Swedish East India Company
The Swedish East India Company ("Svenska Ostindiska Companiet - SOIC") was an East India Company that dealt with trade between Sweden and India and East Asia .
The company was founded in 1626. In 1731, under the leadership of Colin Campbell and Niclas Sahlgren, a new company was formed, which was granted the exclusive privilege of the Swedish trade in India . The main business was the import of tea from the Chinese Empire . In the first few years the trips were very profitable; but no longer at the end of the 18th century. A total of 132 trips were made with 37 different ships. On May 29, 1813, the company was finally dissolved.
One of the active personalities in the SOIC was the Arfwedson family. Through marriage there was a relationship with the Ström family, which in turn was related to the Sahlgren family, one of the founders of the SOIC. Anders Arfwedson was supercargo in the SOIC in Canton from 1770 to 1777 . From 1786–1806 he became director of the SOIC. Anders Arfwedson's brother, Jacob Arfwedson, also worked for SOIC. He worked as a supercargo on several trips, including a. 1773–74 and 1776–77 on the East Indiaman Finland and 1778–1779 on the Terra Nova .
Meanwhile, the eldest brother Carl Christopher Arfwedson ran the trading company Tottie & Arfwedson , one of the largest trading companies in Sweden. He was also director of the West India Company (Svenska Västindiska Companiet) from 1787 to 1805 and auditor at the SOIC under the 5th Charter. His son Carl Abraham Arfwedson (1774–1861) became a partner of Tottie & Arfwedsson in 1802 and director of SOIC from 1806 to 1813.
literature
- Christian Koninckx: Marginal but profitable foodstuffs. Drugs and spices. Swedish East-Indian trade in the eighteenth century . In: Klaus Friedland (Ed.): Maritime Food Transport . Böhlau, Köln et al. 1994, ISBN 3-412-09893-0 , pp. 465-482 ( sources and representations on Hanseatic history NF 40).
- Christian Koninckx: The First and Second Charters of the Swedish East India company, (1731-1766). A Contribution to the Maritime, Economic and Social History of North-Western Europe in its relationships with the Far East . van Ghemmert, Kortrijk 1980.
- Eskil Olán: Ostindiska Compagniets Saga. Histories of Sverige's marvelous trade fair . 2nd Edition. Wettergren & Kerber, Gothenburg 1923.
- Johan Fredrik Nyström: De Svenska ostindiska Kompanierna. Historisk-statistisk Framställning . sn, Gothenburg 1883.
- Holger Rosman and Arne Munthe: Släkten Arfwedson: pictures ur Stockholms Handelshistoria under tre århundraden. Norstedt, Stockholm 1945