Laivojen tuomaa lakia : Ruotsin ensimmäiset kauppakomppaniat 1600-luvulla

Shipping Legal Norms - Swedish Trading Companies in the Seventeenth century The doctoral dissertation examines the earliest Swedish Trading Companies and their administrative practices during the seventeenth century. The study focuses on two main company types: Copper Companies and Tar Companies, which represent two different and comparative entities. The objective is to understand the development of the trading companies in their political and legal context. The Copper Companies were Sweden’s first experiment of companies with limited liability, and they were based on foreign models (legal transplants). Furthermore, they characterize a new kind of global trade and monetary economy. The Tar Company, founded in 1648, arose from different kinds of needs. At that time Sweden was rising to become a great power in the Baltic Sea region in part because of its economic policies. The study’s methodological approach is based on analyzing the Swedish companies’ position in relation to the formation of organizations and institutions as a part of Swedish state formation. As government control was strict in a mercantilist society, trading companies were required to have privileges even though they were led by individual merchants. The Swedish Crown as well as local and foreign merchants were all looking out for their own interests in the companies. The study compares the Swedish companies with company models adopted elsewhere in Europe. Moreover, it also compares the privileges of Swedish Copper and Tar Companies with each other. Company privileges are linked to the social development of the Swedish state as well. The study reveals that the administrative and judicial environment in early seventeenth century Sweden was not yet prepared to adopt a Western European legal transplant permanently. Nevertheless, temporarily, Sweden was on the crest of a wave in adopting such legal innovations. The trading companies introduced significant reforms to Sweden, and shaped the model of the Collegium of Commerce, for instance. Later the foreign influence regarding the Tar Companies had nearly vanished from the 1640’s onwards, mainly because of the rulers’ attempt to achieve a more monarchical position. The research results correct the former view according to which the Tar Companies were closed down and then founded again only due to economic reasons. In fact, the privileges granted by the Crown were crucial in the development of the trading companies. Company privileges were always connected to the person of the ruler. Regency governments could not grant company privileges. In addition, I claim that foreign merchants offered their models to circumvent the strict Swedish alien policy. In the end, foreign models were also essential for Sweden to manage in the rapidly changing field of international commerce. The first Swedish trading companies were organizations aimed at controlling risks and minimizing the instability of the export trade. The study shows that legal change arose from practical needs such as the reactions of local traders. However, these legal transplants, being adopted into different legal circumstances, could not have continuity. Trading companies represent the first economic entities in Sweden, which had to be based on anonymous shares in order to succeed in the new global markets.

Grantor dc:publisher

Helsingin yliopisto

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Tikka, Katja

• oikeushistoria

Statement dc:rights

• Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
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Language dc:language.iso

fin

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10138/318461

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:helda.helsinki.fi:10138/318461