Emden Company

Official Seal of the Royal Prussian Asian Company

The FrigateKing of Prussiabased at Emden.

TheEmden Companywas aPrussiantrading companywhich was established on 24 May 1751 to trade primarily with the city ofCantoninChina.Its full name was theRoyal 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 ofEmdenin 1744. This gave the Prussians aNorth Seaport.Frederick the Greatestablished the company hoping to give Prussia a share of the valuable Asian trade similar to theBritish East India Companyor theDutch East India Company.There was great interest in the shares and 482 shares of 500 thaler (241,000 thaler in total) were subscribed on the day of foundation. One of the major shareholders was the banking and trading house Splitgerber & Daumin Berlin. The company had a capital of 861,000 thalers in 1752, distributed over 1,722 shares.

Although the small company was very successful, never losing any of its four ships, the business was destroyed by the outbreak of theSeven Years' Warand the occupation ofEmdenby French troops in 1757 during theInvasion of Hanover.After the end of the war, Frederick dissolved the company in 1765.

See also

• Ostend Company
• Antwerp Company
• European chartered companies founded around the 17th century(in French)

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.