The Venice Company was an
English chartered trading company established in 1583 to monopolise on trade in and around the
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
in the
Mediterranean Sea.
In 1592, the Venice Company merged with the
Turkey Company
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
to form the renowned
Levant Company
The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired ...
, which went on to regulate English and Ottoman trade for the following few centuries until its decline and dissolution in 1825.
Origins and inception
The Venice Company was chartered as a trading company in 1583 by Thomas Cordell, William Garway and Edward Holmden for an initial period of seven years. Its mandate was to exchange English-made goods, usually woollen fabrics, for eastern commodities, especially spices, currants for wine, and silk cloth. Some of the company’s leading members were Paul Bayning, father of
Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning, Thomas Cordell, an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...
and a member of the Mercers’ Company,
Edward Holmden and William Garway. The latter two had vast experience in
Moroccan commerce, while the others had all been active in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
commerce.
Merger
In 1592, upon the expiration of both the charters of the Turkey and Venice Companies,
Queen Elizabeth I approved a charter to merge both companies into the
Levant Company
The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired ...
, as she was anxious to maintain trade and political alliances with the
Ottoman Empire. Both Cordell and Bayning transferred to the Levant Company upon its formation.
[ Kenneth R. Andrews (1964), Elizabethan Privateering 1583-1603, Cambridge University Press]
See also
*
Chartered companies
A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights (often exclusive rights) by royal charter (or similar instrument of government) for the purpose of trade, exploration, and/or coloniza ...
Notes
{{Chartered companies
Chartered companies
Trading companies of England
Trading companies established in the 16th century
Defunct companies of the United Kingdom
Elizabethan era
Levant Company