Thomas Phillips was surely one of the first Englishmen who arrived to do business in México following the declaration of independence from Spain. At the time he first set foot in the port of Vera Cruz in 1820, there was still cannon fire from Spaniards who had remained at the ancient fort of San Juan de Ulúa, an island off the coast of Vera Cruz. The existing conditions were scarcely promising, yet somehow enticing for foreigners. He came to México representing Roskell & Son of Liverpool, with the intention of selling clocks and jewelry, and probably not expecting, as the story goes, to be met by a cannon ball as he came down the steps of the Customs House.

Since the conquest of México by Hernán Cortés and his band of soldiers and priests three hundred years before, Spain had zealously and jealously guarded against any foreign influence or intrusion. To the outside world, México was known only as a Spanish colony capable of providing the insatiable Spanish Crown with seemingly unlimited quantities of gold and silver. In 1648, the Dominican priest Thomas Gage, after traveling extensively in México and Central America, returned to England and published a book that contained more information about the Spanish Indies than had previously existed in a foreign language. This book, and many others in the centuries that followed, aroused enormous interest in these unexplored, almost legendary, regions.

Thomas Phillips first made contact with the British firm of Exter & Geaves, of which his descendants were later to become partners, and which was founded in 1824 with offices in London, Buenos Aires, México City and Veracruz. In 1829, Richard Exter retired from the firm, which then became McCalmont, Geaves & Co. In 1855 the McCalmont brothers retired, and the name was changed again, to Graham, Geaves & Company.1867 saw Robert Brown Watson enter the partnership, to make it Graham, Watson& Company. In 1873, Charles Octavious Phillips, son of Thomas Phillips, was made a partner, and the name became Graham, Phillips & Company. In 1893, after the offices had been moved from Veracruz to México City, Thomas Rupert Phillips, son of C.O. Phillips became a partner of Watson Phillips & Company, the name which has survived to this day. Following the death of T.R. Phillips in 1936, his son Charles H.E. Phillips became Managing Partner. C.H.E. Phillips, having no descendants of his own, invited his sister Helen´s son, D. Kenneth Morgan into the firm, and in 1972 he became Chairman of the Board with Robert D. Young as Managing Director. A new line of succession was started at this time, as Robert Young´s son Clyde Louis was appointed Managing Director in 1990.

IMPORTING AND EXPORTING

The principal business of the Company until 1890 was the import of textile goods and hardware from Manchester, as well as mercury. Although available locally, mercury was imported on a large scale for the old "Patio" silver refining process. In turn, the firm exported Mexican silver Dollars, bullion and cochineal, the insect dye that was much sought after in Europe. While the volume and variety of imports continued to grow steadily during the first half of the twentieth century, exports declined. Watson Phillips introduced several world-class companies to México: Phillips Lamps of Holland for whom radios were assembled and marketed with success that Phillips set up their own business in this country, as did Hercules Powder Co. of the United States, after Watson Phillips so successfully introduced their products. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, Watson Phillips began importing Phillips bicycles, which became known as the finest such machines in the country. Local assembly was carried on for many years, until the parent company set up its own manufacturing facilities in México.

Wines and spirits were imported in bulked and bottled in the Company´s warehouses. The story is told of a personal consignment to T.R. Phillips who, while decanting a barrel of whisky in his basement, was distracted when he was called away and allowed the contest to drain away into the sewers of the city. He was apoplectic, but this line of business prospered until representations of Williams & Humbert of Jerez, Spain and Arthur Bell & Co. of Scotland were relinquished in the 1970s.

BANKING AND INSURANCE

From about 1850 until the early 1930s, the firm represented a number of British banks, including Coutts & Co, and the London & Westminster Bank, Drummond & Co., The Bank of Australasia, and others. It also acted for the House Of Rothschild after their direct representative, Nathaniel Davidson, left the country in 1864 with the fall of Maximilian.

