chartered companies
Crown-authorized trading firms
Chartered companies were corporations granted special privileges by royal or governmental charter, typically including monopoly rights over trade in specific regions.
The British East India Company and Hudson's Bay Company were prominent examples, wielding governmental powers alongside commercial operations.
The chartered companies of the 17th century functioned as arms of colonial expansion.
The form is largely historical, replaced by modern corporate structures.
- monopolyOne seller, no substitutes
- exclusive rightsProtected singular ownership claims
- imperialismExtending dominion over others
- mercantilismTrade policy favoring exports
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
colonial trade · Letters Patent · treaty negotiations · colonial outpost · colonization · private army · Americas · India · Africa · trade routes · trading post · governance · jurisdiction · Southeast Asia · Dutch · Caribbean · royal · distant shores
- colonial historycolonization, colonies, pilgrims, Jamestown, Plymouth
- imperialismempire building, colonization, imperial expansion, British Empire, colonies
- trade historycommerce, merchant, trade routes, traders, colonial economy
- colonial enterprisestrading companies, colonial governors, crown colonies, British Empire, British colonies
- corporate historyincorporation, limited liability, corporate law, mergers, acquisitions
- historical tradebarter, Silk Road, bartering, spice trade, barter system
chartered companiessole proprietorships
Businesses with single owners
local merchants · family businesses · sole proprietors · cottage industries · artisan workshops