Joseph Bastiani
Joseph Pierre Bastiani(1843 — 25 November 1924) was a pioneer of the pineapple trade in Singapore, as well as the founder of a cannery on the island.[1]
Early life
[edit]Bastiani was born inCorsica.He left Corsica at the age of 16 and spent the next few years employed at vineyards inBordeaux,Burgundyand theLoire Valley.[2]He enlisted in the French Army during theFranco-Prussian Warand was awarded a gold medal for his service.[3]
Career
[edit]After the war, he began working forMessageries Maritimesas a sailor.[3]During his time as a sailor, he met writerJoseph Conrad,who recommended that he move to Singapore. He left the company and moved to Singapore in 1874, where he and his brother established a pineapple cannery.[2]In 1880, he exhibited four of his products at theMelbourne International Exhibition.In 1882, he and his brother began selling imported products in their shops onHigh Street.[4]They soon began branching out into confectionaries and cakes, as well as the import of construction materials. In 1892, Bastiani handed ownership of the business over to his brother-in-law Joseph Cardella and retired toNice,where he established a canned fruit factory.[2]
Cardella did not manage the business well and sold off some of the cannery's canning machines to a rival company, which began manufacturing boxes with Bastiani's stickers. Bastiani then returned to Singapore to retake ownership of the company. However, he sold his pineapple cannery in Summer 1900, and his entire business in 1902, after which he returned to Nice.[2]
Personal life and death
[edit]Bastiani was married and had two sons.[3]
He died in Nice on 25 November 1924.[3]
References
[edit]- ^Makepeace, Walter; Brooke, Gilbert Edward; John Braddell, Roland St (1921).One Hundred Years of Singapore: Being Some Account of the Capital of the Straits Settlements from Its Foundation by Sir Stamford Raffles on the 6th February 1819 to the 6th February 1919.p. 187.
- ^abcdPilon, Maxime; Weiler, Danièle (2011).The French in Singapore: An Illustrated History, 1819-today.pp. 86–88.ISBN9789814260442.
- ^abcd"DEATH OF MR. J. BASTIANI".The Straits Times.Singapore. 5 January 1925.Retrieved11 April2023.
- ^Pwee, Timothy (1 July 2015)."The French Can: Pineapples, Sardines and the Gallic Connection".BiblioAsia.Singapore:National Library Board.Retrieved11 April2023.