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George Robert Russell

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George Robert Russell
Born(1800-05-05)May 5, 1800
DiedAugust 5, 1866(1866-08-05) (aged 66)
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materBrown University
Occupation(s)Lawyer, Merchant, Lecturer, and Abolitionist

George Robert Russell (May 5, 1800 – August 5, 1866) was a New England merchant who co-founded one of the leading U.S. trading houses in the Philippines in the nineteenth century. Russell co-owned Sturgis and Russell company. In addition, Russell was a lecturer and writer in economics. Russell also became an abolitionist later in his life. Russell would eventually marry and have a child in Milton, Massachusetts.

Early life

Russell had many sisters in his family, one named Amelia who he frequently wrote to when he left the United States. Many of his family members were well-known business merchants. Russell's father Jonathan Russell was a merchant, diplomat, and Democratic party politician. He was also the nephew of Philp Ammidon who owned Russell & Co. Russell was a prodigy within his family.

Russell and Sturgis Company

George Russell graduated from Brown University in 1821. Russell wrote to his uncle that he wanted to practice law in New England. At the end of 1825, he stopped by Lima to meet Simon Bolivar. Moreover, Russell held a note from General Lafayette. He also witnessed the siege of Callao within the front lives of Peruvian forces. After witnessing the revolution in Peru, Russell knew he could not establish his business in the region. Russell would join his uncle, Philip Ammidon who co-partnered a company of called "Russell & Co." which was founded by Samuel Russell in Canton. Russell sailed on a ship from Lima to Manila where he saw a vast array of opportunities in the Island of Luconia. While Russell planned to leave his uncle's company, he met Samuel Russell. John Perkins Cushing, of Perkins & Co., a major shipping company pursued George Russell and eventually accepted a job offer to spearhead many of the instructions.

In 1827, Russell became one of the co-founders of the Russell and Sturgis firm. Russell along with Henry Parkman Sturgis (1806–1869) led the firm among many other firms in the Pacific region. It was based in Manila, Philippines. Russell and Sturgis Company was a shipping company that actively participated in the Canton Trade and held deals with Boston merchants. In 1828, they officially opened for business. Products like hemp and sugar were shipped under the Russell and Sturgis Company. In its early years, Russell's company focused on export activities. There is a story that Russell killed a crocodile near Jala-Jala, Philippines. Moreover, this was used to attract merchants because Russell was a fearless traveler and merchant during the Galleon trade. Russell and Sturgis would be one of the few companies to not engage in narcotics trading at this time and region.

Russell left his company in 1850. While he left his company, he did not retire from capitalist ventures as railroads became his next investments. His half-brother Jonathan Russell and colleague Edward Green would be the next successors and co-partners. Russell and Sturgis would eventually file for bankruptcy. Russell and Co would eventually absorb the firm.

References

Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Misplaced Pages's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
  1. Legarda Jr, Benito (1999). After the Galleons: Foreign Trade, Economic Change and Entrepreneurship in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines. Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison Press, 1999. p. 246.
  2. Jacques Downs, The Golden Ghetto (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1997), 190.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Legarda Jr, 248.
  5. Legarda Jr, 242.
  6. Legarda Jr, 249.
  7. Jacques Downs, "American Merchants and the China Opium Trade, 1800-1840," The Business History Review 42 (December, 1968): 439.
  8. Jacques Downs, The Golden Ghetto (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1997), 191.

Downs, Jacques M. "American Merchants and the China Opium Trade, 1800-1840." The Business History Review 42, no. 4 (1968): 418–42. https://doi.org/10.2307/3112527.

Downs, Jacques M., and Frederic D. Grant. The Golden Ghetto: The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy, 1784–1844. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x0m9x.

Griffin, Katherine H., and Peter Drummey. "Manuscripts on the American China Trade at the Massachusetts Historical Society." Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 100 (1988): 128–39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25080995.

Legarda, Benito. After the Galleons : Foreign Trade, Economic Change & Entrepreneurship in the Nineteenth Century Philippines. Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999.

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