The company was founded in 1851 by two young men from Fife, Scotland, Alexander Balfour and Stephen Williamson.

The company traded with South America, and had offices in Valparaiso, Chile and San Francisco.

A subsidiary was set up in Chile, the Williamson-Balfour Company, which was involved in many activities, most notably in sheep farming on Easter Island between 1897 and 1953.

[4] A later ship, the San Rafael caught fire off Cape Horn in December 1874 with the loss of 19 and 5 survivors who spent 27 days in an open boat[5] The company's archives were deposited with University College London between 1977 and 1979.

[6] Wallis Hunt, Heirs to Great Adventure, the History of Balfour Williamson & Company, Vol.