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 (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) was a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World ...

("P&O") and founded Inchcape Retail Ltd.

Background

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

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

, Scotland, a well-to-do

shipmaster A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

and his wife, Deborah Lyle. On his eighth birthday, Mackay's father took him on a flax run between

Montrose, Angus Montrose ( ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated north of Dundee and south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the River North Esk, Angus, North and River South Esk, South Esk rivers. It is the northe ...

and

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

in Russia; thereafter he never "missed an opportunity to converse with captains in port". After employment as a

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who, before the advent of compulsory education, could literacy, read and write or who wrote letters as well as court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying w ...

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 East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

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 British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

(BI). The opening of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

in 1869, which shortened the journey from London to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

by , created a surge in trade between Europe and India. As a result, BI's

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

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 ...

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 Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

, 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 Inchcape plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational automotive distribution, retail and services company headquartered in London, England. An outgrowth of Calcutta-based Mackinnon Mackenzie Company, Inchcape has operations in 3 ...

in 1981. Mackay was appointed President of the

Bengal Chamber of Commerce The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in West Bengal, India. It is the oldest chamber of commerce in India, and one of the oldest in Asia. Established in 1853, finding its o ...

in 1890, a member of the Legislative Council of the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

in 1891 and a member of the Council of the

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

in 1897, and the same year he became a member of the

Council of India The Council of India (1858 – 1935) was an advisory body to the Secretary of State for India, established in 1858 by the Government of India Act 1858. It was based in London and initially consisted of 15 members. The Council of India was dissolve ...

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 Sheng Xuanhuai (; November 4, 1844 – April 27, 1916) was a Qing dynasty Chinese tycoon, politician, and educator. He founded several major banks and universities and served as Minister of Transportation of the Qing Empire. He was also known as ...

negotiated the Sino-British " Mackay Treaty," which anticipated the abolition of

extraterritoriality In international law, extraterritoriality or exterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdict ...

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 The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(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 Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, 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 r ...

on 18 December 1902.

Later career

In 1907 Mackay 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 A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...

; he was made a baron by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

for his services to industry and nation in 1911. Mackay later served as Vice-President of the

Suez Canal Company Suez (, , , ) is a seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest city of the ...

, Chairman of the

("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 numbe ...

and the

National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank was a retail bank which operated in England and Wales. It was created in 1833 as National Provincial Bank of England, and expanded largely by taking over a number of other banks. Following the transformative acquisitio ...

. Mackay was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(CIE) in 1891, a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(KCIE) in 1894,Great Britain. India Office a

(GCMG) in 1902 and a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(KCSI) in 1910. In 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Inchcape, of Strathnaver in the County of

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

. He chose the title to commemorate the

Inchcape Rock Inchcape or the Bell Rock is a reef about off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife, occupied by the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The name ''Inchcape'' comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Innis Sgeap'', meaning "beehive isle", probably ...

, which lies off

, and

Strathnaver Strathnaver or Strath Naver () is the fertile strath of the River Naver, a famous salmon river that flows from Loch Naver to the north coast of Scotland. The term has a broader use as the name of an ancient province also known as the Mackay Co ...

in Scotland. In 1924 he was made a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(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 Rover may refer to: People Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...

'' in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

, 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 Ballantrae is a community in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Topography The name probably comes from the Scottish Gaelic , meaning the 'town by the beach'.. The beach consists of shingle and sand and offers views of Ailsa Craig, the Isl ...

, 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) Just ...

, 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 The White Rajahs of Sarawak were a hereditary monarchy of the Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak as a sovereign state, located on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo in Maritime Southeast Asia, from 1841 to 1946. Of ...

Charles Vyner Brooke Charles Vyner Brooke, (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 Charles Vyner Brooke was the son of Charles Brooke and Margaret de Windt ( ...

and

Sylvia Brett Sylvia Leonora, Lady Brooke, White Ratuh Consort of Sarawak (born ''The Hon. Sylvia Leonora Brett'', 25 February 1885 – 11 November 1971), was an English aristocrat who became the consort to Sir Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke, the third and l ...

, Ranee of

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

on 1June 1933. *Lady Margaret Cargill Mackay (d. 1958), married Alexander Shaw, 2nd Baron Craigmyle. *Lady Janet Lyle Mackay (d. 1972), married Lt-Col Frederick Bailey, a landowner. * Lady Elsie Mackay (circa 1893–1928), aviator, actress, and interior designer for P & O, married (later annulled) actor,

Dennis Wyndham Dennis Wyndham (15 January 1887 – 19 August 1973) was a South African born stage and film actor. Long based in Britain, he appeared in more than 40 films between 1920 and 1956. He was born in Natal, South Africa. On 23 May 1917, he married El ...

. 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 (1932–1994) and the daughter Marie (1924–1973), who in 1960 married the 12th Duke of Carcaci, 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 The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, KCIE *1910–1911: Sir James Lyle Mackay, GCMG, KCSI, KCIE *1911–1924:

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

The Lord Inchcape, GCMG, KCSI, KCIE *1924–1929: The Right Honourable The Viscount Inchcape,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # K ...

, 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 1852 births 1932 deaths People from Arbroath Nobility from Angus, Scotland 1 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

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

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