Factor (agent)
Encyclopedia
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" (from Latin facit, to do, parallel to agent, from Latin agens), is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory (trading post)
, notably in the following contexts:
The term and its compounds are also used to render equivalent positions in other languages, such as:
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
, notably in the following contexts:
Mercantile factor
In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy, including several grades of factor, such as- Chief factor, e.g. Alexander Grant DallasAlexander Grant DallasAlexander Grant Dallas was Chief Factor of the Columbia District and New Caledonia fur districts of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1857 to 1861, then Chief Factor of Fort Garry in what was to become Manitoba from 1862 to 1864. He was later the Governor of Rupert's Land...
(1816-07-25 – 1882-01-03) was both Chief Factor of the west-of-the-RockiesRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
portion of the Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and the Governor of Rupert's LandRupert's LandRupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
.
Colonial factor
In territories without any other 'regular' authorities, especially if in need of defense, the company could mandate its factor to perform the functions of a governor, of course theoretically under authority of a higher echelon, including command of a small garrison, notably- BantamBantam (city)Bantam in Banten province near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Sunda Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of Banten River that provided a navigable passage for light craft into...
, on the Indonesian island of Java, since 1603 an English station established by East India Company; it had the following Chief factors:- 1603 - 16.. William Starkey ; in March 1609 the Station officially becomes a FactoryFactory (trading post)Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
. - 1613 - 1615 John Jourdain (1st time)
- 1615 Thomas Elkington
- 1615 - 1616 John Jourdain (2nd time)
- 1616 - 1617 George BerkleyGeorge BerkleyGeorge Berkley or Berkeley may refer to:* George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley , English nobleman* George Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley , English aristocrat...
; next it became the Presidency of Bantam, under British Agents and Presidents (each two periods) till August 1682 when it was lost to the Dutch
- 1603 - 16.. William Starkey ; in March 1609 the Station officially becomes a Factory
- 16 June 1702 - 2 March 1705 Allen Cathpoole (d. 1705), the only incumbent of the settlement on the island of Pulo Condor off the south coast of Vietnam, founded by the British East India CompanyBritish East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
(HEIC), but totally destroyed within three years.
The term and its compounds are also used to render equivalent positions in other languages, such as:
- Chief factor for the Dutch oppercommies, for instance of the Dutch West India CompanyDutch West India CompanyDutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
on the Slave CoastSlave CoastThe Slave Coast is the name of the coastal areas of present Togo, Benin and western Nigeria, a fertile region of coastal Western Africa along the Bight of Benin. In pre-colonial time it was one of the most densely populated parts of the African continent...
of West Africa. - Chief factor for the Dutch opperhoofdOpperhoofdOpperhoofd is a Dutch word which literally means 'supreme head'.The Danish equivalent Overhoved, which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch word, is also treated here....
(literally 'supreme head'; but also used for a Tribal ChiefTribal chiefA tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, as a SachemSachemA sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
of American Indians), e.g. in the Dutch factory (trading post) on Deshima (Dejima, or Latinized DecimaDecimaDecima can refer to:*Decima , a goddess in Roman mythology and one of the Parcae *Décima, a type of poetic form with roots in Spanish literature*Decima Research, a Canadian polling company*Decima gallery, a London-based arts organisation...
) Island.
See also
- Cotton factorCotton factorIn the antebellum South, most cotton planters relied on cotton factors to sell their crops for them....
- Factor (Scotland)Factor (Scotland)In Scotland a factor is a person or firm charged with superintending or managing properties and estates -- sometimes where the owner or landlord is unable to or uninterested in attending to such details personally, or in tenements in which several owners of individual flats contribute to the...
, a Scottish type of property manager - Factory (fur trade)