The Surrender of Opium
20,283 chests was counted when the surrender of opium was completed on March 21, 1839. Each chest of raw opium contained 40 balls of 3 catties each in weight, thus the total weight came up to 120 catties (or roughly 73kg) per chest on average. The contraband confiscated in Canton alone in one operation amounted to a staggering 2,433 metric ton. I was able to trace the owners of 17,920 chests (as shown in the table below), and believe the rest of them were mostly Parsi dealers. Perhaps one day (not very soon) I will find all of them.
| Name | Chests | Remarks |
| British | ||
| Jardine, Matheson & Co. | 7,341 | including 5,000 chests owned by its Parsee partners. |
| Dent & Co. | 1,723 | |
| Daniel & Co. | 1,466 | |
| MacVicar & Co. | 1,146 | |
| Lindsay & Co. | 341 | |
| W. & J. Gemmell | 266 | |
| John Thacker | 86 | Master mariner. |
| Turner & Co. | 71 | |
| Joseph & William Cragg & Co. | 53 | Dissolved in 1939. Gibb Livington & Co. was charge to take care of all outstanding matters. |
| Eglinton Maclean & Co. | 50 | |
| Bell & Co. | 40 | |
| Gibb, Livingston & Co. | 29 | |
| Abaden & Jam Sooden | 25 | |
| Gouldsborough | 12 | |
| James Starkey | 10 | Master mariner, captain of schooner "Thistle". Previously a partner with Dirom & Co. of Canton. |
| Jamieson & How | 10 | |
| A.I. Smith | 7 | |
| Bibby Adam & Co. | 5 | Withdrew from China in 1840. |
| Eneas Fraser, Jr. | 2 | |
| Total British | 12,683 | |
| Parsi | ||
| Heerjeehboy Rustomjee | 1,700 | |
| Dadabhoy & Manockje Rustomkee | 970 | |
| Cowasjee Eduljee | 232 | |
| Nasserwanjee Dorabjee | 127 | |
| Nasserwanjee Bomonjee Mody | 92 | |
| Hormuzjee Framjee | 73 | |
| Cowasjee Saporjee | 67 | |
| Dassabhoy Hormutzjee Dorabjee | 67 | |
| Burjorjee Monackjee | 54 | |
| Rustomjee Ruttonjee & Co. | 14 | |
| Cowasjee Saporjee Taback | 13 | |
| Framjee Jametjee | 12 | |
| Pallanjee Nasserwanjee | 9 | |
| Hormuzjee Byramjee | 4 | |
| Bomanjee Hosonojee | 3 | |
| Abdoolally Ebahim & Co. 鴨都喇利 | unk. | Ran the first cross-harbor ferry service between Tsimshatsui and Central (1842). Claimed to have received compensation from the British government in 1864, amount received unknown. Remains active in Hong Kong under the name of Abdoolally Ebrahim Group. |
| Total Parsi | 3,437 | |
| American | ||
| Russell & Co. | 1,437 | |
| Wetmore & Co. | 103 | Ceased to deal in opium from 1842. |
| Fox, Rawson & Co. | 30 | |
| Alexander Calder | 15 | |
| Total American | 1,585 | |
| Portuguese | ||
| Joseph de Souza | 183 | |
| Edward Pereira | 33 | |
| Total Portuguese | 216 | |
| GRAND TOTAL | 17,921 |
TBC
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