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INTRODUCTION.
911
now was cut short that during long centuries had emanated from Sweden all
over the East of Europe, and the barbarism of the extreme East at once advanced
to our closest proximity. Visby, moreover, in 1361 experienced the predatory
expeditions of the Danish King Valdemar Atterdag, and after another century the
old grandeur of the town was completely at an end. -
In Sweden proper the commerce during the Middle Ages lay in the hands
of the Germans. In 1251, Sweden and Lübeck made a treaty about mutual
native rights and liberty of trade, by which Sweden, as the incomparably inferior
party, did not profit at all but Lubeck so much the more. During nearly three
centuries our foreign trade was now in the power of the Hanseatie League, and
it was King Gustavus Vasa (1523/60) who broke these fetters that had prevented
all possibility of higher opulence in our country.
When Gustavus Vasa took upon himself the care of the Swedish people,
Swedish commerce was almost confined, to the Baltic. Further than that scarcely a
Swedish vessel sailed. The principal desire of the King was to increase the
shipping, and he succeeded so far that the Swedes commenced to sail also to the
Netherlands, England, and France, nay, even to Spain and Portugal — instead of
fetching their commodities in Lubeck as they had done before. Besides, Gustavus
Vasa tried, one might say by fair means and foul, to educate his Swedes to merchants.
King Charles IK (1599/1611) accomplished the division of our towns into
staple towns and inland towns, of which only the former had to carry on the
foreign trade. Among these Stockholm ought to be the chief port of Sweden on the
Baltic and Gothenburg on the Atlantic. To his general opinion Charles IX was
rather a »free-trader» — in this, as in so many other respects, before his time.
Gustavus Adolphus (1611/32) did extremely much for the improvement of
Swedish commerce, and his great chancellor Axel Oxenstierna likewise. »The
welfare of the country depends upon the commerce and shipping» was an expression
often heard from Gustavus Adolphus. Agreeable to this, the towns became according
to tbe ideas of that time objects of special care. One of the King’s principles
was that the country would be more benefitted by some few considerable
staple-towns than by several inconsiderable ones, on account of which he reduced their
number. He thus endeavoured, with the means of his time, that concentration of
our commerce which still to day stands as a desideratum.
Also in other directions a rallying of energy was attempted, and it is from
this time that the company system, so important in our days, dates its birth.
In these uncertain times, poor in capital, new and large business enterprises could
not be effected without support, on account of which one tried to bring them
about by means of privileges and Government subventions. Thus the large
companies often got a monopoly of the commerce with certain wares or with certain
countries. In 1619, the Copper company was established, which obtained the
monopoly of purchase and export of all the Swedish copper. After ten years’
existence it had to be dissolved though. A new copper company was formed in
1636, but was dissolved two years later, after which the copper commerce became
free. Of far greater importance was the so-called South company, which was
privileged in 1626 on the proposition of the Dutchman W. Usselincx, with the
purpose of carrying on trade in Asia, Africa, America, and Australia, and which
thus monopolized all shipping with the trans-oceanic countries. Unfavourable
conditions, however, prevented the company to fully realize its great schemes.
Of other trading companies, we will only mention the Tar trading companies,
which from 1648 to 1715 had exclusive right to purchase tar in Norrland and
Finland to a price fixed in the license, and to export the goods.
The direct part which the State thus took in the business life is rather remote
from the ideas of our time. An unmistakable cause to this existed however, namely
in the fact of most of the taxes being in those days received in the shape of
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