The Europeans reside in the country, a few miles from the Fort, coming in daily to their business, about 9 a.m. and continuing till 5 p.m. They eat a tiffin or luncheon at twelve or one, dine usually by candle light and, after drinking wine till eight or nine, have tea. The rich live well and at great expense, have a great variety of dishes on table, and drink much wine. Wild fowl, poultry, beef, pork, fish, etc. are found here, some of them very good. Of wines, English claret is most fashionable – it comes charged from England as high as sixty-three pounds sterling per dozen, and sells now twelve to fourteen pagodas*. Much Madeira also is drunk. Of fruits, I saw pines (pineapple), oranges and shattucks (large citrus fruit) – none of them equal to those I have seen brought from the West Indies – plantains and other fruits. There are very good grapes brought here from Pondicherry, but they are few in quantity and very dear.

Great numbers of servants are fashionable, a different person being kept for almost every different service. Every gentleman carries his servant, in going to dine. Men are employed entirely, except in fetching water, which is brought a considerable distance by the women. Some excellent servants are found here, but all much inclined to “cheat master”.

There is no theatre, or other public amusement here. Sunday appears totally disregarded by the Europeans as well as natives. Business goes on as usual, and I saw nothing to distinguish this from any other day. The gentlemen who live out from the Fort have gardens, some of which are handsome and very expansive. They all have tanks or ponds, from which to water their gardens in the dry season – without this, their produce would be entirely destroyed.

There are several taverns here, but their charges are enormously high, and it is less reputable to live at them, than to keep house. The Americans, whose business brings them to this place, take a house and furnish it and hire a sufficient number of servants. The expense for a residence of three or four weeks will be considerably less on this establishment, than at a public house.

The merchants of Madras are principally English in the Fort and Portuguese, Armenians and natives in the Black Town. Of the English Houses, Colt, Baker & Co. do the most business with Americans. Colt, from being a writer in the Company’s service, has returned to Europe with a fortune of 200,000 pounds sterling. Baker has an office under the Company, whose legal emolument is 3000 pounds per annum. Mr. Hart, the junior partner, does most of the business of the house. This and indeed most of the English houses are very rich. The House of Harrington, Watts & Co. is considered the first here. Chase, Sewall & Co. are a considerable house. They have an insurance office, but its reputation for liberal and punctual payment in case of loss, is not very high.

In the Black Town, Satur & D’Monte are undoubtedly first. Satur is an Armenian; D’Monte a Portuguese. They are very fair, good men, and much and universally esteemed. They have a very large share of the piece goods business, supplying nearly all the demands of the European houses in the Fort and most of the Americans who stop here. D’Monte is secretary and almost entire director of an insurance company in which his house is interested. This company has a great reputation for liberality and punctual payment of losses, which gives it a preference in almost all the business of the place.

Paulem Yagapah Chitty (called by his seond name) does a considerable share of the business with Americans. He is a contractor with the East India Company for piece goods and is said to be rich, but we found him much in want of money. He is a Gentoo, and appears a fair man. He cannot give such dispatch, or be so much depended on as D’Monte’s house. Paulem Mutiah Chitty, brother of Yagapah and compared with him, is not so good a man as the other.

“Shopkeepers” are considered of a very inferior grade to merchants, though more respectable in wealth and character than some of those who rank so much higher. Thus the Governor’s public invitations to the principal inhabitants of the settlement include all the merchants but no shopkeepers. Some of them are rich and do considerable business with Americans. Hope, Reynolds & Griffith (formerly Hope, Card & Co.) are the first, and are very good men. Their store is large and handsome, with commodious go-downs (warehouses) on the lower floor. They purchased several European investments while we remained here – one, extremely well assorted, of 12,000 pounds sterling cost, at sixty-five per cent advance. This was considered very high. Waddell, Rannie & Gibson (formerly Waddell, Stuart & Co.) are second.

The Europeans who come to India do it to make an immediate fortune, to be spent at home. They have, therefore, none of those feelings, which men have who are to close their lives and leave their families on the spot (i.e. men who are making a home for themselves and their descendants). With an object in view, they pay little regard to the means of accomplishing it. The natives are consequently oppressed and defrauded. Their money is borrowed without probability or expectation of repaying it – and when the Company’s servants are their creditors, they sometimes permit them to oppress in their turns those under them. There are some exceptions to these observations – and to those who form good connections here, it does not appear necessary to resort to fraudulent or improper measures to acquire a competency in a short time. The merchants and others think, however, a very large  sum is necessary for a fortune.

Every mercantile house in Madras employs a head dubash, or broker, who is a native and does most of the active business of the house. Some of them are very rich and faithful to their employers, even in joining in any fraud or oppression they may practise on the countrymen of the dubash. One Englishman, on quitting Madras, after adjusting all his business with his dubash, and settling all his concerns with him, gave him as a mark of his confidence and esteem a real estate renting at 600 pounds sterling per annum. The Americans who trade here find it necessary also to employ a dubash. There are two men who devote themselves to this business, Vincaty and Villapoy. Neither of them deserves high commendation. The former is more immediately in D’Monte’s, the latter in Yagapah’s interest. From employing the former, I believe him at least as good as the latter. They require much looking after, and are not to be depended on, having the interest of the merchant from whom they expect future favours at least as much at heart, as that of their immediate employers. It is absolutely necessary to employ a dubash, whose clerks (or conicopolies) attend to receiving, weighing, and shipping goods, etc. which on the part of the merchant are also attended to by natives. The more the whole of them can be overseen, and the less depended on, the better. – (From Yankee India – American Commercial and Cultural Encounters with India in the Age of Sail 1784-1860 by Susan & Bean)

– Dudley L. Pickman
* 2.5 pagodas = one pound sterling
(Concluded)