William Chalmers (merchant)
William Chalmers (
Career
Chalmers studied commerce and marketing in Gothenburg and Great Britain, before continuing his studies in a travelling manner to France and the Dutch Republic. At the age of 35, he was nominated to become the purchaser of the Swedish East India Company in Canton, China, which became his most enriching investment.[4]
Swedish East India Company
In 1793, when Chalmers was 45 years old, he had been living in Canton for ten years. Afterwards, he returned to Sweden as the manager of the Swedish East India Company as well as the manager of Trollhätte Kanalverk (a canal that runs through Trollhättan). He faithfully contributed to the finalization of the canal and was able to leave the company seven years later (1800). Six years post the finalization of the canal, the last Swedish East India Company-ship arrived into Sweden. On it was merchandise from China and Spain.[5][failed verification] The imports from Spain and China allowed Sweden to widen its international relations, thus the porcelain from China and the silver from Spain was exported to other countries, as well as Sweden's own products: wood, iron and artillery.
References
- ^ Mikael Carlsson. "WILLIAM CHALMERS 1748–1811". CHALMERS. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ Jan Hult. "Historia". Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ Bodman, Gösta (1929). "William Chalmers". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 8. National Archives of Sweden. p. 342.
- ^ Johnson, Anders (30 May 2016). "William Chalmers". Företagskällan (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Anders (20 May 2016). "Ostindiska kompaniet". Företagskällan (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 September 2020.