The five Ralli brothers, Zannis a.k.a. John (1785–1859), Augustus (1792–1878), Pandia a.k.a. Zeus (1793–1865), Toumazis (1799–1858), and Eustratios (1800–84), founded Ralli Brothers, perhaps the most successful expatriate

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

merchant business of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

. Born to a wealthy merchant family of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is ...

, their father, Stephanos Ralli (1755–1827), had settled in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

, but recognised that the nexus of trading had changed in the aftermath of the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, and sent his eldest son, John, to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to explore business opportunities.

Founding of the Ralli Brothers’ partnership

John started trading in oriental silk and Russian grain in exchange for

British textiles The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufac ...

, and fetched his brothers over to help, incorporating as ''Ralli Brothers'' in London. His brother Eustratios ran the textile export operations from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

; Toumazis sourced raw materials and grain from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

; Pandia financed it from the

Baltic Exchange The Baltic Exchange (incorporated as The Baltic Exchange Limited) is a membership organisation for the maritime industry, and freight market information provider for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts. It was locate ...

in London; and Augustus oversaw the Mediterranean operations from

. Their move away from Greece was prescient. It preceded the turmoil that was about to befall the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

that resulted in the

Chios massacre The Chios massacre (in el, Η σφαγή της Χίου, ) was a catastrophe that resulted to the death, enslavement, and refuging of about four-fifths of the total population of Greeks on the island of Chios by Ottoman troops, during the G ...

in 1822 and subsequent

Greek diaspora The Greek diaspora, also known as Omogenia ( el, Ομογένεια, Omogéneia), are the communities of Greeks living outside of Greece and Cyprus (excluding Northern Cyprus). Such places historically include Albania, North Macedonia, parts ...

, and saw their traditional home markets closed. They were quick to seize new opportunities created by wars, political events, and the opening of new markets, such as corn, cotton, silk,

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

and fruit, rapidly establishing major trading operations across the Mediterranean, Russia, reaching out as far as St Petersburg,

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog ...

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Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

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, and Syria. Although they employed more than 40,000 people at one time, control rested in the hands of the extended family. When Pandia married in 1831, it was to Marietta Scaramanga (1810–60), another merchant from Chios, whose family had significant trading operations in Russia. From 1851 Ralli Brothers started operations in India with offices in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

The business specialised in jute, shellac, sesame, turmeric, ginger, rice, saltpetre, and borax, and employed 4,000 clerks and 15,000 warehousemen and dockers. Their American operations were run from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

, and were early traders in grain futures.

Later generations, Ralli Brothers Ltd

The partnership was dissolved on the death of Pandias in 1865, but his nephew Stephen Augustus Ralli (1829–1902) passed the Russian business to the Scaramanga family, and re-constituted ''Ralli Brothers'' on the British, American and Indian operations. On his death it passed in turn to his nephew Sir Lucas Ralli Bt., (1846–1931), who continued the tradition of adroit investment. They made fortunes by building on the Indian and American businesses, astutely shipping cotton and textiles after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

and, from 1882, dealing in opium. From new offices in

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

and

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

they dealt in '

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Central India, which includes parts of the northwestern portion of Maharashtra as well as Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh. The use of Khandeshi Language (a.k.a. the Ahirani Language) is prevalent in ...

' groundnuts. When World War I started, Rallis held the exclusive contract with the British War Department for jute sandbags. The Great Depression saw the company beset with cashflow problems. This forced the Indian operations to close, and another Greek trading family, Argenti, stepped in to act as their agents. 1854-1931, Rallis' sojourn in India was extremely successful until the great economic crash of 1929 led them to close down their Indian operations. 1948-1963, Rallis India was reborn in a partitioned and independent India. The Company diversified, and its fertilizer and pesticides businesses began to take shape. 1964-1978, the company passed through turbulent times, molting and evolving. 1981-2000, its future was now firmly enmeshed in the future of Indian agriculture. By the early 1990s, Rallis became the fourth largest seed company in India. Tata Chemicals' fertilizer plant, manufacturing urea, was set up. Having identified agri-business as its core strength, Rallis India Ltd divested its pharmaceutical business, and decided to consolidate its position in pesticides, fertilizers and seeds. Meanwhile, Ralli Brothers continued, based in London. In late 1960, Sir Isaac Wolfson, of Great Universal Stores, and Harry Recanati, of the Israel Discount Bank, approached the Board of Ralli Brothers. They offered to acquire the whole of its share capital, at a price that was between two and three times higher than the prevailing price, quoted on the London Stock Exchange. At this time, Jack Vlasto was the Company President, having taken over this role in 1950 from Sir Strati Ralli Bt., MC. The approach from Sir Isaac Wolfson was not welcomed by the Company Directors. However, as Ralli Brothers Ltd. was a

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

, the matter was referred to the

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the B ...

. His advice was that the offer must be placed before the shareholders, so that they should not be denied the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium. In 1961, the shareholders voted to accept the offer. This led to Sir Isaac Wolfson taking over control of the commercial operations of the firm, in a deal worth £5.5m, a substantial sum at that time. The Israel Discount Bank added the international merchant banks of Ralli Brothers to its portfolio of private banks, although Harry Recanati left when the other Directors chose to

list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...

the banking group publicly on the

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, in 1970. In 1981 Ralli Brothers was sold to

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a Privately held company, privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privatel ...

