page_title: Swedish East India Company
section_title: Cargo
hierarchical_section_title: Swedish East India Company / Cargo
caption_attribution_description: English: Chinese silk with painted pattern, imported by the Swedish East India Company in the 1700s. Nordic Museum. Through Project Runeberg.
context_page_description: The Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company. This made Gothenburg a European center of trade in eastern products. The main goods were silk, tea, furniture, porcelain, precious stones and other distinctive luxury items. Trade with China saw the arrival of some new customs in Sweden. The Chinese cultural influence increased, and tea, rice, arrack and new root vegetables started appearing in Swedish homes.
  It grew to become the largest trading company in Sweden during the 18th century, a total of 132 expeditions were carried out with 37 different ships. The company folded in 1813, nevertheless, it left clear footprints that can still be seen in Gothenburg.
context_section_description: The main valuable cargo from China was tea. In an overview from 1774, its share was about 90%. Much of the tea was re-exported and smuggled into England, undercutting the prices of that country's own trade monopoly held by the East India Company. Porcelain was also important, accounting for about 5% of the cargo's value. Over the years it is estimated that some 50 million pieces of porcelain were imported by the SOIC. The spirit arrack, a new commodity for Sweden, was also considered valuable.
  A cargo tally, printed by William Milburn in 1813, shows the following.
  Chests of tea:
  Bohea, 1,030,642 pounds (467,491 kg) in 2885 chests
  Congou (90,589 pounds (41,090 kg))
  Souchong (67,388 pounds (30,567 kg))
  Pekoe (17,205 pounds (7,804 kg))
  Hyson and "Hyson Skin" (together 5,713 pounds (2,591 kg))
  Textiles:
  Damasks and heavier damasks for furniture
  Satin silk, some of it "coloured and flowered"
  Paduasoy
  Grogram also known as gorgoron
  Taffetas,
  Lampas
  Nankeen cloth
  33 chests of raw silk
  Drugs:
  Galangal root
  China root
  Sago
  Rhubarb
  Miscellaneous:
  Mother-of-pearl, some of it cut in thin jetons
  Thin canes for hoops
  Painted wallpapers
  Lacquered (japanned) quadrille boxes
  Dressing tables
  Tablets for table tops
  Arrack (used in Swedish punsch), 6 metric tons (13,000 lb)
  Porcelain, in 274 chests and 989 barrels and other packages
caption: Painted, Chinese silk fabric brought to Sweden by the SOIC, 18th century
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