East Indiaman
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East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vessels belonging to the Austrian, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Portuguese or Swedish companies.
The East Indiaman Repulse (1820) in the East India Dock Basin
A full-scale replica of the Dutch Indiaman Amsterdam
East Indiamen in a Gale, by Charles Brooking, c. 1759
East Indiaman Grosvenor by George Carter
Swedish East India Company
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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