The Danish–Icelandic Trade Monopoly (Icelandic: ''Einokunarverslunin'') was the monopoly on trade held by

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

merchants in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries. Iceland was during this period a territory controlled by the Danish-Norwegian Crown. The origins of the monopoly may be traced to the

mercantilist Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce ...

policies of Denmark-Norway, and its aim was to support Danish merchants and Danish trade against the Hanseatic League of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, increasing the power of the King of Denmark in

. The monopoly was enacted by a set of laws passed in 1602 and lasted until 1786. Trade took place in 20 (later 25) designated trading posts, according to a fixed rate of prices determined by the king. The merchants divided the trading posts between themselves in exchange for a fixed rent. The

Westman Islands Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...

were rented at a higher price. Danish merchants were forbidden to participate in economic activities in the country other than trade until 1777. From 1602 until 1619, the trading monopoly was tied to the Danish cities of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

(now in Sweden) and

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northe ...

. From 1620, trade was limited to Copenhagen exclusively.

Sources

* Gísli Gunnarsson, ''Upp er boðið Ísaland: einokunarverslun og íslenskt samfélag 1602–1787'', Reykjavík, Örn og Örlygur, 1987. Denmark–Iceland relations Trade blocs Economic history of Denmark History of international trade 17th century in Iceland 18th century in Iceland 1602 establishments in Denmark Former monopolies Foreign trade of Denmark {{iceland-stub