Jairam Shivji (1792–1866) was an Indian merchant and banker from Kutch, India, who operated from

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

and Muscat. Having almost monopolized the entire Zanzibar market, he was the wealthiest person in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

during his career there.

Biography

Jairam Shivji was born in 1792 into a Bhatia family in

Mundra Mundra is a census town and a headquarter of Mundra Taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Founded in about the 1640s, the town was an important mercantile centre and port throughout its history. Mundra Port is the largest pr ...

, Kutch. His father Shivji Topan was a merchant operating from Muscat, who had accompanied the

Sultan of Oman The sultan of the Sultanate of Oman is the monarchical head of state and head of government of Oman. It is the most powerful position in the country. The sultans of Oman are members of the Busaid dynasty, which has been the ruling family of O ...

on an expedition to maintain his influence in East Africa in 1785 along with another merchant named Vansanji Haridas Bhimani. During the period of exponentially growing trade with the western world, the

Omani Sultanate Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

contracted various authorities and firms to collect custom duties at various places. Shivji Topan secured a contract to collect custom duties in

in 1819. The competing firm of Bhimanis received the contract in 1833 for MT$ 70,000 but Shivji Topan regained the contract in 1835 for MT$ 84,000. Shivji joined his father and uncle Madhavji Topan as an apprentice and later succeeded his father. He secured the contract at Zanzibar for MT$ 1,10,000. He further obtained contracts in mainland at

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and at Marima in 1837. He also received contracts at Mafia and Lindi in the 1840s though they were continued as sublets of local governors. By 1850, he had contracts for collecting custom duties for all businesses from

Cape Delgado Cape Delgado ( pt, Cabo Delgado) is a coastal promontory south of Mozambique's border with Tanzania. It is the arc-shaped delta of the Rovuma River and was created from sediment deposited by the Rovuma as it empties into the Indian Ocean. It is som ...

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

. He subsequently consolidated the custom collection for the Omani Sultanate and controlled commerce on the one thousand mile long coastline. His head office was located at Zanzibar and the local custom collectors were Kutchi Banias. They were also known as ''Port Indians'' or ''Banian Forodha''. Later they were known as 'Jiram Sewji'. Shivji had employed 150 guards to defend Zanzibar and the custom office was located at Furzani quarters near salt bazaar. His officials included Laddha Damji at Zanzibar, Laxmidas at

, Trikamdas at Pagini, Ramji Pragji at

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo, is a historic coastal town founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administra ...

, his nephew Pisu at

Pemba Island Pemba Island ( ar, الجزيرة الخضراء ''al-Jazīra al-khadrā'', literally "The Green Island"; sw, Pemba kisiwa) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Geog ...

and Kisandas at

Kilwa Kilwa Kisiwani (English: ''Kilwa Island'') is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. K ...

. The Omani Sultan could draw funds from his firm by writing ''Barwa''s (chits) and it increased their dependency on him. The Sultan had turned down higher bids for custom contract in 1841 in favour of Jairam Shivji who continued to increase revenue for him. The revenue reached MT$ 2,20,000 by 1856. The contract help him by dominating the business in Zanzibar. By 1850s, Shivji had offices in Zanzibar, the Persian Gulf, Muscat, Mundra and Mandvi. He also had offices in the Fort and Bazargate of Bombay. They had an association with a monastery in Mandvi where a draft issued in Zanzibar can be encashed. Sultan Sayyid Said had forbidden the killing of cows in the vicinity of his house during the

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

, to respect Shivji's religious beliefs.

Death and legacy

Shivji died on 25 August 1866. He came to be known as Swahili and his family adopted the surname Swali. A street near his house in Mundra became known as Swali Sheri.

Biography

Death and legacy

Notes

References

Further reading

Bibliography