Louisa Catharina Harkort (1718–1795), was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large ...

. She founded the

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

and export company ''Wittib Harkort'', and became known as ''Die Märckerin''. Harkort married landowner Johann Caspar Harkort III (1716-1760) in 1748. She took over his estate as a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

. Between 1775-80, Harkort founded five iron works and became a major iron trader, exporting to Russia and along the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

. The princess Abbess of Essen was one of her most important

business partner A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...

s. She played an important role in the industrialization of the Ruhr area.

References

* Christiane Maibach: Louisa Catharina Harkort (1718–1795). Lebenswelt und Handlungsspielraum einer Unternehmerin im späten 18. Jahrhundert. unveröffentlichte Magisterarbeit, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, o. J. 18th-century German businesswomen 1718 births 1795 deaths German ironmasters {{Germany-business-bio-stub