 Coat of arms of the Levant Company | |
| Company type | Public chartered |
|---|---|
| Industry | International trade |
| Predecessor |
|
| Founded | 11 September 1592[1] |
| Founder | Sir Edward Osborne |
| Defunct | 19 May 1825 |
| Fate | Dissolved by the Dissolution of Levant Company Act 1825 (c. 33 6 Geo. 4); consular establishments taken over by the Board of Trade |
| Headquarters |
|
Number of locations | Various across Europe and Near East |
Area served | Eastern Mediterranean |
| Products | Rum and spices; cloth: cottons and woollens, kerseys, indigo, gall, camlet; tin, pewter, maroquin, soda ash. |
| Services | Trade and commerce |
| Total assets | Merchant shipping |
| Total equity | Joint-stock capital company |
| Owner |
|
Number of employees | 6,000 |
| Parent | English/British Crown |
| Divisions | Turkish, Levantine, Venetian littoral |
The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, as she was eager to maintain trade and political alliances with the Ottoman Empire.[1] Its initial charter was good for seven years and was granted to Edward Osborne, Richard Staper, Thomas Smith and William Garrard with the purpose of regulating English trade with the Ottoman Empire and the Levant. The company remained in continuous existence until being superseded in 1825. A member of the company was known as a Turkey Merchant.[2][3]
- ^ a b Kenneth R. Andrews (1964), Elizabethan Privateering 1583–1603, Cambridge University Press
- ^ Mather, James (May 2011). "The Turkey Merchants". History Today. 61 (5).
- ^ Searight, Sarah (June 1966). "The Turkey Merchants: Life in the Levant Company". History Today. 16 (6).