Johann Jacob Schickler
Johann Jacob Schickler (born June 15, 1711 in Mulhouse , Alsace ; † February 28, 1775 in Berlin ) was a wholesale merchant and entrepreneur in Prussia and founder of the Schickler dynasty in the Berlin trading company Splitgerber & Daum .
Origin and new beginning in Berlin
Schickler came from a Basel family of churchmen and teachers. His father was the schoolmaster Johann Jacob Schickler (1685–1730), who had settled in Mulhouse and married Elisabeth Pfaff.
In 1745, the 34-year-old Schickler found a generous welcome from David Splitgerber , presumably on the basis of a recommendation , who paid him the unusually high starting salary of 500 thalers (annually). Splitgerber's partner Gottfried Adolph Daum had died two years earlier and Splitgerber has been running the trading company alone since then - also on behalf of the Daum community of heirs. In 1748, the now 65-year-old split tanner hired 19-year-old Friedrich Heinrich Berendes as a further junior employee, although he had to be content with an initial salary of 50 thalers.
After the first few years of probation, Splitgerber appointed Schickler director of the newly founded sugar refinery in Berlin in 1749 with a contractually agreed profit-sharing of a third. In 1759 Berendes received a similar contract that put him on a legal and financial level with Schickler. With these regulations, Splitgerber created the economic basis for two marriages, which he established between the two men and his daughters. In doing so, he also ensured the continued existence of the trading company for the family, because his only son seemed to have shown an aversion to the seriousness of his father's business profession at a young age. David Splitgerber jun. later became hunter master of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia , the king's brother .
Eventful years 1745–1764
In addition to the first sugar factory, there were two more in Berlin and a fourth in Bromberg. With the purchase of the sugar boiling plant in Minden, there was an almost nationwide monopoly for the Prussian lands, which Frederick II protected by prohibiting the import of foreign sugar.
Split tanners and Schickler were also involved by the king in efforts to increase foreign trade. At the express request of Frederick II, they were involved in a free trade agreement with France in 1753 and in the establishment of overseas trading companies. Schickler secured about 10% of the founding capital of the East Asian Trading Company and the Prussian-Bengali Company for the trading company, but after the ships had left no further influence on the course of events was possible. Neither the large profits from the trade with East Asia / China nor the far greater losses of the Bengali company could be influenced from Berlin. The lack of a Prussian fleet that could have provided escort and the boycott by the established maritime trade power of England resulted in an overall negative balance. Finally, the French stopped Prussian overseas trade when they occupied the home port of Emden at the beginning of the Seven Years' War .
The financial tension of the trading house had intensified during this time up to the impending bankruptcy, triggered by the European financial crisis in 1755, which arose as a result of the earthquake in Lisbon . Portuguese merchants who handled large sales of groceries went bankrupt or had financial difficulties, which affected trading partners across Europe. Splitgerber felt compelled to apply to Friedrich II in 1756 for a bridging loan of 100,000 thalers. 80,000 thalers were approved.
Compensation for the losses in the overseas and colonial goods trade brought the entrepreneurs the increasing turnover in sugar and the increase in arms sales from the leased royal rifle factory in Potsdam-Spandau in connection with the Seven Years' War . But this was also - like other production facilities - the target of looting and destruction by enemy troops. The blast furnace in Zehdenick , in which the cannonballs were cast, was out of order for a year and a half.
Ultimately, in 1757 and 1760, the trading house had to contribute a total of 200,000 thalers to the 1.7 million thalers that the Berlin merchants had to pay to Russians and Austrians, and which were only paid back by the king years later. In addition, from 1761 the king hindered the forwarding business of the trading company by having all 19 river barges confiscated in order to be able to carry out transports that were important for the war effort.
The efforts initiated by Splitgerber and his sons-in-law to expand in the civilian trading business led to the expansion of self-determined foreign trade and the establishment of their own ocean-going fleet. In the years 1745 to 1764 the trading house owned fifteen ships in sole and part ownership, although losses were also to be complained about. Seven ships were lost to pirates and accidents.
In addition, the money business gained increasing importance. The trading house's agents at all important European banking centers enabled fast and smooth payment transactions. Payments across Europe have also been made several times for the court.