One of the principal activities of the firm from 1892 to 1936 was insurance, with representations of several English, American, French and Japanese companies. The company still has what is reputedly the first policy issued in México, signed by C.O. Phillips on March 1st, 1873, as Agent for the London & Lancashire. In 1905 Watson Phillips was named Lloyd´s Agent for México, an appointment which was not relinquished until 1978, when México´s Consumer Protection Act exposed the trading company to unfounded claims which it was not prepared to continue defending.

MORE RECENTLY

In the last quarter century, Watson Phillips departed from its tradition as manufacturers´ representative and embarked upon manufacturing activities. A licensing agreement was signed with Smith + Nephew of the U.K. to manufacture Gypsona plaster of Paris bandages. This venture grew successfully until, in 1996, Smith + Nephew bought back the manufacturing facility and set up their own company in México. At the end of the millennium Watson Phillips has returned to its roots, and is almost exclusively an importer of industrial chemicals and construction hardware.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The history of the firm is closely linked with that of México and of the British Colony in México. References are made in company correspondence to such historical figures as Iturbide, Santa Ana, Hidalgo, Morelos, Maximiliano, Juárez and Díaz. The annexation of Texas is commented upon, and the state of the country during various uprisings, directly affects the progress of mining and other business in the interior, and interferes with the passage of "conductas" (mule trains) bearing minerals and bullion to the coast for export. The first British civic institution founded on Mexican soil was the Tlaxpana Cemetery. This was of the greatest urgency, as the existing Spanish cemeteries were without exception Roman Catholic, which barred Protestant burial. This cemetery was opened in 1824, with a land grant from the Mexican government in recognition of "the orderly and law-abiding conduct of the British subjects who had come to this country".

During the years between 1877 and 1911 known as the "Porfiriato" after México´s powerful leader Porfirio Díaz, there was a veritable explosion in México´s industrial and commercial development. President Díaz ruled with an iron fist and is a highly conflictive personage to this day. It cannot be denied, however, that under his dictatorship the country entered an era of enormous economic expansion, in which Watson Phillips participated. Díaz had great admiration for the British manner of conducting business, and formed a special friendship with the great construction engineer, Weetman Pearson (later to become Lord Cowdray), whom he held in the highest regard for his formality in business dealings, his punctuality in the completion of the many projects he undertook in México, and humane attitude toward his workers.

Physically, México City benefited greatly during this period. Statistics show that in 1892 the city boasted 950 streets and fifteen "plazas"; by 1905 there were 1,300 streets and no less than sixty-nine "plazas". Not until the 1920s were automobiles seen with frequency. Such areas as Tacubaya, San Angel, and Tlalpan which today are fully integrated into a city of 20 million, were villages separated from the city by large stretches of empty land which had to be crossed on horseback or carriage. The two volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, were visible from every point in the valley, soaring high above the city. México City, by the end of the nineteenth century had a population of 360, 000.

A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IN MEXICAN HISTORY

As early as 1828, there was a British Circulating Library, whose books were placed in the hands of a committee in 1867 and housed at the residence of C.O. Phillips, and which survive today in the care of the Anglo- Mexican Cultural Institute.

A room in the Phillips home was placed at the disposal of the British community to meet for cultural purposes; this lead to the formation of the British Club, which existed from 1899 to 1970. C.O. Phillips was also Treasurer of the fund for the building of Christ Church, while T.R. Phillips was founding secretary of the Reforma Athletic Club, which introduced tennis and soccer to México.

Following in the tradition of social involvement Charles H.E. Phillips served as President of the Reforma Athletic Club, the British Club, as well as the Association of Mexican Insurance Companies and was influential in securing the impressive financial support of the British community in the campaign to save the American British Cowdray Hospital in the 1960´s. Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II honored him with an OBE for his service in México.

With one hundred and seventy seven years of experience behind it, Watson Phillips y Compañía y Sucs., S.A. de C.V. together in México, look forward to the challenges and the opportunities of its third century and a new millennium.