Swedish West India Company

The West India Company was founded on October 31, 1786, on the proposal of Swedish Secretary of State John Liljencrantz.

The profits from the trade were divided, with the King receiving one-quarter and the West India Company three-quarters.

The island of St. Barthélemy was for a time a hub for the slave trade, only a small proportion of which were transported on Swedish ships.

Shipping began to decline in 1794, prompting the West India Company to request financial assistance from the state.

The patent was finally revoked in 1805, with duties and other revenues going directly to the government, signaling that the West India Company's golden period of free trade had passed.

Depiction of the classical model of triangular trade .
Map of Gustavia in St. Barthélemy , c. 1796