James Lyle Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape, (11 September 1852 – 23 May 1932), known as Sir James Mackay from 1894 to 1911, was a British businessman and colonial administrator in India who became Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ("P&O") and founded Inchcape Retail Ltd.

Background

Mackay was the second son and fourth child of James Mackay of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

, Scotland, a well-to-do shipmaster and his wife, Deborah Lyle. On his eighth birthday, Mackay's father took him on a flax run between Montrose, Angus and Archangel in Russia; thereafter he never "missed an opportunity to converse with captains in port". After employment as a scrivener in Arbroath, Mackay joined a firm of rope and canvas makers where his employer recorded: "Jeemie is no bad laddie, but he's a damned sicht ightower-ambitious".

Career

Mackay's parents died when he was twelve, whereupon he inherited a substantial sum from his father. £2,000 of the bequest was invested in East India shipping, which provided an income of £100 per annum. In 1871, he secured employment with the shipbrokers and agents Gellatly, Hankey and Sewell, who were involved with the newly founded British-India Steam Navigation Company (BI). The opening of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

in 1869, which shortened the journey from London to Bombay by , created a surge in trade between Europe and India. As a result, BI's Calcutta agents, Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co., asked their London based counterpart, Gray, Dawes & Co., for a new shipping assistant to handle the increased workload. Mackay got the job despite being the third choice, arriving in India in 1874. With the development of inland transport throughout the sub-continent, export opportunities in indigo, coal, tea, jute and wrought iron abounded and saw Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. enjoy a steady increase in business. The collapse of the

City of Glasgow Bank The City of Glasgow Bank was a bank in Scotland that was largely known for its spectacular collapse in October 1878, which ruined all but 254 of its 1,200 shareholders since their liability was unlimited. History The bank was founded in 1839 wi ...

in October 1878 proved a disaster for BI's Bombay agents, Nichol and Co., but allowed Mackay to establish a new branch of Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. in the city. At the age of 26 he became a partner in the Bombay firm and received a 10% share of the profits, increasing to 15% by 1884. As Mackay later recalled:

"Life in Bombay was extremely agreeable. I was elected a member of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club. I built a small yacht, which I named the ''Pinafore'' and had many delightful cruises in Bombay harbour. I became a member of the Bombay Hunt ... we had glorious hunts every Sunday in the cold weather, a pack of hounds being brought out every season from home, together with a huntsman. I had a bungalow out at Bandra and here I used to go for the week-ends all year round."

In 1881, Mackay returned home to Scotland following an attack of typhoid, apparently so weakened by fever that he had to be carried on board his ship at Bombay. By 1914, Mackay was the sole surviving senior partner of the company that would be renamed Inchcape plc in 1981. Mackay was appointed President of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce in 1890, a member of the Legislative Council of the Viceroy of India in 1891 and a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India in 1897, and the same year he became a member of the

Council of India The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India. The original Council of India was established by the Charter Act of 1833 as a council of four formal advisors to the Governor ...

until 1911.

Mackay Treaty

In October 1901, Mackay was appointed His Majesty´s Special Commissioner to conduct negotiations with representatives of China, arriving in Shanghai in early December for negotiations. The following year he and Chinese statesman Sheng Xuanhuai negotiated the Sino-British "

Mackay Treaty The Mackay Treaty () was a sixteen article treaty signed by the governments of Great Britain and the Chinese Qing dynasty on 5September 1902. Under the terms of the treaty, the ''likin'' system of taxation was abolished and the first moves made to ...

," which anticipated the abolition of extraterritoriality in China. By late July 1902 the negotiations were reported as practically concluded when the British team arrived back in Shanghai, and the treaty was signed by Mackay and Sheng Xuanhua as representatives of their governments on 5 September 1902. For his work on the treaty, Mackay was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the November

1902 Birthday Honours The 1902 Birthday Honours were announced on 10 November 1902, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII the previous day. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and the British Empire. The list was publi ...

list, and invested with the insignia by King Edward VII at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 18 December 1902.

Later career

Mackay moved on from his council position until then in 1907 in he was re-appointed as a member of the

for a further period of five years. Mackay was largely responsible for solving India's currency problems and for the adoption of the Gold Standard, he was made a baron by King George V for his services to industry and nation in 1911. Mackay later served as Vice-President of the Suez Canal Company, Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ("P&O"

and a Director of the

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling number ...

and the National Provincial Bank. Mackay was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1891, a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in 1894,Great Britain. India Office a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1902 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in 1910. In 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Inchcape, of Strathnaver in the County of

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

. He chose the title to commemorate the Inchcape Rock, which lies off

, and Strathnaver in Scotland. In 1924 he was made a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) and created Viscount Inchcape, of Strathnaver in the County of Sutherland. In 1929 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Glenapp, of Strathnaver in the County of Sutherland, and Earl of Inchcape.

