Levant Company

The Levant Company was an English chartered trading corporation created in 1592 when the earlier Turkey Company, chartered in 1581, and Venice Company, chartered in 1583, were combined after their separate privileges expired. Queen Elizabeth I approved the new charter on 11 September 1592, linking commercial organization with England’s effort to preserve diplomatic and commercial access to the Ottoman Empire. The company was also known as the Company of Merchants of Levant and its members were commonly called Turkey Merchants. The company did not establish colonies in the modern sense. Instead, it operated through factories, consulates, agents, and merchant communities in established commercial centers. Aleppo became the main hub of its Middle Eastern operations, while Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, and İskenderun were among its other important locations. Its trading privileges covered extensive areas associated with the Ottoman domains and the eastern Mediterranean, although particular ports and regions were excluded by the company’s rules. English merchants principally exported woollen textiles, including broadcloth, shortcloth, and kerseys, together with tin, lead, pewter, leather, and other goods. They imported raw silk, cotton, yarn, currants, raisins, indigo, galls, camlets, carpets, velvet, soda ash, gums, medicinal substances, and other eastern Mediterranean products. The company’s trade also involved arms and military supplies, particularly as the Ottoman government modernized and re-equipped its forces. Turkish opium was another commodity associated with the company’s commerce; in the early nineteenth century, American merchants connected with the Turkey trade also purchased Ottoman opium for onward sale in China. The Levant Company combined commercial regulation with diplomatic and consular functions. Its London court was headed by a governor, sub-governor, and twelve assistants. Deputies operated in ports and cities where members were established. The company helped organize shipping, regulate the sale and quality of merchandise, collect assessments for common expenses, and support English diplomatic and consular personnel. The Crown increasingly controlled the appointment of the ambassador to the Ottoman court, but the company remained closely involved in financing and administering the practical infrastructure of trade. Security was a continuing concern. During the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604, company vessels faced Spanish naval threats as well as Barbary piracy. Armed Levant ships fought off Spanish attacks in several engagements and some were later surrendered to the Crown for service, including during the campaign associated with the Spanish Armada. The company generally employed roughly twenty to twenty-five trading vessels, many carrying substantial armament for the period. Its organization changed over time. Initially associated with joint-stock arrangements, it became a regulated company in the late sixteenth century, in which individual merchants traded under a common regulatory framework. A charter granted by Charles II in 1661 formally constituted it as a corporate political body able to make internal rules. Membership was controlled through qualifications based on wholesale trading experience or apprenticeship, entrance payments, and oaths concerning the conduct of Levant commerce. The company’s importance declined during the eighteenth century as membership fell, criticism of chartered monopolies grew, and the government increasingly favored freer trade. The Levant Trade Act of 1753 opened the trade to free competition while the company continued in a reduced form. In 1821 the British government took over its administration, and the corporation was dissolved under the Dissolution of Levant Company Act 1825. Its historical significance lies in the way it joined commerce, diplomacy, shipping, consular administration, and Anglo-Ottoman relations in a single institution.

The Levant Company emerged from England’s attempts to restore and formalize trade with the Ottoman Empire and the eastern Mediterranean. Earlier commerce had been shaped by Italian maritime powers, especially Venice and Genoa, but changing political conditions, high tariffs, and disruptions to established routes created opportunities for English merchants. English negotiations with the Ottoman government produced a treaty in 1580 that granted English traders privileges comparable to those enjoyed by French merchants. William Harborne, who helped negotiate the agreement in Constantinople, became England’s permanent envoy and later ambassador, with expenses supported by the Levant trading community. The immediate institutional predecessors of the Levant Company were the Turkey Company of 1581 and the Venice Company of 1583. When their charters expired, Elizabeth I authorized their merger on 11 September 1592. The new company received an initial seven-year charter naming Edward Osborne, Richard Staper, Thomas Smith, and William Garrard among its grantees. A further charter in 1592 and the company’s development by 1595 established its character as a regulated corporation rather than a simple temporary joint-stock venture. Osborne and Staper were particularly important in shaping this transition. The company’s factories were commercial stations rather than colonies. Aleppo was the central hub for operations in the Middle East, while Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, and İskenderun served as major points of trade and administration. Merchants exported English woollen cloth, especially shortcloth and kerseys, as well as metals, pewter, lead, leather, and other manufactures. In return they obtained silk, cotton, yarn, currants, raisins, indigo, galls, spices, camlets, carpets, velvet, soda ash, gums, and medicinal products. The traffic was valuable to England partly because it absorbed domestic manufactures, unlike some overseas commerce that relied more heavily on bullion. Shipping and diplomacy were inseparable from the company’s work. Its vessels faced Barbary piracy and Spanish naval attacks during the war between England and Spain from 1585 to 1604. Armed company ships resisted Spanish galleys in several engagements, and some vessels were later transferred to the Crown for military use. James I renewed the company’s charter in 1606. Although his political rhetoric could be hostile toward the Ottoman Empire, commercial relations expanded, including the export of arms and a marked increase in the share of English cloth sent to Ottoman markets between 1609 and 1619. The English Civil War disrupted the company’s governance and membership rules. After the Restoration, Charles II attempted to restore the corporation to a more orderly basis. His 1661 charter created the Company of Merchants of England trading to the Seas of the Levant as a body politic capable of making internal laws. The London court consisted of a governor, sub-governor, and twelve assistants. Local deputies operated in trading centers, while consuls represented English interests at important ports. Members generally had to be wholesale merchants by family background or to have completed a seven-year apprenticeship, and admission involved fees and an oath governing the use of company agents and trading privileges. The company also financed parts of the diplomatic and consular apparatus. It paid pensions to the ambassador, consuls, chancellor, secretary, chaplain, interpreters, and janissaries, reducing the incentive for officials to impose ad hoc charges on merchants. The Crown gradually asserted greater authority over the appointment of the ambassador to the Ottoman court, reflecting the increasing political importance of Anglo-Ottoman relations. By the early eighteenth century, the company’s membership and reputation were declining. Critics regarded chartered monopolies as inefficient and burdensome, and changing commercial conditions weakened the case for exclusive regulation. The Levant Trade Act 1753 opened the trade to free merchants from 1754. The company remained active but without its former monopoly. In 1821 the government assumed control, and Parliament dissolved the corporation in 1825. The company’s legacy includes its contribution to English textile exports, Mediterranean shipping, Ottoman diplomacy, consular institutions, and the broader development of England’s overseas commercial organization.

