Generations of Governors, officials, and world leader have all paid a glowing tribute to the mercantile sector, and as Pericles claimed “We do not imitate, but we are a model for others to follow.”

The beginning of the mercantile sector as we see it today can be traced to the eighteen forties. After the country was unified in 1815, and with the construction of the Colombo Kandy central highway, it became too obvious that its use was not going to be limited to only military requirements but was going to emulate the industrial activities of India.

A plantation enterprise had already started. Indigo was tried out at Veyangoda. Coffee proved a success near Peradeniya, and Pussellawa. There was in addition coconut and cinnamon as staple exports. The stage was now set for the establishment of a mercantile community in the country.

The pioneers in this field were Mackwoods (1841), George Steuarts (1844), Cargills (1844), J. M. Robertson’s (1845), and Brodie’s (1846). Mackwoods are the second most senior firm in the Chamber of Commerce, which was started by a group of businesspersons.

The most senior member of the Chamber is George Steuart that joined the then infant Chamber in 1846. Cargills commenced business in 1844 as Milne and company, named after its founder Mr. William Milne. The name was changed to Cargill and company after the retirement of Mr. Milne. J. M. Robertson and Company was started in 1845 as a firm of estate agents and merchants. Brody and company were started as Brodie, Bogue and Company in 1846, but subsequently changed to Brodie and company in 1867.

A large amount of mercantile establishments was opened up during the eighteen fifties. They were Delmege and Forsythe (1850), Volkarts (1851), Lee Hedges (1852), Walker and Greig (1854), the Mercantile Bank (1854), Carsons (1857) and Millers (1858).

Delmege Forsythe commenced business in Galle as general merchants, fire and life insurers, and as agents for Brocklebank Line. Volkarts from the early stages entered the export trade with coffee, coconut oil, cinnamon, and pearls as their main items of trade abroad. Lee Hedges was one of the many firms that turned to tea after the coffee crash.

Walkers have played an important part in serving the mercantile sector in the country. Walker Sons and Company started business in Kandy when coffee was the ruler. The disposition of John Walker, who inaugurated this company towards his employers, had been most friendly and sincere, and he had been the first employer in the country to introduce a provident fund, profit sharing, and medical assistance to his staff. He devised several improvements to machinery associated with coffee and tea manufacture.

The Mercantile bank has the distinction of being the oldest bank in the country having being established as the Charted Mercantile Bank in 1854. Carson and Company were from its inception engaged in agency business, and later acquired shipping agencies and were involved in the import of coal for ship bunkers. They were also considered large importers of textiles from Manchester.

Leechman and company were started in 1866 by Mr. G. B. Leechman, who was later joined by W. C. and C. A. They pioneered the cultivation of cinchona in the country, which they thought would replace coffee as the staple. They were very much into tea and rubber during the later stages.

Aitken Spence who commenced business in 1870 was established in Galle. Many changes took place thereafter and in 1874 the present Aitken Spence and company was formed. It was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1932.

The Colombo branch of James Finlay was opened in 1875, under the name of Finlay Muir and Company. This old Scottish firm can trace its genealogy back to James Finlay when maritime Ceylon was ruled by the Dutch.

Brown and company were founded in 1875, and acquired the agency for Rustom Hornby engines. They secured this agency at a time when tea factories were being mechanised, and through their involvement in factory development, they were able to acquire estate agency business, and thereafter saw a remarkable expansion as a group.

Mr John Brown founded the Colombo Commercial Company in London in 1876 to acquire coffee estates in Ceylon and get themselves involved in the export of the produce. With the crash of coffee, they switched to tea. They were one of the pioneers in the manufacture of tea machinery, and their reputation in this field extended beyond the shores of Ceylon.

Mr James Whittall, a businessperson from Cairo who arrived in the island in 1880 set up Whittal and Company, although its origin can be traced to that of Kier, Dundas and Company which began business in the island in 1854.

Forbes and Walker were established in 1881 by James Forbes and George Chapman Walker. Forbes was a planter and Walker had been serving the forces before they decided to form a close-knit crew to establish a broking establishment in the island.

Tommy Lipton who began life as a grocer’s boy in Glasgow acquired the distinction as an empire builder sooner then expected. On his first visit to the island, his resolve to plant tea in the island had momentous consequences to Ceylon. The old Britishers still refer to Ceylon as “Lipton’s tea gardens.”

Gordon Frazer, a tea merchant in Mincing Lane came to Ceylon in 1891, and teamed up with Mr. D. R, Buchanan and formed Buchanan Frazer and Company. This association was however short-lived.

With the fast developing economy, Colombo became a hive of commercial activity, and with it the growth of the mercantile sector commenced, to cater to the fast expanding business activities of the country.