28. Shortly after opening, Taikoo Dockyard was struck by a devastating typhoon, delaying operations. “I could cry when I see it,” wrote the Taipan, reflecting the scale of destruction. #JSSArchives50 🧵
27. Plans for a dockyard at Quarry Bay emerged alongside the Sugar Refinery, using surplus land. Though J.S. Swire opposed it as uneconomic, rising demand for ship overhaul in the East led to the launch of Taikoo Dockyard in 1900–1901 #JSSArchives50 🧵
26. The 1920s brought typhoons, strikes, poor markets & a 3-month boycott—but in 1925, Taikoo Sugar Refinery became the world’s largest single-unit refinery. Letters & financial records in the archive trace both the challenges and the triumph #JSSArchives50 🧵
25. Rivalry with Jardine Matheson, the oldest British firm in China, was fierce. It partly drove Swire’s push to build a competing sugar refinery. “Nothing has pleased me more than beating Keswick,” wrote JSS to partners Lang, Scott & Mackintosh #JSSArchives50 🧵
24. In 1881 John Swire founded Taikoo Sugar Refinery in Hong Kong, aiming to build the largest, most modern plant. Boosted by raw sugar trade from Java & the Philippines, B&S secured land at Quarry Bay. TSR soon became one of the world’s most advanced refineries #JSSArchives50 🧵
This title, Werewolf among the Torajas of Central Sulawesi, was written in 1899 by A C Kruyt, Dutch Calvinist missionary, ethnographer and theologian #EYAMonstersow.ly/hK7e50WNy5E
23. In the 1970s, CNCo revolutionised Pacific cargo transport with containerised shipping. Self-geared vessels equipped with mobile gantry cranes enabled fast loading/unloading—no need for port infrastructure #JSSArchives50 🧵
22. In the 1960s, CNCo operated Hajj cruises on board the Coral Princess from SE Asia to Jeddah, serving pilgrims from Indonesia, Malaysia & southern China. Ships were adapted with prayer spaces, halal kitchens & medical support—before air travel took over #JSSArchives50 🧵
21. In the 1960s, CNCo charted a new course—launching seminar cruises from Japan and creating a niche in passenger cruising. The company dominated this market for nearly 20 years, marking a bold shift from cargo to leisure #JSSArchives50 🧵
20. Despite boycotts & piracy CNCo’s fleet operated through early C20th turmoil. WWII hit hard: in 1940, ships were requisitioned & by 1942 the Yangtze was closed to foreign ships. By 1945, over 30 CNCo ships were captured or sunk, & China operations wound down #JSSArchives50 🧵
19. Compradores were key Chinese intermediaries for foreign firms in treaty ports like Canton & Shanghai—vital yet controversial. In 1934, JS&S created the Dept. of Chinese Affairs to formalize staff management, led by C.C. Roberts. #JSSArchives50 🧵
In this fable a greedy fox chases a better meal that the one he already has. Chased off by a watchman he returns to see a kite carrying off his abandoned meal. #EYAEducationow.ly/qve250WNtyN
Tibetan Thangka (n.d.). These scrolls are visual guides to Buddhist teachings, portraying the Buddha, revered lamas, deities & bodhisattvas #EYAEducationow.ly/fVh250WNryM
This 1753 Ottoman Turkish manuscript features Arabic maxims of Alī, the Prophet Muḥammad's son-in-law and fourth successor as caliph. It is beautifully penned in thuluth & naskh scripts with gilded scrollwork and elegant calligraphy. #EYAEducationdigital.soas.ac.uk/LOAA005805/0...
18. In 1926, the Wanhsien Incident saw CNCo steamers seized by Chinese warlord Yang Sen after British captains refused to transport his troops. A British naval rescue sparked a deadly clash, escalating tensions between Britain and China #JSSArchives50 🧵
17. By the 1920s, Butterfield & Swire needed its own telegraph code to handle specialised business—and keep memos secure from rivals. The B&S Code launched in 1925 at a hefty £6,583, covering compilation and 250 printed copies #JSSArchives50 🧵
16. Smuggling was rampant aboard CNCo ships. Contraband or 'pidgin' was hidden during loading in cargo or crew quarters, then tossed overboard to waiting sampans near port. Opium, booze, tobacco & textiles fed a shadow economy that thrived despite crackdowns #JSSArchives50 🧵
15. In 1908, He Yuting died aboard the SS Fatshan. Passengers blamed a Macanese watchman, later cleared by the British consul. Cantonese activists launched a boycott—first of the Fatshan, then Butterfield & Swire—ending with support from local authorities. #JSSArchives50 🧵
14. By the early 1900s, piracy plagued the South China Sea. In 1933, CNCo’s SS Nanchang was seized—its crew held on a pirate junk for 5 months. They were released only after a payment was made… for board and lodging! #JSSArchives50 🧵
13. During the 1899–1901 Boxer rebellion, anti-foreigner violence disrupted Western businesses and missionaries. B&S, active in shipping, trade, and sugar refining across Shanghai and the Yangtze, was directly impacted by the unrest. #JSSArchives50 🧵
