Jamsetjee soon became the main Indian partner of Jardine, Matheson & Company and acquired a large fleet of ships. He also became a highly respected citizen of Bombay and was included by the EIC’s Court of Directors in the Queen’s Honours List. In an elaborate ceremony at the Governor’s residence in May 1842, Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy was knighted.13 Modern-day critics of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy may say that he was no more than a drug lord who collaborated with a colonial power to enrich himself by engaging in a business that devastated the lives of many fellow humans, both Indian and Chinese. His
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