• 1825

  Dissolution

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Parliament ended the company under the Dissolution of Levant Company Act 1825.

• 1821

  Government administration begins

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The British government assumed control of the company’s affairs.

• 1754

  Exclusive trading privileges removed

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Levant Trade Act 1753 opened the company’s commercial sphere to free trade.

• 1661

  Charles II grants a reconstituting charter

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company was formally established as a body politic with internal legislative authority and detailed membership rules.

• 1606

  Charter renewed by James I

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Crown confirmed the company’s privileges and added new provisions as trade continued to expand.

• 1592

  Levant Company created

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Elizabeth I approved the merger of the Turkey and Venice companies into the Levant Company on 11 September.

• 1582

  William Harborne becomes permanent envoy

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Harborne’s diplomatic role helped consolidate England’s commercial relationship with the Ottoman court.

• 1581

  Turkey Company chartered

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  An earlier Turkey Company was established to organize English trade with Ottoman territories.

• 1580

  Anglo-Ottoman commercial agreement

  [1]Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org

  England secured trading privileges in the Ottoman Empire comparable to those held by French merchants, creating an important diplomatic foundation for later company activity.

Historical chartered trading company and regulated monopoly connecting English merchants with Ottoman and eastern Mediterranean markets.

• Export merchandise

  Woollen cloth

  The company’s principal English export was woollen textile, including shortcloth and kerseys. Levant commerce provided an important overseas market for English manufacturing and helped distinguish the company’s trade from bullion-heavy forms of overseas commerce.

• Imported raw materials and textiles

  Silk and cotton

  Raw silk, cotton wool, cotton yarn, and finished silk goods were among the most valuable imports obtained through Ottoman and eastern Mediterranean markets. These goods supplied English consumers, manufacturers, and re-export networks.

• Export merchandise

  Metals and manufactured goods

  English merchants exported tin, lead, pewter, and related manufactures. These goods formed part of the company’s broader effort to use Levant trade to sell English products rather than conduct commerce primarily through cash payments.

• Imported commodities

  Agricultural, dyestuff, and specialty imports

  The company handled currants, raisins, indigo, galls, spices, soda ash, gums, medicinal drugs, leather, carpets, velvet, and camlets. The range reflected the Levant’s role as a crossroads linking Ottoman, Mediterranean, and Asian supply networks.

• Strategic merchandise

  Arms and military supplies

  Arms exports became increasingly important when the Ottoman government modernized and re-equipped its forces. This trade connected the company’s commercial privileges with sensitive diplomatic and military relationships.

• Imported commodity

  Opium

  Ottoman opium was purchased through the Turkey and Levant trade. The source also records participation by American Turkey merchants, including members of the Astor family, in buying opium for sale to Chinese markets in the early nineteenth century.

• 1825

  Dissolve the companyOther

  Background

  After the government assumed control in 1821, the historical rationale for maintaining the chartered corporation had largely disappeared.

  Action taken

  Parliament enacted the Dissolution of Levant Company Act 1825, ending the company’s legal existence.

  Aftermath

  The company ceased to operate as a chartered institution, completing the transition from regulated Levant commerce to a freer British trading system.

  Source

• 1754

  Accept the transition to free tradeStrategy

  Background

  Membership and the company’s reputation had declined, while criticism of chartered monopolies and demands for freer commerce increased.

  Action taken

  The Levant Trade Act 1753 opened the company’s trading sphere to merchants outside its former exclusive structure.

  Aftermath

  The company continued operating in a reduced capacity until government takeover in 1821 and dissolution in 1825.

  Source

• 1661

  Reconstitute the company as a regulated corporate bodyStrategy

  Background

  Civil War-era disruptions had loosened membership and governance practices, prompting the restored monarchy to return the company to a more formal basis.

  Action taken

  Charles II issued a charter defining the company as a body politic, specifying membership qualifications, fees, oaths, and the authority of its London court and overseas deputies.

  Aftermath

  The company retained a structured regulatory system for merchants, shipping, agents, and consular support for the remainder of its monopoly period.

  Source

• 1592

  Merge the Turkey and Venice companiesM&A

  Background

  The separate charters of the Turkey Company and Venice Company had expired, while the Crown wanted to preserve English trade and diplomatic influence in Ottoman markets.

  Action taken

  Elizabeth I approved their consolidation into the Levant Company and granted the new corporation authority to regulate English trade in the region.

  Aftermath

  The merger created a more durable institutional framework for English commerce across the Levant and eastern Mediterranean.

  Source

1. 1Levant Companyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Early History of the Levant Companyarchive.org