Trading and Consuming:
The Scandinavian East India
Companies and Europe
Hanna Hodacs
h.hodacs@warwick.ac.uk
The Danish East India Company
Dansk Østindisk
Kompagni
1616-1650
Dansk Østindisk
Kompagni
1670-1729
Asiatisk Kompagni
1730-1772 (1st charter)
Asiatisk Kompagni
1772-1807 (2nd charter)
1618-24: 11 ships
1629-1639: 7 ships
1639-1668: 0 ships
45 ships (?)
98 ships
61 AK ships to China
63 AK ships to India
121 Private ships India (85 “true
return expeditions”, 31 “direct
expeditions”, 5 Royal East India
Packet Service)
48 ships from Java
49 ships from Mauritius
4 ships from Manilla/1 from Penang
The Swedish East India Company
First Charter
1731-1746
Second Charter
1746-1766
Third Charter
1766-1786
Fourth Charter
1786-1806
3 ships to India
19 ships to China
3 ships to India (Surat)
20 ships to China
39 ships to China
33 ships to China
Characteristics of the Scandinavian
East India Companies
• Gothenburg and Copenhagen
– Peripheral Emporiums
– Supplying a Pan- European Market
• Questions addressed:
– Negotiating fashion and quality with distant producers
on behalf of distant consumers
– Auctions as events – launching goods and setting
prices
– Whole sellers – product development
Silk and Tea in the North – Scandinavian Trade and the
Market for Asian Goods in Eighteenth Century Europe
Ch. 1: The Scandinavian East India Companies
Ch. 2: Peripheral Emporiums: Retailing Asian Goods in
Copenhagen and Gothenburg
Ch. 3: The Purchaser of East Indian Goods
Ch. 4: Colours in Abundance and Bundles – the Silk Trade
Ch. 5: The Quality and Politics of Tea
Ch. 6: Conclusion
From Herrborum
Castle, Sweden
Sales Catalogue, Swedish East India Company, 1748
Colours of 18615 pieces of Poises Damask for sale between 1733 and 1753
Red, Crimson
White
Blue, Sky
Yellow, Jonquil
Black
Brown
Yellow
Green
Gray, Ash
Red, Scarlet
Blue, Dark
Red, Poppy
Pink, Rose
Pearl
Green, Dark
Blue, Turquin
Blue, Mazarine
Yellow, Lemon
Blue, Mourant
Blue, Light
Straw
Red, Cherry
Green, Light
Gray, Lead
Green, Grass
Brown, various
Blue, Middle
Red, Incarnat
Blue, Milano?
Purple
Gray
Silver
Green, Celadon
Green, Lime
Brown. Cinnamon
Straw
Gray, fleck
Blue
2500
2000
1500
Series1
1000
500
0
Colours of 18615 pieces of Poises Damask for sale between 1733 and 1753
Blue, Sky
Red, Crimson
25
20
15
%
10
5
0
1733 1742 1742 1743 1745 1748 1748 1749 1749 1751 1752 1752 1753
(603 (2556 (569 (1224 (3122 (4310 (580 (1450 (350 (400 (963 (959 (2270
pieces pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces)
in total)
Blue, Mourant
Blue, Sky
25
20
%
15
10
5
0
1733 (603 1742 1742 (569 1743
pieces in (2556
pieces)
(1224
total)
pieces)
pieces)
1745
(3122
pieces)
1748
(4310
pieces)
1748
(580
pieces)
1749
(1450
pieces)
1749
(350
pieces)
1751
(400
pieces)
1752
(963
pieces)
1752
(959
pieces)
1753
(2270
pieces)
Yellow, Lemon
Straw
5
4.5
4
3.5
%
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1733 (603 1742 (2556 1742 (569 1743 (1224 1745 (3122 1748 (4310 1748 (580 1749 (1450 1749 (350 1751 (400 1752 (963 1752 (959 1753 (2270
pieces in
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
pieces)
total)
Merchants purchasing both Silk and Tea in the 1748 sale
Merchant
Arfwedson
Bagge
Bartengren
Campbell
Christopherson
Coppinger
Grill
Hasselgren
Jacobson
Keller
Kochell & Conrady
König
Lauterback
Lundwall
Olish
Sahlgren
Smith
Young
Silk (number of lots)
25
9
2
37
11
3
25
1
57
12
10
10
5
5
15
40
1
1
Tea (number of lots)
32
9
2
132
1
60
27
17
11
2
1
3
2
2
15
164
3
2
Number of colours
25
20
15
10
5
0
year
1733 %
(603)
1742 %
(2556)
1742 %
(569)
1743 %
(1224)
1745 %
(3122)
1748 %
(4310)
1748 %
(580)
1749 %
(1450)
1749 %
(350)
1751 %
(400)
1752 %
(963)
1752 %
(959)
1753 %
(2270)
Colours of Silk fabric listed in sales catalogue Gothenburg 1748
Colours
Carmoise
Jonguil
Ponceau
Brun/Brown
Pärlfärg/Perl coloured
Himmelsblå/Sky blue
Askfärg/Ash coloured
Skarlet/Scarlet colour
Turquinblått/Blue Turguin
Blyfärg/Lead coloured
Grön/Green
Mazarine blå/Blue
Hwita/White
Citronfärg/Lemon Yellow
Coul. De Rose/Pink
Swart/Black
Price (average) per piece
31 pieces of Damask Poisies
in 16 colours (30 lots)
4
3
2
1
1
4
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
2
55.89
37 pieces/ 6 colours (1 lot)
23
2
3
2
3
4
44.75
Change over time (page 3 and 4 of hand out) of
Black and Crimson coloured silk on sale at
Swedish East India Company’s Auctions 1733 to 1751
30
25
20
%
Crimson
15
Black
10
5
0
1733
1736
1742
1743
1745
1747
1748
1749
1751
10
9
8
7
6
5
Blue, Dark
Blue, Mazarine
4
3
2
1
0
1733 % 1742 % 1742 % 1743 % 1745 % 1748 % 1748 % 1749 % 1749 % 1751 % 1752 % 1752 % 1753 %
(603)
(2556) (569) (1224) (3122) (4310) (580) (1450) (350)
(400)
(963)
(959) (2270)
25
20
15
Yellow
Yellow, Jonquil
10
5
0
1733
1742
(603
(2556
pieces in pieces)
total)
1742
(569
pieces)
1743
(1224
pieces)
1745
(3122
pieces)
1748
(4310
pieces)
1748
(580
pieces)
1749
(1450
pieces)
1749
(350
pieces)
1751
(400
pieces)
1752
(963
pieces)
1752
(959
pieces)
1753
(2270
pieces)
Johan Peter Westring,
Svenska lafvarnas färghistoria,
(The Colour history of Swedish Lichen)
1805
9857 Pieces of Silk textiles
Types
• 4996 Damask pieces
“Meuble” or “Poise”
• 3250 Taffeta pieces
4, 6, or 8 threads
• 1040 Paduasoy pieces
Standard lengths:
• 13.8-14.1 m
• 16.2-16.65 m
• 22.8-23.7 m
Width (when specified)
• 1.25 m