James Taylor (29 March 1835 - 2 May 1892) was a Scottish tea planter who introduced the industry of tea farming to
British Ceylon
British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...
. He arrived to British Ceylon in 1852 and settled down in
Loolecondera
The Loolecondera estate was the first tea plantation estate in Sri Lanka, established in 1867 by Scotsman James Taylor. The estate is located southeast of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
History
The Loolecondera estate was purchased from the Crown by James ...
estate in
Delthota. Here he worked with
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
merchant
Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Irish parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup races.
...
to develop the tea industry in British Ceylon.
He continued to live in British Ceylon until his death (more than half of his lifetime).
Life in Loolecondera
Taylor visited India in 1866 to learn the basics of growing tea on plantations; following his return, he started a plantation in
Loolecondera
The Loolecondera estate was the first tea plantation estate in Sri Lanka, established in 1867 by Scotsman James Taylor. The estate is located southeast of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
History
The Loolecondera estate was purchased from the Crown by James ...
estate in Kandy (Sri Lanka - formerly known as Ceylon). He began the tea plantation an estate of just in 1867. He started a fully equipped tea factory on the Loolecondera estate in 1872.
During the period when Taylor lived on the Loolecondera estate, the export of tea increased from 23 pounds to 81 tonnes and in 1890 it reached the level of 22,900 tonnes.
Achievement
In year 1872 Taylor set about building a larger tea factory in Loolecondera and started manufacturing packeted tea. He had already written about his success of starting a larger tea factory as "I have a machine of my own invention being made in Kandy for rolling tea which I think will be successful". In 1875 Taylor managed to send the first shipment of Ceylon tea to the
London Tea Auction.
Taylor and Lipton
Scottish millionaire
Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Irish parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup races.
...
visited
British Ceylon
British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...
(Sri Lanka) in the 1890s, during his journey to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and met Taylor. They discussed the business of exporting tea from British Ceylon. Lipton's company became interested and started buying Ceylon tea.
Death and after
The rapid growth of the Ceylonese tea industry allowed the large tea companies to take over therefore the small farmers like Taylor were chased out from the industry. Because of this, Taylor was dismissed by the Loolecondera estate management.
Taylor died 1892, one year after his dismissal from
Loolecondera
The Loolecondera estate was the first tea plantation estate in Sri Lanka, established in 1867 by Scotsman James Taylor. The estate is located southeast of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
History
The Loolecondera estate was purchased from the Crown by James ...
estate, from severe
gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...
and
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
. His body was buried in the Mahaiyawa Cemetery in Kand
His headstone reads, "In pious memory of James Taylor of Loolecondera Estate Ceylon, the pioneer of the cinchona and tea enterprise in this island, who died 2 May 1892, aged 57 years".
On Tuesday 3 May 1892, a day after his death, Taylor was taken from the Loolecondera estate where he lived and worked for burial at the Mahaiyawa cemetery near Kandy. Two gangs of 12 estate workers reputedly carried Taylor’s body to his final resting place in appreciation of his noble efforts to establish Tea industry in Ceylon. They alternated every four miles during the 18 mile journey. Among neighbours and friends who attended the ceremony were C.E. Bonner, W.J. Scott, Stopford Sackville, Alexander Philip, and several others who had subscribed to Taylor’s silver tea service. Revd Watt read the funeral service.
In 1893 one year after his death, one million packets of Ceylon tea of the first shipment to London were sold at the Chicago World's Fair.
The majority of the tea estates (more than 80 percent) were owned by British Companies from the time of James Taylor who began the industry in 1867 until 1971 when the government of Sri Lanka introduced a Land Reform Act which granted the ownership of tea estates to the government (nationalisation of the tea industry).
Centenary of death
John Field, the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Sri Lanka made a comment in 1992 for the 100th anniversary of the death of Taylor: "It can be said of very few individuals that their labours have helped to shape the landscape of a country, but the beauty of the hill country as it now appears owes much to the inspiration of James Taylor, the man who introduced tea cultivation to Sri Lanka". A museum was also built in 1992 to commemorate him in the place where he lived.
James Taylor Monument
On Saturday 29 June 2019, the Auchenblae Heritage Society unveiled a statue to commemorate James Taylor.
Designed by Prof. Sarath Chandrajeewa and gifted to the Society by Mr Anselm Perera of Mlesna Teas, Colombo, Sri Lanka, the statue overlooks the Auchenblae Village Square.
See also
*
Loolecondera
The Loolecondera estate was the first tea plantation estate in Sri Lanka, established in 1867 by Scotsman James Taylor. The estate is located southeast of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
History
The Loolecondera estate was purchased from the Crown by James ...
*
Ceylon tea
Ceylon tea is both the brand of tea which is produced in Sri Lanka and a historic term describing tea from that land. Ceylon tea has been described as not only a geographical descriptor but also a pillar of Culture of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan cultur ...
*
Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Irish parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup races.
...
*
Tea production in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon) has a climate and varied elevation that allows for the production of both ''Camellia sinensis var. assamica'' and ''Camellia sinensis var. sinensis'', with the assamica varietal holding the majority of producti ...
References
5. Drivin
Ceylon Teawellness globally with three generations of master tea tasters in Sri Lanka .
External links
Lipton official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, James
Planters from British Ceylon
Sri Lankan tea
1835 births
1892 deaths
Businesspeople in tea
19th-century Scottish businesspeople