 | |
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Trade |
| Founded | 1755 |
| Defunct | 1785 |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Successor | Royal Company of the Philippines |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Catalonia, Caribbean |
| Products | cotton, cocoa, indigo, brandy, wine, chintz |
| Total equity | 1 million pesos |
The Barcelona Trading Company (Spanish: Real Compañía de Comercio de Barcelona a Indias; Catalan: Companyia de Comerç de Barcelona) was a Spanish chartered company founded in 1755 by the Spanish crown which had a monopoly on trade to the Spanish West Indies territories of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Margarita Island.
The company provided a legal framework and a focus for capital which enabled Catalan merchants to break free from the restrictions of the Cadiz monopoly on trade with the Indies, provided skills and contacts that enabled the development of free trade between Catalonia and the Americas to flourish after the company's demise, and contributed to the development of the textile industry which later became the basis of industrialisation in Catalonia.
The integration of Catalonia'a economy in international trade is the root of the exceptional experience of Catalan industrialisation and the development of an increasingly capitalist economy. The company was merged with the Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas in 1785 to form the Royal Company of the Philippines.[1]
- ^ Martínez Galarraga & Prat 2016, p. 570.