ABSTRACT

John Hay was one of Britain’s leading colonial capitalists, building his career from the 1900s to the 1960s in Malaya’s plantation industry. He became the leading spokesperson for the British rubber growers, and played a major role in the formulation of international restriction schemes during the 1930s. Hay was a remarkable entrepreneurial talent, consolidating his corporate power through the premiere Malayan agency house, Guthrie & Co. This in itself challenges the notion that Britain’s myriad of ‘free-standing’ companies, which were typical of direct investment in the Empire, represented a relatively weak and unsustainable form of multinational enterprise. But Hay’s dominance of the Malayan plantation sector also questions the notion of ‘gentlemanly capitalism’ as the driving force behind the expansion and sustenance of the British imperial system. Hay’s network of colonial corporate influence did not extend into the corridors of ‘gentlemanly capitalist’ power in Whitehall and the City, where he often had frosty relations. Ultimately, it was the financial sector in London that brought about Hay’s forced resignation from Guthrie in 1963. Examining questions of class, ethnicity, personality, ideology and strategy, the article focuses on why Hay did not develop better relations with commercial, financial and official elites, issues that would also engender tensions with the post-colonial political and business leadership of Malaya/Malaysia.

摘要

约翰·海伊（John Hay）是英国主要的殖民资本家之一，他的职业生涯从1900年代到1960年代在马来亚的种植业中发展。他成为英国橡胶生产商的主要发言人，并在1930年代制定国际限制计划方面发挥了重要作用。Hay是杰出的企业家才能，他通过马来亚首屈一指的代理机构Guthrie＆Co.巩固了自己的公司实力。这本身就挑战了英国无数“独立”公司（代表着对帝国直接投资的典型代表）这一观念。相对薄弱且不可持续的跨国企业形式。但是，海伊（Hay）在马来亚种植园领域的统治地位也质疑“绅士资本主义”的概念，因为这种观念是英国帝国主义体系扩张和维持的推动力。Hay的殖民企业影响力网络并没有延伸到白厅和纽约市的“绅士资本家”权力走廊，在那儿他经常有冷淡的关系。最终，伦敦的金融部门导致了Hay于1963年从Guthrie被迫辞职。在研究阶级，种族，个性，意识形态和战略问题时，本文着眼于Hay为何未与商业，金融和官方建立更好的关系精英阶层，这些问题也可能导致与马来亚/马来西亚在后殖民时期的政治和商业领导层产生紧张关系。Hay的殖民企业影响力网络并没有延伸到白厅和纽约市的“绅士资本家”权力走廊，在那儿他经常有冷淡的关系。最终，伦敦的金融部门导致了Hay于1963年从Guthrie被迫辞职。在研究阶级，种族，个性，意识形态和战略问题时，本文着眼于Hay为何未与商业，金融和官方建立更好的关系精英阶层，这些问题也可能导致与马来亚/马来西亚在后殖民时期的政治和商业领导层产生紧张关系。Hay的殖民公司影响力网络并没有延伸到白厅和纽约市的“绅士资本家”权力走廊，在那儿他经常有冷淡的关系。最终，伦敦的金融部门导致了Hay于1963年从Guthrie被迫辞职。在研究阶级，种族，个性，意识形态和战略问题时，本文着眼于Hay为何未与商业，金融和官方建立更好的关系精英阶层，这些问题也可能导致与马来亚/马来西亚在后殖民时期的政治和商业领导层产生紧张关系。