Pre-modern Practices of A Modern Company

The Danish Asiatic Company, which sent ships to Asia for trade from 1732 to 1833, was in many ways a quite modern company.

The funds for the company came from stocks on the open market and although corruption and general swindling seemed more common than today, the company was generally driven after rational principles.

Therefore, a number of practices stand out as being pre-modern or at least in contrast to a business of the 21st century.

Roll Books of the Danish Asiatic Company

At the moment I am diving into the wonderful archive of the Danish Asiatic Company, which is preserved at the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen.

So far the most interesting part is the roll books, where the crew of seemingly all ships in service of the Company is listed. Since I am investigating the merchants, I am especially interested in the section called Negotien, meaning the traders section of the crew.