Eastland Company
Encyclopedia
The Eastland Company, or North Sea Company, was an English crown-chartered company
, founded in 1579 to foster trade with Scandinavia
and Baltic Sea
states. Like the better-known Russia Company
, this was an attempt by the English to challenge the Hanseatic League
's dominance in the commerce of Eastern and Central Europe.
Its charter was dated in 1579. By the first article, the company was erected into a body politic
, under the title of the Company of Merchants of the East; to consist of Englishmen, all practicing merchants, who have trafficked through the sound
, before the year 1568, into Norway
, Sweden
, Poland
, Livonia
, Prussia
, Pomerania
, etc., and likewise Revel
, Königsberg
, Dantzic, Copenhagen
, etc., excepting Narva
, Muscovy, and its dependencies. Most of the following articles granted them the usual prerogatives of such companies, including a seal, governor, courts, laws, etc.
The privileges specific to this company, compared to other English companies of the time, were:
This charter was confirmed by Charles II
in 1661, with this addition; that no person of what quality soever, living in London, should be admitted a member unless he were free of the city.
The company's crest
featured a creature called an allocamelus
, which was either a mythical beast or may have been inspired by the first llama
s brought to Europe.
Many members of the Eastland Company were prominent English merchants in York, among them Thomas Herbert
, Charles Micklethwaite, Christopher Topham
, Matthew Topham and Percival Levett
.
Chartered company
A chartered company is an association formed by investors or shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonization.- History :...
, founded in 1579 to foster trade with Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
states. Like the better-known Russia Company
Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company , was a trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England, and became closely associated with such famous names as Henry Hudson and William Baffin...
, this was an attempt by the English to challenge the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
's dominance in the commerce of Eastern and Central Europe.
Its charter was dated in 1579. By the first article, the company was erected into a body politic
Body politic
A polity is a state or one of its subordinate civil authorities, such as a province, prefecture, county, municipality, city, or district. It is generally understood to mean a geographic area with a corresponding government. Thomas Hobbes considered bodies politic in this sense in Leviathan...
, under the title of the Company of Merchants of the East; to consist of Englishmen, all practicing merchants, who have trafficked through the sound
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
, before the year 1568, into Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, etc., and likewise Revel
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, Dantzic, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, etc., excepting Narva
Narva
Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
, Muscovy, and its dependencies. Most of the following articles granted them the usual prerogatives of such companies, including a seal, governor, courts, laws, etc.
The privileges specific to this company, compared to other English companies of the time, were:
- That none shall be admitted a member, who is already a member of another company, nor any retailRetailRetail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
dealer at all. - That no qualified merchant be admitted without paying 6 poundsPound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
13 shillingShillingThe shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s 6 pence. - That a member of another company, desiring to renounce the privileges thereof, and to be received into that of the East, shall be admitted gratisGratisGratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
, provided that he procures the same favor for a merchant of the East, willing to fill his place. - That the Merchant AdventurersCompany of Merchant AdventurersThe Company of Merchant Adventurers usually refers to theCompany of Merchant Adventurers of London, founded in 1407 and London's leading guild of overseas merchants.It may also refer to:...
who never dealt in the East, in the places expressed in the charter, may be received as members of the company on paying 40 markMark (money)Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...
s. That notwithstanding this union of the Adventurers of England with the Company of the East, each shall retain its rights and privileges. - That they shall export no cloths but what are dyed and pressed; except 100 pieces every year, which are allowed them gratis.
This charter was confirmed by Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in 1661, with this addition; that no person of what quality soever, living in London, should be admitted a member unless he were free of the city.
The company's crest
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
featured a creature called an allocamelus
Allocamelus
In heraldry, the allocamelus, or ass-camel, was the depiction of a mythical creature with the head of a donkey and body of a camel; it is the legendary representation of the llama. It was first used as a crest for the English Eastland Company, and later by the Russia Company.-References:*"". The...
, which was either a mythical beast or may have been inspired by the first llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
s brought to Europe.
Many members of the Eastland Company were prominent English merchants in York, among them Thomas Herbert
Thomas Herbert
Sir Thomas Herbert, 1st Baronet was an English traveller and historian.Herbert was born to a Yorkshire family, and said to have studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and Jesus College, Oxford....
, Charles Micklethwaite, Christopher Topham
Christopher Topham
Christopher Topham, member of Parliament for York, was the son of York merchant and Sheriff for the city of York Christopher Topham and his wife Ann, a daughter of Percival Levett, merchant of York and also formerly a Sheriff for the city of York...
, Matthew Topham and Percival Levett
Percival Levett
Percival Levett was an early merchant and innkeeper of York, England, Sheriff of the city, member of the Eastland Company and father of English explorer Capt. Christopher Levett....
.