Splitgerber's death
A turning point came with Splitgerber's death in 1764. According to the will, a board of three was formed to which, in addition to the two sons-in-law - Schickler and Berendes - Splitgerber's nephew, David Friedrich Splitgerber, belonged. In addition to managing the company, they were also responsible for managing the assets in the trading house for the underage heirs.
Activities outside the trading house
As early as 1756, Schickler had privately bought the building of the former Berlin branch of the Royal Mirror Manufactory in Neustadt / Dosse with the address Friedrich Werder am Wasser (later name Unterwasserstraße ) and had it repaired. Later this house became a branch of the Spiegelmanufaktur again when Schickler and his director colleague Splitgerber bought the manufactory from Samuel Krug von Nidda and operated it independently from the trading house under the company Schickler & Splitgerber on their own account.
Schickler's death and his successor
Two months before his death, Schickler was able to settle the departure of the Daum heirs with the deadline of December 31, 1779. The collegial management ended with the death of Schickler, since Berendes had already died in 1771. The nephew of the old split tanner ran the business of the trading house alone for a few years until the grandchildren had reached the age of majority. In addition, Frederick II confirmed them mercy and protection on the condition that they " ... must carefully avoid all carelessness and follies of their uncle, the hunter master Splitgerber ".
Later development
After further distribution of assets between the Splitgerber and Berendes heirs and after heirs left through death or compensation, the trading house finally came under the Schickler line in 1795. The sole owners were now the two sons of Schickler, the brothers David Schickler and Johann Ernst Schickler , who then continued the company under their own name, Gebrüder Schickler , with David Schickler taking over the management.
The banking business became more and more important and eventually led to the abandonment of the other companies. The bank (from 1795 Gebr. Schickler ) was one of the leading private banks and was involved in the brokerage of almost all large Prussian and Reich German government bonds as part of the Prussian consortium . The bank provided significant economic impetus through rail and industrial finance. In 1910 the merger to form the Delbrück, Schickler & Co.
literature
- Johann David Erdmann Preuss: Friedrich the Great , Nauck, Berlin 1832
- Wilhelm Treue : Economic and technical history of Prussia , Verlag de Gruyter, Berlin-New York, ISBN 978-3-11-009598-2
- Nadja Stulz-Herrnstadt: Berlin bourgeoisie in the 18th and 19th centuries , Verlag de Gruyter, Berlin-New York 2002, ISBN 978-3-11-016560-9
- Rolf Straubel: Merchants and manufacturing entrepreneurs , Verlag Franz Steiner 1995, ISBN 978-3-515-06714-0
- Friedrich Lenz , Otto Unholtz: The history of the banking house Gebrüder Schickler , Festschrift for the 200th anniversary, Berlin 1912 digitized by the University of Toronto
- Wolfgang Schneider, Berlin. A cultural history in pictures and documents . Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag, Leipzig / Weimar 1980
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann David Erdmann Preuss: Friedrich the Great. A life story , Verlag Nauck, Berlin 1832, p. 289
- ↑ Friedrich Lenz, Otto Unholtz, The history of the bank Brothers Schickler , S. 55, 56
- ↑ Friedrich Lenz, Otto Unholtz, The history of the bank Brothers Schickler , p 80
- ↑ Friedrich Lenz, Otto Unholtz, The History of the Schickler Brothers Bank , p. 75
- ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna 1895, Vol. 8, p. 301
- ↑ Friedrich Lenz, Otto Unholtz, The History of the Schickler Brothers Bank , p. 49
- ↑ Friedrich Lenz, Otto Unholtz, The History of the Schickler Brothers Bank , p. 70
- ↑ House numbers were only introduced in Berlin in 1799.
- ^ Rolf Straubel : Biographical manual of the Prussian administrative and judicial officials 1740–1806 / 15 . In: Historical Commission to Berlin (Ed.): Individual publications . 85. KG Saur Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-23229-9 , pp. 535 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Johann Christian Gädicke: Lexicon of Berlin and the surrounding area , Verlag Gebr. Gädecke, Berlin 1806, p. 579
- ↑ Friedrich Lenz, Otto Unholtz, The History of the Schickler Brothers Bank , Appendix p. 38
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schickler, Johann Jacob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Merchant, entrepreneur and banker in Prussia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 15, 1711 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mulhouse , Alsace |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 28, 1775 |
| Place of death | Berlin |