Back Companyia de Comerç de Barcelona Catalan Real Compañía de Comercio de Barcelona a Indias German Compañía de Comercio de Barcelona Spanish
 | |
| 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 Royal Barcelona Trading Company to the Indies (Spanish: Real Compañía de Comercio de Barcelona a Indias; Catalan: Companyia de Comerç de Barcelona) also known as the Barcelona Company was a trading company in the 18th century chartered by the Spanish crown, operating from 1755 to 1785, and which had a monopoly on trade to the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo and Margarita. 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.[1]
- ^ Martínez Galarraga & Prat 2016, p. 570.