Creating Global Shipping: Aristotle Onassis, the Vagliano Brothers, and the Business of Shipping, c.1820–1970

402 Pages·2019·6.524 MB·English

by  Gelina Harlaftis

CREATING GLOBAL SHIPPING
Shipping has been the international business par excellence in many
nationaleconomies,onethatprecededtrendsinother,morehighlyvisible
sectorsofinternationaleconomicactivity.Nevertheless,inbothbusiness
andeconomichistory,shippinghasremainedrelativelyoverlooked.That
gap is filled by this exploration of the evolution of European shipping
through the study of two Greek shipping firms. They provide a prime
example of the regional European maritime businesses that evolved to
serveEurope’sinternationaltradeand,eventually,theglobaleconomy.By
theendofthetwentiethcentury,Greeksownedmoreshipsthananyother
nationality.ThestoryoftheVaglianobrotherstracesthetransformation
ofGreekshippingfromlocalshippingandtradingtointernationalship-
ping and ship management, while the case of Aristotle Onassis reveals
howinternationalshippingwastransformedintoaglobalbusiness.
  is the director of the Institute for Mediterranean
StudiesoftheFoundationofResearchandTechnology–Hellas(FORTH)
inCrete,andisaprofessorofmaritimehistoryattheUniversityofCrete.
ShewaspresidentoftheInternationalMaritimeEconomicHistoryAsso-
ciation, visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University, and an
Alfred D. Chandler Jr. International Visiting Scholar at the Harvard
Business School. She has published many books, including The World’s
Key Industry: History and Economics of International Shipping, acollec-
tioncoeditedwithStigTenoldandJésusM.Valdaliso.
CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN THE EMERGENCE
OF GLOBAL ENTERPRISE
Theworldeconomyhasexperiencedaseriesofglobalizationsinthepast
two centuries, and each has been accompanied and shaped by business
enterprises,theirnationalpoliticalcontexts,andnewsetsofinternational
institutions. Cambridge Studies in the Emergence of Global Enterprise
focusesonthosebusinessfirmsthathavegiventheglobaleconomymany
of its most salient characteristics, particularly regarding how they have
fosterednewtechnology,newcorporatecultures,newnetworksofcom-
munication, and new strategies and structures designed to meet global
competition.Allthewhile,theyhaveaccommodatedchangesinnational
and international regulations, environmental standards, and cultural
norms.Thisisahistorythatneedstobeunderstoodbecauseweallhave
astakeintheperformanceandproblemsofglobalenterprise.
Editors
LouisGalambos,TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity
GeoffreyJones,HarvardBusinessSchool
OtherBooksintheSeries
TeresadaSilvaLopes,GlobalBrands:TheEvolutionofMultinationalsin
AlcoholicBeverages
ChristofDejungandNielsP.Petersson,TheFoundationsofWorldwide
EconomicIntegration:Power,Institutions,andGlobalMarkets,1850–1930
WilliamJ.Hausman,GlobalElectrification:MultinationalEnterpriseand
InternationalFinanceintheHistoryofLightandPower,1878–2007
ChristopherKobrak,BankingonGlobalMarkets:DeutscheBankandthe
UnitedStates,1870tothePresent
ChristopherKobrak,NationalCulturesandInternationalCompetition:
TheExperienceofScheringAC,1851–1950
ChristopherD.McKenna,TheWorld’sNewestProfession:Management
ConsultingintheTwentiethCentury
JohannPeterMurmann,KnowledgeandCompetitiveAdvantage:The
CoevolutionofFirms,Technology,andNationalInstitutions
NeilRollings,BritishBusinessintheFormativeYearsofEuropean
Integration,1945–1973
AndrewL.Russell,OpenStandardsandtheDigitalAge:History,Ideology,
andNetworks
JonathanSilberstein-Loeb,TheInternationalDistributionofNews:The
AssociatedPress,PressAssociation,andReuters,1848–1947
CREATING
GLOBAL SHIPPING
Aristotle Onassis, the Vagliano Brothers, and the
–
Business of Shipping, c.1820 1970
GELINA HARLAFTIS
IMS-FORTHandUniversityofCrete
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108475396
DOI:10.1017/9781108573009
©GelinaHarlaftis2019
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
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Firstpublished2019
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyTJInternationalLtd.Padstow,Cornwall
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Harlaftis,Gelina,1958-author.
Title:Creatingglobalshipping:AristotleOnassis,theVaglianoBrothers,andthebusinessof
shipping,c.1820-1970/GelinaHarlaftis,IMS-FORTHandUniversityofCrete.
Description:Cambridge,UnitedKingdom;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,2018.|
Series:Cambridgestudiesintheemergenceofglobalenterprise|Includesbibliographical
referencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2018048302|ISBN9781108475396(hardback:alk.paper)|
ISBN9781108466783(pbk.:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Shipping–Europe–History.|Shipping–Greece–History.|Onassis,Aristotle
Socrates,1906-1975.|Vagliano,Marinos,1804-
Classification:LCCHE821.H362018|DDC387.5/4409409034–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2018048302
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For Chrysiida andNiko

