Emden Company
The Emden Company was a Prussian trading company which was established in 1752 to trade primarily with the city of Canton in China. Its full name was the Royal Prussian Asiatic Company in Emden to Canton and China (Königlich Preußische Asiatische Compagnie in Emden nach Canton und China), but it was generally known by the shorter name. The Company was made possible by the Prussian annexation of the port of Emden in 1744. This gave the Prussians a North Sea port. Frederick the Great established the company hoping to give Prussia a share of the valuable Asian trade similar to the British East India Company or the Dutch East India Company.
Although the small company was very successful, never losing any of its four ships, the business was destroyed by the outbreak of the Seven Years' War and the occupation of Emden by French troops in 1757 during the Invasion of Hanover.[1]
See also
- Ostend Company
- Antwerp Company
References
Bibliography
Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008.
Suebsman, Daniel. 'Chinese porcelain shipped by the Royal Prussian Asian Company of Emden. 1753-1756', in: Have a Cup of Tea! Chinese Porcelain and Tea in North-West Germany, Ostfriesisches Landesmuseum Emden, 2015.