Report 11th Mars 2011 by Hanna Hodacs
Research Contacts:
o Erik Gøbel, Riksarkivet i Köpenhamn
o Christian Konnichx, Vrije University Brussels
o Larsolof Lööf (Göteborgs Stadsmuseum, main deposit of East India trade related
material)
o Esther Phil, Tranquebar initiative, National Museet, Copenhagen
o Mikkel Venborg Pedersen (National Museum in Copenhagen)
o Fashioning the Early Modern (http://www.fashioningtheearlymodern.ac.uk)
 Marie-Louise Nosch (Director of the Danish National Research
Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research)
 Kirsten Toftegård (Head of the textile department, The Danish Museum
of Art & Design).
Assembling and reading literature:
o
Scanning articles for online use and storage?
Assembling information about sources available and sampling source material:
o Copenhagen, particularly Asiatiska Company’s archive (on-line catalogue
http://www.sa.dk/daisy)
o Gothenburg’s university site with digitalised material on the East India Company
not complete but covers wide range of material and is possible to do integrated
searches with http://www.ub.gu.se/samlingar/handskrift/ostindie/
o Nordisk Museet, Stockholm Jean Abraham Grill’s Archive
http://ostindiska.nordiskamuseet.se/
o Integrated catalogue for material relating to maritime trade in the Baltic 14501800 http://www.balticconnections.net/index.cfm?article=Home
Separate Post-doc Meetings:
o Porcelain (see report 22 March 2011 on intranet):
 Explanation for plans here:
 Using the Dutch material to create a “Mother series” for import of
porcelain.
 Do case studies comparing e.g. the import of cups, (for coffee, tea,
chocolate) with the import of tea, cacao, coffee beans)
 Compare size of sets of porcelain over time
 Compare notes of discussions on quality and quantity of
porcelain, private and company trade, logistics etc.
o
Political Economy (11 of march 2011):
 Silk – the politically most controversial of the imported goods in Sweden
(reflecting the relatively large silk producing industry)
Ongoing Research and Future Research Plans:
o
Swedish Porcelain:
 In contact with Koninchx about his statistics for the first two charters e.g.
up to 1766 (Koninchx has reconstructed 77% of the import however he
discusses “units” of porcelain without breaking it down into different
categories). Might be able to draw on unpublished work by him?
 Looking at invoices and discussions of quantity and quality in Swedish
material (large quantities of material from the second half of the 18th
century available on-line)
o
British Porcelain:
 Looking at the British material on the British porcelain trade, see
Bowens material L/AG/1/6 vol. 14-29 (Aprils visit to the BL planned)
o
Auctions/Re-export:
 Names of purchasers at the Copenhagen and Gothenburg auctions
 Copenhagen list of merchant (literature)
 Gothenburg
o From sales catalogues (1761 available on-line)
o See also auctions catalogue with notes in Copenhagen
archive (Ch. Barringtons Rejse, IV, from 20/6 1735)
 From “Göteborgs Weckotidning” (1750-1758), lists of
ships/skippers
o
Consular and diplomatic reports on Scandinavian Trade
 Public Record Office
 Consular reports: Danmark “State papers” (75 1-57), Foreign
Office (22: 1-57, 95, 97, 212.
Plans for this autumn

Gothenburg
o Öijareds säteri arkiv, Stadsarkivet (Thamska arkivet) recommended to me from
Leos Müller, on re-export and trade networks involved in East India Trade.
o Göteborgs Rådhusrätt och magistrat, on local responses to the auctions,
complaints passed on to the local members of the estate of the burghers prior to
parliaments (every three years)

Copenhagen (Riksarkivet) Asiatiska Kompagni
o Auktionsregnskaber over indk. ostindiske og kinesiske varer 1786 – 1839 (416a420h) 2051-53
o
o
o
o
o
Balancer af Asiatisk Kompagnis hovedbøger 1732 – 1841;
Hovedbøger for ekspeditioner til Kina 1782 – 1833;
Kasse- og hovedbøger fra kinaskibene 1734 – 1772;
Kasse- og hovedbøger fra kinaskibene 1734 – 1772
Europæiske breves kopibog 1773 – 1845;
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Indianske og chinesiske Breves Copie Bog 1757 – 1840;
Indkomne breve fra faktoriet i Canton 1773 – 1791;
Instructions Bog for China etc. 1777 – 1796;
Instructions Copie Bog for Capitainerne paa China No. 20 1757 – 1770;
Instructions Copie Bog for Ober- og Under-Mestre paa China. No. 23 (officielt);
Instructions Copie Bog for Præsterne paa China. No. 22 1758 – 1771;
Instructions Copie Bog for Skibs Assistenterne paa China, No. 21 1757 – 1771;
Instruktionsbog for Negotiebetjentene paa China 1796 – 1805;
Kinesiske ekspeditioners kopibog 1735 - 1762
Copenhagen (Riksarkivet) Kommerskollegiets arkiv,

Fortegnelser over ostindiske ladninger I-II, 1796-1808, previously called
Toldskrivernes lister over hjemkomne ladninger.”
c) Plans for the future study visits/conferences



Global History Conference London 14-17 of April
The Global Dimensions of European Knowledge, 1450-1700
(Location: Birkbeck, University of London, Date: 24-25 June, 2011)
Workshop Uppsala, Marie-Christine Skuncke (October 2011)
Other invitations that I declined




Swedish 18th century Studies Society, annual speaker in Göteborg (April 2011)
Stockholm Workshop (end of March) Professor Norbert Götz (March 2011)
Swedish History meeting Göteborg (April 2011)
Nordiska Historiker mötet (August 2011)

Worshop in Florence (March 2011)