Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t10.4

v1.c5.s3.t10.4

From the 1840s, changes in the maritime trade between India and China including the influx of private British traders and the appearance of steamships worked to the disadvantage of Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and his commercial empire. His firm no longer dominated this trade, particularly after his death in 1859. Nevertheless, Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy remains an iconic figure in the history of Mumbai, especially because of his numerous charitable activities which included his role in setting up some of Mumbai’s best-known hospitals and educational institutions. An interesting legacy of Jamsetjee is the voluminous letters he left behind which are preserved even till today in the library of the University of Mumbai and which are among the main sources we have for the early growth of trade between Mumbai and China.