, some Greek
women contributed to the Greek cause which may indicate that they may have
been financially well-off; and finally these articles appeared in the London press
in the hope that it would encourage Englishmen to assist the Greeks. It is worth
noting that a Greek London Committee was established in 1823 with the purpose
of raising awareness of the Greeks struggle to the British public and also raise
money to fund the Greek war effort against the Ottoman Turks.48 A Greek loan of
£800,000 appeared in The Times on February 25, 1824.49

45
Morning Chronicle; The Times; Alain Le Pichon, China Trade and Empire, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, Oxford, 2007, p.7; The Quarterly Oriental Magazine Vol.2, September &December 1824, Thacker
&Co, Calcutta, 1824, p. Ixvii; A biography of John Palmer, see Anthony Webster, The Richest East India
Merchant: the life and business of John Palmer of Calcutta 1767-1836, The Boydell Press, Woodbridge,
2007
46
Tony Webster, ‘Gentlemanly Capitalists, Merchant Princes and Anglo-Indian Business culture in early
nineteenth century: John Palmer’s multiple construction of identity’ in Alyson Brown (ed), Historical
Perspectives in Social Identities, Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle, U.K, 2006, pp.65-70
47
Morning Chronicle; The Times
48
William St Clair, That Greece might still be free: The Philhellenes in the War of Independence, Open
Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK, 2008 ( originally published by Oxford University Press in 1972),
pp.206-13; George Finlay, History of the Greek Revolution Vol.2, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh
and London, 1861, pp.25-7; Maria Christina Chatziioannou, War, Crisis and Sovereign Loans: The Greek
War of Independence and British economic expansion, The Historical Review, Vol.X , (2013), 33-55 in
historicalreview.org/index.php/historicalreview/article/view/305/193 (accessed August 28, 2015)
49
See Appendix 1. The Times, February 25, 1824
 In conclusion, the early Greek merchants who settled in Kolkatta and
Dhaka prospered under the protection of the English flag, and maintained their
language, identity and culture in a foreign environment. They were the path-
breakers that made it possible for the Anglo-Greeks such as the Ralli Brothers to
become major players in the Indian economy during the second half of the 19 th
century. The Ralli Brothers commercial operations were located in Europe, Near
East, Blacks Sea, India and America resembling todays multinational
corporation. The small Greek community provided funds to help their compatriots
during their struggle for independence from Ottoman rule. Dr. Heber stands out
as a philhellene in providing funds for the Greek cause along with several other
Englishmen. Overall the English of Calcutta did not contribute to the Greek
subscription or simply weren’t interested in the Greek struggle. Captain
Chiefala’s mission to India raised funds for the Provisional Government of
Greece.

Stavros T. Stavridis
Appendix.1 : The Times, February 25, 1824 p.2

Appendix 2 Morning Chronicle, August 27, 1824 p.4