CONTENTS
Listof Figures viii
Listof Maps xi
Listof Tables xii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xviii
Listof Abbreviations xxiv
Introduction 1
1 The Europeanand Greek ShippingFirm 14
2 The Vagliano Shipmasters: Creating a Business Empire,
1820s–1850s 42
3 AnInternational Trading House from Russiato the United
Kingdom, 1850s–1880s 68
4 The RussianGovernment v. Mari Vagliano, 1881–1887 100
5 The Vagliano Fleet and Innovation inShip Management 122
6 Merchant toShipowner: Aristotle Onassisfrom Buenos Airesto
London and New York, 1923–1946 147
7 The OnassisFleet, 1946–1975 172
8 The United States Government v. Aristotle Onassis,
1951–1958 205
9 Innovation inGlobal Shipping:The Onassis Business,
1946–1975 231
10 DiachronicPresence:An Epilogue 263
Select Bibliography 294
Appendices 317
Index of Names 359
Index of Places 364
Index of Terms 368
vii
FIGURES
1.1 TheevolutionoftheEuropeanshippingfirm 23
2.1 RussianBlackSeagrainexports(inthousandsofFrenchfrancs)andship
departures(intons)fromRussianBlackSeaports,1831–1914 49
2.2 Freightrates(inshillingsperton)fromOdessatoLondon,1835–1860 55
3.1 Mari(Marino)Vagliano(1804–1896) 69
3.2 PanagiVagliano(1814–1902) 71
3.3 AndreaVagliano(1827–1887) 72
3.4 EuphrosyneVagliano(1837–1908),daughterofGeorgeMela,wifeofAndrea
Vagliano 73
3.5 VaglianoBros.transactionsattheBankofEngland,1858–1887(aggregatevalue
inpoundssterling) 91
3.6 ComparisonofVaglianoBros.,Schröder,andRothschildtransactions,
1858–1887(inpoundssterling) 92
3.7 OrganizationoftheVaglianoBros.office,London 94
4.1 TheimpactoftheTaganrogCustomstrialonTaganrog’sexports(inthousands
ofFrenchfrancs) 119
5.1 ThefleetoftheVaglianoBros.,1830–1900(netregisteredtons) 124
5.2 Timelypurchasesofsailingships(freightratesfromOdessatoEngland/
northernEurope,shillingsperton) 127
5.3 ThebrigKeramies,206nrt,builtin1869onSyros,ownedbyAndreaVagliano,
registeredinCephalonia 128
5.4 SteamshipSpyridonVagliano,1,111nrt,1,708dwt,builtatBartramshipyards
fortheVaglianosin1883,registeredinCephalonia 129
5.5 FreightrateindexandtimelypurchasesandsalesofsteamshipsbyPanagi
Vagliano 130
5.6 RegistrationoftheVaglianosteamships 130
5.7 BasilVagliano(sonofMetaxas)workedintheConstantinopleofficeuntilthe
mid-1890s.HethenmovedtoLondon,whereheworkedwithPanagiVagliano,
eventuallybecominghisright-handman 141
5.8 AthanasseS.VaglianoworkedinNovorossiysk.AfterthedeathofPanagihe
continuedhisactivitiesinshipowninguntilhesettledwithhisyoungwifein
Coted’Azur,around1920 141
6.1 TheOnassis-Konialidisfamilybusiness,BuenosAires,1929 152
viii