The Apcar family is an Armenian family originally from New Julfa in Isfahan , Persia. After moving to India they became prominent in commerce and industry. Later members were involved in the practice of law and the legislature.
26-534: Aratoon Apcar was born in 1779 at New Julfa in Isfahan , Persia. He was the second son of Apcar, the ancestor of the family. He came to Bombay when he was sixteen and found employment with an Armenian merchant there, trading with China and Manila . After his patron died, he continued in this trade in his own right. He founded Apcar & Co in 1809 and was Senior Member of this firm until his death in 1863. In 1830 he moved to Calcutta . He gave generous endowments to
52-503: A troopship until redundant in 1962, Nevasa was assigned new duties with the BI educational cruise ship flotilla until 1974, when she became uneconomic due a four fold increase in crude oil prices and was scrapped in 1975 having earlier been joined in this trade by the more economic Uganda . The highly popular Uganda was taken up ( STUFT ) by the British Ministry of Defence in 1982 as
78-803: A court banker to Catherine the Great and was made an Imperial Count in 1788. His brother established the Lazarev Institute in Moscow. In 1947, the historian Fernand Braudel wrote that the Armenians had a trade network that stretched from Amsterdam to Manila in the Philippines . Many scholars in Armenia have done pioneering work on this network in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Levon Khachikian and Sushanik Khachikian have edited and published several New Julfan account books. Over
104-628: A distinct Armenian language, identity, cuisine, and culture which is protected by the Iranian government. According to David Petrosyan of the Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies, New Julfa had 10,000–12,000 Armenian inhabitants in 1998. As of today, it is still one of the world's largest ethnic Armenian quarters . New Julfa has friendly relations with: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] British India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company (" BI ")
130-741: A fine stud, recruited from a breeding farm he owned in Australia. His stud was "summered" at Bangalore, where he spent a good part of the hot weather season. Sir Alexander took a prominent part in the work of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce , of which he was vice-president in 1903 and president from 1904 to 1907. He represented the Chamber on the Bengal Legislative Council , and on the Supreme Legislature from 1900 to 1909, and for many years he
156-612: The Armenian Apostolic Church of St Mary at New Julfa, and in 1843 established the Armenian Patriotic School there. Aratoon Apcar died at Calcutta on 16 May 1863 at the age of 85. Aratoon Apcar married Catherine Thomas (1800–1849) in 1813. They had four sons and one daughter name Sandookth who died aged 8 months (1814–1815), Apcar (1816–1862), Seth (1819-188?), Thomas (1821–1875) and Alexander (1824–1895). Seth Apcar (born Mumbai 12 May 1819 died London March 1885)
182-580: The Apcar Line into the 1950s. The coal mines were managed by Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co until 1951. Apcar Alexander Apcar was the second son of Apcar Arathoon Apcar. He was born in Kolkata on 3 October 1850. After going to Harrow School , he returned to Calcutta in the early 1870s, never again visiting Europe. He was a keen cricketer, and rackets player. He was president of the Calcutta Turf Club . He kept
208-635: The Armenians came to Iran fleeing the Ottoman Empire 's persecution. Nevertheless, historical records indicate that the residents of Julfa were treated well by Shah Abbas in the hopes that their resettlement in Isfahan would be beneficial to Iran due to their knowledge of the silk trade . Since its foundation, New Julfa was administered by the Lazaryan noble family which moved to Russia after Nader Shah 's death in 1747. One of its members, Ivan Lazarev , became
234-453: The School's property and Trusts by almost two-thirds. Apcar & Co acted as general business agents and insurance brokers and controlled the Apcar Line. The Apcar Line ran a fleet of vessels from Kolkata carrying Chinese coolies and cargo, largely to and from Singapore , Hong Kong and Amoy (Xiamen), with connections to Japan . Pirates were active, and well into the twentieth century,
260-552: The coalfields. Seeing the rapid development of the coalfields, European firms purchased large areas from Apcar & Co on a royalty basis and started to mine the coal. As a result, Asansol became a large and developed mining district. On 27 February 1912 Apcar & Co, ships, workshops and mines, were sold to the British India Steam Navigation Company for Rs 800,000 and absorbed by BISN. Sailings from Kolkata to Japan were still advertised as being conducted by
286-540: The company became part of the P&;O group of companies in 1914 through a complex amalgamation , but continued with its own identity and organisation for another nearly 60 years until 1972, when it was entirely absorbed into P&O. P&O was eventually sold to Emirati logistics company DP World in 2006. As one of the largest shipowners of all time, the company owned more than 500 ships and managed 150 more for other owners. At its height in 1922, BI had more than 160 ships in
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#1732852534837312-512: The death of Sir Alexander, "removes one of the best known and most popular of the merchant princes of Calcutta." New Julfa New Julfa ( Persian : نو جلفا , Now Jolfā , or جلفای نو , Jolfâ-ye Now ; Armenian : Նոր Ջուղա , Nor Jugha ) is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan , Iran , located along the south bank of the Zayanderud . Established and named after the older city of Julfa in
