The Swedish West India Company ( sv, Svenska Västindiska Kompaniet) was a Swedish

chartered company A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights (often exclusive rights) by royal charter (or similar instrument of government) for the purpose of trade, exploration, and/or coloniz ...

which was based in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. It was the main operator in the

Swedish slave trade The Swedish slave trade mainly occurred in the early history of Sweden when the trade of ''thralls'' (Old Norse: ''þræll'') was one of the pillars of the Norse economy. During the raids, the Vikings often captured and enslaved militarily weaker ...

during its existence. Between 1786 and 1805, the company operated from the Swedish island of Saint-Barthélemy. The company was a private enterprise with royal monopoly on all Swedish trade via Saint Barthélemy. Three quarters of profits went to the company, one quarter to the Swedish state.

Other Swedish chartered companies

The company should not be confused with the 17th-century

Swedish South Company The Swedish South Company, also known as the Company of New-Sweden (Swedish, ', '), was a trading company from Sweden founded in 1626, that supported the trade between Sweden and its colony New Sweden, in North America. The colony was envisioned ...

, also called ''New Sweden Company'', best known for establishing

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

in the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

region (or much of today's

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

), which operated between 1638 and 1655.

External links

Mémoire St Barth , History of St Barthélemy (archives & history of slavery, slave trade and their abolition)
Comité de Liaison et d'Application des Sources Historiques. {{Authority control African slave trade History of Saint Barthélemy Trading companies Chartered companies

West India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union te ...

Companies established in 1786 1786 establishments in Sweden Companies disestablished in 1805 1805 disestablishments in Sweden Political history of Sweden

Other Swedish chartered companies

See also

External links