Swedish East India Company
The Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with India, China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company. This made Gothenburg a European Centre of trade in eastern products. The main goods were black pepper, spices, silk, tea, furniture, porcelain, precious stones and other distinctive luxury items. Trade with India and China saw the arrival of some new customs in Sweden. The cultural influence increased, and tea, rice, arrack and new root vegetables started appearing in Swedish homes.
The small seal of the SOIC during the last octroi (government charter)
The East India House at Norra Hamngatan in Gothenburg, Sweden, built by Det svenske Ostindiska kompaniet in 1750. The inscription on the frieze states: "This Building was erected in the year of 1750 by the East India Comp. The Gothenburg museum remodeled it for its collections in the year of 1895".
Porcelain sugar bowl made in China c. 1770–90, imported by the SOIC, City Museum of Gothenburg
Colin Campbell (1686–1757), co-founder and director of the SOIC
Gothenburg is the capital of Västra Götaland County in Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. It is situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, with a population of approximately 600,000 in the city proper and about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.
View from Älvsborg Bridge
Panoramic view of Gothenburg's downtown coast line
Satellite picture of Gothenburg
A panorama of central Gothenburg taken from Keillers park, facing south – from left to right: Göta älvbron, Lilla Bommen, Viking, The Göteborg Opera in front of Göteborgshjulet, Skansen Kronan, Oscar Fredrik Church, Masthugg Church, and Älvsborg Bridge