Yale and the Pepper Trade

The roots of the American pepper trade lie with a man called Elihu Yale. Born in Boston, Yale was taken to England aged three and never returned to America. In the 1650s he went to Madras to work as a representative for the British East India Company. Times were good and Yale was able to build a sizeable fortune from trading in pepper.

Several decades later the Collegiate School in New Haven, Connecticut contacted Yale, who by then was living in Wales, and asked him to help finance a new building. Yale’s donation was substantial and as a token of gratitude the college changed its name to Yale University – perhaps in anticipation of further donations. At the time news of the name change reached Yale’s home in Wales, he was away in India on a trip from which he never returned. Though he ultimately did leave his fortune to the college, the authorities were apparently never able to get their hands on it.