GODEFFROY AND CO. 231 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



GODEFFROY AND CO., THE SOUTH SEA KINGS. 



THE firm of Godeffroy of Hamburg has been in existence for 

 about a century. Until about 1857 they maintained a fleet of 

 vessels, many of which traded in the Indian Sea, under the 

 direction of an agent established at Cochin, while others made 

 regular voyages to the Spanish main, Valparaiso being their 

 rendezvous. At Cochin they maintained a large cocoa-nut oil- 

 pressing establishment. At Valparaiso their captains took 

 instructions from a general agent, whose subordinates resided 

 at Coquimbo, Valdivia, Takuano, Guayaquil, San Jos6 de Gua- 

 temala, and elsewhere. Their trade was chiefly in saltpetre, 

 copper, and cochineal. 



At this time it was usual for Tahitian traders to dispose of 

 their produce at Valparaiso, and to return to the Society 

 Islands with cargoes of flour for the use of the French garrison. 

 The attention of Mr. Anselm, the local agent of Messrs. Gode- 

 ffroy, was attracted to their operations, and he decided on 

 visiting the islands. When there, he at once saw the great 

 profits made by Messrs. Hort Brothers and Mr. John Brander, 

 both in cocoa-nut oil and pearl-shell, and he established an 

 agency in the Tuamotu Group. Messrs. Hort and Brander had 

 separately branch establishments in the Samoan Archipelago, 

 which they used as an intermediate station between Tahiti and 

 Sydney. Anselm, following their example, removed there, 

 and, under instructions from his principals in Hamburg, made 

 it the headquarters of their operations in the Pacific. Mr. 

 Anselm was lost at sea, but the establishment he founded 

 flourished and soon assumed large proportions. To' use Mr. 