338-484: The early 17th century (now divided as Jolfa, Iran and Julfa, Azerbaijan ), it is still one of the oldest and largest Armenian quarters in the world ( hy ) . New Julfa was established in 1606 as an Armenian quarter by the edict of Abbas the Great , sultan of the Safavid dynasty . Over 150,000 Armenians were forcibly moved there from Old Julfa (also known as Jugha or Juła ) ( hy ) . Iranian sources state that
364-501: The fleet, many built on Clydeside , Scotland . The main shipping routes of the line were: Britain to India , Australia , Kenya , Tanganyika . The company ran services from India to Pakistan , Ceylon , Bay of Bengal , Singapore , Malaya , Java , Thailand , Japan , Persian Gulf , East Africa and South Africa . BI had a long history of service to the British and Indian governments through trooping and other military contracts. In
390-617: The last decade of its operational existence BI carried thousands of school children on educational cruises. Mantola was sunk in February 1917 by a torpedo from a German submarine off the coast of Ireland with a substantial cargo of silver bullion. The cargo ship Gairsoppa , carrying silver bullion , pig iron and tea, which was sunk at great depth by the German submarine U-101 in February 1941 some 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) southwest of Galway Bay , Ireland, carried
416-569: The mainstay of the Armenian community in the country. Most were traders, but perhaps better known were the Sarkies (Ter Woskanian) brothers who founded Singapore's Raffles Hotel in 1887. New Julfa is still an Armenian-populated area with an Armenian school and sixteen churches, including the Holy Savior Cathedral . Armenians in New Julfa observe Iranian law with regard to clothing, but retain
442-531: The next few centuries, New Julfa became the hub of "one of the greatest trade networks of the early modern era," with outposts as far east as Canton , Surabaya , and Manila, and as far west as Cadiz , London , and Amsterdam , with a few merchants traveling across the Atlantic or Pacific oceans to Acapulco or Mexico City . A significant majority of Armenian trading families were based in New Julfa. Due to their dispersal, many families that were originally from
468-723: The older city of Julfa created a main settlement in Bengal expanding the trade network based in New Julfa. However, Some scholars argue that Surat , Bengal and Hughli were independent nodes and that the central control of New Julfa was not as important to their thriving Indian Ocean trade. Many New Julfan Armenians later settled in Manila, Hong Kong , and also in Australia . Their networks have been studied based on Armenian sources. Some also settled in Singapore , where Armenians from New Julfa became
494-420: The richest cargo of any sunken ship in world history. Some of the company's better known passenger ships included Rajula , Dunera , Scindia , Sirdhana , Leicestershire , Dwarka , Dumra , the sister ships Kampala and Karanja , and Kenya and Uganda , and Dara , which was sunk by a terrorist bomb in 1961. Nevasa of 1956 was the final passenger ship built for BI. Serving as
520-448: The ships had to be armed and sandbagged against attacks. Apcar & Co also entered the coal business. In 1862 coal seams were discovered near Raniganj and Asansol . Apcar & Co purchased an extensive stretch of land and started a mine at Lachipur (6.4 km from Asansol). They also opened coal mines at Charanpur , Faridpur and Borachuck . A large number of Armenians either owned collieries or worked in various capacities in
546-584: Was born 4 November 1827 and died on 1 February 1916. His son, John Gregory Apcar (born 1849 died London, 28 October 1923), known as "Father John", was elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Council at the 1912–13 Bengal general election as one of two representatives for the Calcutta Corporation . He was also Clerk of the Crown and a municipal commissioner. He was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1871. He
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#1732852534837572-409: Was educated at Harrow School , as was another son Gregory Apcar (born London 1848? died London, 17 May 1935). Both were benefactors of that school. Described in 1936 by Harrow's Governors as "an endowment which has never been equaled in the School's history" and "a shining example of love and care for Harrow", Gregory Apcar left the School an estate valued at around £320,000, which increased the value of
598-531: Was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company . The Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading partnership of the Scots William Mackinnon and Robert Mackenzie , to carry mail between Calcutta and Rangoon . It became British India SN Co in 1862. Under the hand of Lord Inchcape , who had become chairman in 1913,
624-695: Was one of its representatives on the Kolkata Port Trust. Sir Alexander was the Consul for Siam in Calcutta for many years. He became head of Apcar & Co. He was created a CSI in 1903, and was advanced to knighthood of the Order on the occasion of the Coronation Durbar at Delhi later that year. Sir Apcar Alexander Apcar, KCSI died at Bangalore on 17 April 1913. He was unmarried. The Times Obituary stated that
650-490: Was the Consul for Siam (Thailand) in Kolkata until his death. Alexander's son was Apcar Alexander Apcar (see below). Arratoon Apcar's younger brother Gregory Apcar (born New Julfa 1795 died Mumbai 23 June 1847) came to India in 1808. He was noted for his charitable work, particularly to the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian College . On 6 January 1827 he married Catchkathoon Sarkies in Mumbai. Their son Aratoon Gregory Apcar
676-695: Was the first Armenian Sheriff of Kolkata . He was awarded the Order of the Lion and the Sun by the Shah of Iran , which was presented to him by the Governor-General of India. As a London resident in the 1870s, he was Honorary President of an Armenian committee set up to increase British awareness of the plight of Armenians during the decline of the Ottoman Empire . Alexander Apcar (born Mumbai 4 November 1824 died Kolkata 12 November 1895)
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