East India Companies

[Arthur Radburn]

Seeing that this is International Heraldry Day and we are an international association, here are the arms of some of the earliest international trading corporations in the world : the East India Companies.

The [English] East India Company was founded in December 1600. Its arms were granted in February 1601 :



Another East India Company was founded in 1698. Its arms were granted that same year :



The two companies merged in 1708 to form the 'Honourable East India Company', which took over the 1698 arms. This company existed until 1874.

The Dutch East India Company ('Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie') was formed in 1602 and existed until 1799. Its arms were assumed in the 1620s :



The French East India Company was formed in 1664. Its arms were evidently derived from the French royal arms :



When the company was re-organised as the 'Perpetual Company of the Indies' in 1719, it took over the arms of the French West Indies Company :



The company existed until 1770.

[Chris Green]

The Swedish East India Company (Svenska Ostindiska Companiet) was established in Gothenburg in 1731 by Scottish merchants principal among whom was one Colin Campbell (who had been somewhat too closely involved in the events that led to England's "South Sea Bubble"). As far as I can discover SOIC never had a coat of arms, but it had a monogram, which was to be found on the company's ships' flags.




By chance the replica SOIC ship "Götheborg" is making an inland trip around lake Vänern in Sweden this summer (the first ever inland cruise by an East India Company ship?) and I hope to visit her here in Karlstad.