Danish Asiatic Company
| Company type | Trading company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Trade, Shipping |
| Founded | 1730 |
| Fate | Nationalized in 1772; dissolved in 1845 |
| Headquarters | Copenhagen , Denmark |
Area served | Danish East Indies, China, Asia |
| Products | Trade goods from Asia |
Danish Asiatic Company (in Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a trading enterprise from Denmark established in 1730 with the goal of revitalizing Danish-Norwegian commerce with the Danish East Indies and China following the dissolution of the Danish East India Company. In 1732, it secured an exclusive 40-year privilege over Danish trade in Asia and was later nationalized in 1772. The company's headquarters were located at Asiatisk Plads in Copenhagen, a site now occupied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
History
Following the closure of the Danish East India Company in 1729, prominent merchants from Copenhagen organized two distinct trading groups specializing in commerce with India and China. These entities merged on 20 April 1730 to form the Danish Asiatic Company, which commenced trade with Qing China at Canton. The company's initial voyage encountered difficulties when the ship Den gyldne Løve was lost near Ballyheigue, Ireland, along with its cargo of silver, provoking a diplomatic incident between Denmark-Norway and Great Britain. Conversely, the Cron Printz Christian successfully returned from Canton in 1732.
The company obtained a royal charter in 1732 granting it a monopoly on Danish trade east of the Cape of Good Hope for four decades. Prior to 1750, it dispatched 27 vessels, with 22 completing voyages back to Copenhagen. This exclusive trading right concluded in 1772, and by 1779 Danish India transitioned into a crown colony.
During the period of the Napoleonic Wars, British assaults on Copenhagen in 1801 and again in 1807 forced Denmark to cede the island of Heligoland to Britain. Additionally, British forces seized seven Danish merchant ships at Hoogli in January 1808 amid ongoing conflicts. Subsequently, Denmark divested its Indian mainland colonies to Britain in 1845 and relinquished control of the Danish Gold Coast in 1850.
Presidents
- (1732–1743) Christian Ludvig Scheel Plessen
- (1743–1759) Johan Sigismund Schulin
- (1759–1772) Adam Gottlob Moltke
Board of directors
Prominent members of the board included:
- 1730–1743: Frederik Holmsted
- 1732–1739: Gregorius Klauman
- 1732–1743: Hans Jørgen Soelberg
- 1738–1843: Hans Nielsen Gram
- 1740–1744: Michael Fabritius
- 1753–1755: Anthoni Raft
- 1739–1752: Olfert Fas Fischer
- 1744–1752: Joost van Hemert
- 1745–1754: Peter van Hurk
- 1753–1767: Oluf Blach
- 1760–1768: Reinhard Iselin
- 1771–1775: John Brown
- 1772–1775: Niels Ryberg, first term
- 1772–1776: Conrad Fabritius de Tengnagel, first term
- 1776-1785: Simon Hooglant
- 1780-1784: Niels Ryberg, second term
- 1784-1785: Conrad Fabritius de Tengnagel, second term
- 1783–1793: Erich Erichsen
- 1791–1805: Johan Leonhard Fix
- 1792–1811: Carsten Anker, first director
- 1819–1843: Friederich Christian Schäffer
- 1823–1836: René Pierre Francois Mourier
- 1837-1847: Vilhelm FrederikDuntzfelt
Fleet
The company maintained a fleet composed of armed merchant vessels, often constructed by Royal Danish shipyards as "handelskib, chinafarer". Noteworthy ships included:
- Cron Printz Christian (transferred from DEIC in 1732)
- Slesvig (naval acquisition in 1732)
- Kongen af Danmark (launched in 1735)
- Dronningen af Danmark (built in 1738)
- Prinsesse Louise and Prinsesse Charlotte Amalie (procured in 1738)
- Kronprinsen af Danmark (constructed in 1740, later renamed Cronprintz)
- Christiansborg Slot (built in 1742)
- Prinsesse Louise, also known as Lowisa (acquired in 1744)
- Trankebar and Dokken (purchased during early 1740s)
- Fyen (a former warship acquired in 1745)
- Various vessels constructed throughout the mid-to-late eighteenth century including:
- Kronprinsessen af Danmark, Kongen af Danmark, and Elephanten, among others.
- Significant ships such as Dronning Juliana Maria, Fredensborg Slot, and Rigernes Ønske, built between the 1750s and 1760s.
- Later additions like Dronning Caroline Mathilde, Bombardergalliot "Den Gloende" (1771), as well as several vessels named after Danish royalty during the late eighteenth century.
- Early nineteenth-century vessels including Christianshavn, Holsteen, among others.
This fleet played a crucial role in supporting the company's commercial activities, especially throughout Asian trade routes.
Further reading
- Aa. Rasch and P. P. Sveistrup: Asiatisk Kompagni i den blomstrende Periode 1772-1792. København, 1948.
- Kristof Glamann: En undersøgelse af Asiatisk Kompagnis økonomiske historie, 1732–1772.
External links
- Literature
- Ship logs
- Capitalism’s Altar – The role of Calvinist merchants within the Danish Asiatic Company during the 18th century
- Vessel information
- DAC fleet details
- Document (PDF)
- Memoirs of Theodor Emil Ludvigsen