Shipping company

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A shipping company is an association of seafarers for the purpose of mutual protection, cohesion and social security for surviving dependents. With the beginning of the seafaring Hanseatic League, shipping companies were often initially founded as brotherhoods under the patronage of an eponymous saint.

Probably the oldest is the Gdańsk Skippers Guild, whose predecessor was mentioned for the first time in a document dated March 4th (Estomihi) 1386 and which was a corporation of captains , qualified seamen and probably also shipowners from Gdańsk . In 1481 it was continued as the Danzig Schiffergesellschaft.

There followed, without claiming to be exhaustive:

  • In 1401 the Schiffergesellschaft in Lübeck , initially founded as the St. Nicholas Brotherhood
  • 1416 the Riga shipping company
  • 1443 St. Ursula Brotherhood in Hamburg, from 1492 St. Anne Brotherhood, from 1522 Schiffergesellschaft
  • 1488, founded first as St. Marie brotherhood of sailors in Stralsund Schiffer Compagnie
  • 1495 the Clemens Brotherhood in Emden
  • 1545 the seafaring yard in Bremen, today the " Haus Seefahrt " foundation in Bremen
  • 1556 the Stade merchants and boatmen's brotherhood
  • 1566 the shipping company Rostock
  • 1571 the Sønderburg Skipperlaug
  • 1580 the Flensburger Schiffergelag, since 1390: St. Marien merchants' guild
  • 1595 the Schiffergesellschaft Wismar
  • 1634 the Skipperlav København
  • 1662/1732 the Sjökaptens-Societeten i Stockholm
  • 1731 the Åpenrå Skipperlav
  • 1743 the Uekermünder Seeschiffer-Compagnie
  • 1795 the Greifswalder Schiffergesellschaft
  • 1883 Göteborgs Fartygs-Befälhavare Förening
  • 1888 Marstal Skipper Forening af 1888
  • 1893 Ålands Skeppsbefälhafvare-Förening

There were also shipping companies in Stendal, Stettin, Burg auf Fehmarn, Haderleben, Husum, Kappeln and Arnis.

What many had in common was the institution of the annual Schaffermahl and the function of Aldermann as chairman.

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