Learning the East India Trade: Transferring Merchant Skills across Generations in the Mid-18th Century

It is well-known that the Swedish East India Company (SEIC), established in 1731, drew on knowhow generated by the recently folded Ostend Company. Before diplomatic pressure had forced the Ostend Company to wind down its business it had attracted many merchants from Scotland; the latter were excluded from the lucrative Asian trade at home by the monopoly of the English East India Company. The newly established SEIC enabled the Scots to continue their business as SEIC employees (although no new British employees were accepted after 1740) but also as private merchants dealing in Asian goods wholesale.

But what about next generation of Swedish-Scottish merchants? This paper will explore how, under the Swedish flag, trading skills and contacts were transferred to younger generations of Scottish merchants using the case of the Charles Irvine (1693–1771) and his nephews. Before moving to Gothenburg, Charles Irvine had worked in the wholesale business selling Asian goods in France and the Low Countries. Once working for the SEIC he served as a supercargo on several early expeditions to Asia. In 1747 he settled in Gothenburg as a wholesale trader, foremost dealing in Chinese tea. Irvine made sure his nephews, John Irvine (1722-1795) and Thomas Irvine (dates unknown), followed in his footsteps. The paper will focus on Thomas Irvine’s apprenticeship with a tea dealer in the Dutch Republic and the advice and training John Irvine received on how to conduct trade in Canton. What sort of knowledge was considered valuable for aspiring traders in Asian goods, and how was this knowledge best gained? By focusing on the educational aspect, the transfer of knowledge and skills relevant to the lucrative Asian trade, the paper will explore issues relating to merchant mobility within and between the European East India companies and wholesale markets for Asian goods in Europe.