Mancherji Khurshedji

Mancherji Khurshedji was a Parsi merchant and ship-owner in Surat, India. In 1750, he was appointed as a broker to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Surat and was already a leading merchant and one of the richest among Parsis. Since then Mancherji combined his trading activities with that of broking for the VOC.

Before 1750 Mancherji was independent merchant conducting trade only for his own account, a type of commercial magnate with his own ships conducting large-scale trade all along the Indian Ocean. By then he already had close connections with the Muslim government of Surat, an association with the Dutch would only further strengthen his position, security and protection against his rivals. Of course, the VOC also had benefits from working with man who knew Indian trade and was close to the local authorities. Mancherji successfully used his position as a VOC’s broker to further his own commercial interests for three decades.

Mancherji was primarily a ship-owning merchant on a large scale. As a broker to the VOC, he was a principal buyer of merchandise from the Company. He also negotiated with suppliers for the procurement of textiles and his agency was used by the VOC to make representations and negotiate on its behalf with the local authorities. Shipping was Mancherji’s chief enterprise; he was involved in large-scale export trade sending his merchandise, mostly textiles, to different parts of Indian Ocean, such as Bombay, Bengal, Siam, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and even to China. His ships had also carried the merchandise of others.

By the 1770s VOC’s position was gravely threatened by the English East India Company (EIC). In 1781, VOC’s entire possessions in India were taken over by the English, in view of the Anglo-Dutch war. How exactly this affected Mancherji and his private trade we do not know. However, despite all inconveniences, he seems to have survived all adversities and did not absolutely succumb to the contingencies of time.