The General Trade Company ( da, Det almindelige Handelskompagni) was a

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish and no, dansk-norsk) was a koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1536/1537–1814). It is from this ...

trading company charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. The company existed from 1747 to 1774 and managed the

government of Greenland Naalakkersuisut ( en, Cabinet of Greenland, da, Grønlands Regering), is the chief executive body and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. An "autonomous territory" ( da, land) of the Kingdom of Denmark, ta ...

from 1749.

History

The General Trade Company was founded on 4 September 1747. Learning from the mistakes of the earlier Bergen Greenland Company and the relative success of

Jacob Severin Jacob Sørensen Severin (27 October 1691 – 21 March 1753) was a Danish merchant who held a trade monopoly on Greenland from 1733 to 1749. Biography He was born in Sæby, Denmark, to Søren Nielsen (c. 1655–1730) and his wife Birgitte Ot ...

's operation on the island, the company received a full monopoly on trade around its settlements and armed ships flying the Danebrog to prevent better-armed, lower-priced, and better-quality

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

goods from bankrupting the enterprise. It focused its operations on getting seal skins and

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...

from the native hunters for resale in Europe.Marquardt, Ole.
Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy
in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Empire?''. Verlag Ludwig (Kiel), 2006. The GTC received

Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inui ...

Godthaab Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...

; the Moravian missions

Neu-Herrnhut Old Nuuk may refer to several neighborhoods of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The Lutheran mission was originally based on Hope Island at the head of the fjord but was moved to the mainland and christened Godthaab by the royal governor Claus Paa ...

and Lichtenfels; and Severin's trading stations at

Christianshaab Qasigiannguit (), formerly Christianshåb, is a town located in western Greenland on the southeastern shore of Disko Bay in the Qeqertalik municipalities of Greenland, municipality. With 1,081 inhabitants in 2020, it is the list of cities in Green ...

, Jakobshavn, and

Frederikshaab Paamiut, formerly Frederikshåb, is a town in southwestern Greenland in the Sermersooq municipality. Geography Paamiut is located on the coast of Labrador Sea in the southern end of a small estuary called Kuannersooq ("Inlet"). History Pe ...

. The General Trade Company was granted a monopoly only within a certain radius around its settlements and therefore undertook a campaign to expand the number of trading posts along the west coastThe east coast of Greenland was inaccessible throughout this period owing to

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

s. as swiftly as it could profitably do so:

Claushavn Ilimanaq (), formerly Claushavn, is a settlement in Avannaata municipality in western Greenland. It had 53 inhabitants in 2020. The modern name of the village is Kalaallisut for "Place of Expectations". Geography Ilimanaq is located on the ...

in 1752,

Fiskenæsset Qeqertarsuatsiaat, formerly Fiskenæsset or Fiskernæs, is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland, located on an island off the shores of Labrador Sea. Its population was 169 in 2020. History Kikertarsocitsiak or ...

in 1754, Ritenbenck and

Egedesminde Aasiaat () or Ausiait, formerly Egedesminde, is a town in the Qeqertalik municipality in western Greenland, located in the heart of Aasiaat Archipelago at the southern end of Disko Bay. With a population of 3,069 as of 2020, it is Greenland's f ...

and Sukkertoppen in 1755,

Holsteinsborg Sisimiut (), formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loosely used to describe any popul ...

in 1756,

Umanak Uummannaq is a town in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763 as Omenak, t ...

in 1758,

Upernavik Upernavik (Kalaallisut: "Springtime Place") is a small town in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,092 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. It c ...

in 1771,

Godhavn Qeqertarsuaq () is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. ...

in 1773, and

Julianehaab Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a city in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town and the municipal capital in southern Greenland and the ...

in 1774. The same year as the foundation of Julianehaab, 1774, the eneral Trade Companyfolded, although for reasons unrelated to the profitability of its operations in the colony. It was replaced by the

Royal Greenland Trade Department The Royal Greenland Trading Department ( da, Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel, KGH) was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 177 ...

(''Kongelige Grønlandske Handel'', KGH), a state company which maintained control of the colony for the next century and a half.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Source
Defunct companies of Greenland Defunct companies of Denmark Former monopolies Chartered companies Danish companies established in 1747 Trading companies Companies disestablished in 1774 Danish overseas colonies Economic history of Denmark 18th century in Denmark History of Greenland 1749 establishments in Europe 1774 disestablishments in Europe Trading companies of Denmark Trading companies established in the 18th century