Inc. of Minneapolis, a billion dollar company. In 2002 this whole organization became known as

Cargill Cotton Hohenberg Bros. Co. is a cotton trading company with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1978, Julian Hohenberg sold the company to Cargill Inc and it was renamed Cargill Cotton. History Cargill Cotton’s roots in cotton merchandising trac ...

. The Israel Discount Bank became insolvent in 1983 and was controversially

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

by the Treasury of the Government of Israel. Recanati had retained ownership of the Swiss

private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "entirety of the bank's assets" as well as the entiret ...

of Ralli Brothers (Bankers) S.A. which he later sold to

Security Pacific Bank Security Pacific National Bank (SPNB) was a large U.S. bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was acquired by Bank of America in 1992. History On September 1, 1868, Hellman, Temple and Co. opened their first bank branch in Los ...

of California, using the proceeds to found a number of public museums. These

Ralli Museums Ralli may refer to: People *Rallis or Ralli, a surname, including a list of people with the name * Ralli Ben-Yehuda (born 1934), Israeli Olympic gymnast *Théodore Ralli (1852-1909), Greek artist Other uses *Ralli car, a type of horse-drawn cart * ...

are free, non-profit galleries, of contemporary Latin-American art.Harry Recanati
/ref> In 1962, Sir Godfrey Ralli and his brother, Major Lucas Ralli, who had both been on the Board of Ralli Brothers, set up a new venture called G & L Ralli Investment & Trustee Co. Ltd. The Company was established in August 1962, and shortly afterwards registered as a Trust Corporation. (Source: Evening Standard, 26/9/62). The original capital of the Company was £250,000, consisting of 250K shares of £1. G & L was primarily concerned with the management of trust funds, but soon branched out into general private client portfolio management. The Company later became a Licensed Dealer in Securities, and was registered as a member of FIMBRA. The mid-1970s saw Sir Godfrey taking early retirement to pursue country interests. Lucas, the younger brother, subsequently took over as Chairman of the Group, with Mike Kemp promoted to Managing Director, soon thereafter. In 1983, the Ralli Investment Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired a Deposit-Taking Licence from the Bank of England. John Ralli, son of Lucas, was a Director of G & L Ralli from 1986 to 1990. In 1997, G & L Ralli merged with Ely Fund Managers. Ely Fund Managers, the UK private banking business of the Franco-Belgium group, Dexia, in turn, were subsequently absorbed into

Rathbones Rathbones Group Plc is a UK provider of personalised investment management and wealth management services for private investors and trustees. This includes discretionary investment management, unit trusts, tax planning, trust and company mana ...

in 2006, for a price of £14.5m.

Cultural influence

The Rallis used their establishment in London and elsewhere to help the influx of Greek merchants that emigrated to set up in business and settle into their new countries. Although they maintained their Greek culture and religion, they mostly became assimilated and naturalised subjects in their adopted lands. Pandia had a reputation for fair dealing and avoided questionable deals and finances, and forced his standards on the other Greek émigrés with whom they did business, earning him the nickname of 'Zeus'. Through their contacts, who included

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

, they rose to prominence in British business and aristocratic circles, with Pandia becoming a leading representative of the Greek Community in London and British

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

for the newly independent country of Greece, and organised the Greek entry in

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

of 1851.

Legacy

Ralli Hall, Denmark Villas, Hove (July 2010, from East)

Perhaps influenced by their families' own experience, they and their descendants were frequent donors to medical charities operating in Eastern Europe and the Balkan wars. The family initiated the construction of Saint Sophia Cathedral, (co-funded by prominent members of the Greek community in London) and Pandia was instrumental in setting up the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

cemetery within

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

in 1842. Antonius commissioned the Doric chapel to St Stephen there from John Oldrid Scott, now listed Grade II*. Some of the family also commissioned architects to create their own significant

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be con ...

s there, including: *Eustratios Ralli, a Doric temple by

Edward Middleton Barry Edward Middleton Barry RA (7 June 1830 – 27 January 1880) was an English architect of the 19th century. Biography Edward Barry was the third son of Sir Charles Barry, born in his father's house, 27 Foley Place, London. In infancy he was ...

(Grade II) *Antonios Ralli, a Roman-style temple mausoleum (Grade II) *John Peter Ralli, a two-storey polychromatic mausoleum by

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

in his ''streaky bacon'' style (Grade II*)

Ralli Hall Ralli Hall (also known as Ralli Memorial Hall) is a community centre, events venue, theatre stage, business hub and impressive main hall in Hove, part of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1913 as a memorial to Stephen Ral ...

was built in 1913 in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th ce ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, as the church hall of All Saints Church. It was named in honour of Stephen Augustus Ralli, whose death in 1902 had also been commemorated by the installation of

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows in the church in 1904. The hall was sold in 1975 to the Brighton and Hove Jewish Community, who use it for their own activities and make it available for hire to other groups. The Edwardian Baroque-style building was listed at Grade II in 1992.

Notes

{{Reflist

References

Ralli family from Christopher Long website

S. D. Chapman, ''Ralli, Pantia Stephen''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

(subscription)
S. D. Chapman, ''Ralli, Stephen Augustus''

Friends of West Norwood Cemetery
*David Lascelles (2008) ''The Story of Rathbones since 1742''. London: James & James (Publishers) Ltd; p. 130 - 2006 purchase of Ely Fund Managers

External links

Online British Home Office record of Pandeli Ralli's naturalization
Greek families Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Businesspeople from Chios Greek emigrants to the United Kingdom English bankers Businesspeople in textiles