Today's Articles

People, Locations, Episodes

Tue, 10.31.1786

The Swedish West India Company is Formed

Company Document

*The Swedish West India Company is affirmed on this date in 1786.  This was a Swedish chartered company based in the West Indies. It was the primary operator in the Swedish slave trade during the Middle Passage. Between 1786 and 1805, the company operated from the Swedish island of Saint-Barthélemy.

The company was a private enterprise with a royal monopoly on all Swedish trade via Saint Barthélemy. Three-quarters of profits went to the company and one-quarter to the Swedish state.

New Poem Each Day

Poetry Corner

A purple blush above the marshes; below on the wooden deck, two boys squeal at the cage of crabs they’ve yanked from the muddy inlet. Each year we come... SOUTH CAROLINA SEA ISLAND by David Mura
Read More