Death and legacy

Mackay died on 23May 1932 aboard his yacht '' Rover'' in Monte Carlo, Monaco. He left unsettled personal estate valued at £552,809 in Great Britain (£ in ). and was buried on the east side of Glenapp Church, Ballantrae, Ayrshire, close to the then family home at Glenapp Castle, on 31May 1932. His ebony coffin with silver mountings carried his yachting cap and a wreath of lilies from his wife. Under the terms of his will, Mackay left £100 to each of the 202 commanders of P&O and BI vessels with £50 bequeathed to each of the 200 Chief Officers and 200 Chief Engineers "as a slight memento in acknowledgement of your loyalty and fidelity to me".

Family

Lord Inchcape married Jean Shanks (c.1861–1937), a childhood friend from Arbroath, on 10July 1883. They had five children: *

Kenneth Mackay, 2nd Earl of Inchcape Kenneth Mackay, 2nd Earl of Inchcape (25 December 1887 – 21 June 1939) was a barrister, a businessman and an earl in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He became Earl of Inchcape on 23 May 1932 after the death of his father, James Mackay, 1s ...

(1887–1939). Married Frances Caroline Moriarty (1896–1933), daughter of John Francis Moriarty (1858–1915), Irish

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

, and his first wife Catherine Beatrice Kavanagh (1859–1898), on 22 September 1915; they were divorced in 1931. Married Leonora Brooke, daughter of White Rajah

Charles Vyner Brooke Vyner, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG, full name Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke (26 September 1874 – 9 May 1963) was the third and last White Rajah of the Raj of Sarawak. Early life The son of Charles Brooke and his wife Margaret de Windt ( Ranee Ma ...

and Sylvia Brett, Ranee of Sarawak on 1June 1933. *Lady Margaret Cargill Mackay (d. 1958), married

Alexander Shaw, 2nd Baron Craigmyle Alexander Shaw, 2nd Baron Craigmyle (28 February 1883 – 29 September 1944) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician. Life Shaw was a lawyer by profession, having studied at Trinity College, Oxford (where he was President of the Oxford Union ...

. *Lady Janet Lyle Mackay (d. 1972), married Lt-Col Frederick Bailey, a landowner. * Lady Elsie MackayThe Peerage.com
/ref> (circa 1893–1928), aviator, actress, and interior designer for P & O, married (later annulled) actor, Dennis Wyndham. Disappeared at sea while attempting an east-westerly Atlantic flight. *Lady Effie Mackay (1895–1984), married Sir Eugen Millington-Drake, diplomat. Amongst their four children were the artist

Teddy Millington-Drake Edgar Louis Mackay Vanderstegen Millington-Drake (5 July 1932 – 5 September 1994), usually known as Teddy Millington-Drake, was an English artist, known mainly for his watercolour paintings but also abstract work in oils. He was an aesthete in ...

(1932–1994) and the daughter Marie (1924–1973), who in 1960 married the 12th

Duke of Carcaci Duke of Carcaci ( it, Duca di Carcaci) (pron: "Car-catch-ee") is a title in the Kingdom of Sicily, held by the head of one branch of the House of Paternò, a major Sicilian noble family. The estate of Carcaci, from which the dukedom and the bra ...

, of an ancient Sicilian aristocratic family.

Styles

*1852–1891: James Lyle Mackay *1891–1894: James Lyle Mackay, CIE *1894–1902: Sir James Lyle Mackay, KCIE *1902–1910: Sir James Lyle Mackay, GCMG, KCIE *1910–1911: Sir James Lyle Mackay, GCMG, KCSI, KCIE *1911–1924: The Right Honourable The Lord Inchcape, GCMG, KCSI, KCIE *1924–1929: The Right Honourable The Viscount Inchcape, GCSI, GCMG, KCIE *1929–1932: The Right Honourable The Earl of Inchcape, GCSI, GCMG, KCIE

References

Work cited

* ;Bibliography * *

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Inchcape, James Mackay, 1st Earl Of Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Administrators in British India Anglo-Persian Oil Company BP people Directors of the Great Western Railway 1852 births 1932 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Ayrshire Sheriffs of Kolkata Barons created by George V Viscounts created by George V Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India Members of the Council of India