Royal Company of the Philippines facts for kids
The Royal Company of the Philippines (in Spanish: Real Compañía de Filipinas) was a special business company. It was started in 1785. Its main goal was to control all trade between the Philippines (which was a Spanish colony then) and other places. This company became less important over time and was officially closed in the 1830s. Before this company, there was another one called the Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas.
How the Company Started
In the 1780s, a man named Francisco Cabarrús was worried that his company, the Guipuzcoan Company, might close. He came up with a new idea. He suggested combining trade from the Americas with trade from Asia, especially through the Philippines. His plan was accepted.
The Royal Company of the Philippines was first set up on March 10, 1783. It became official on March 10, 1785, when King Charles III of Spain signed a special order. Francisco Cabarrús was put in charge of this new company.
The company's main purpose was to help trade happen directly between the Philippines and Spain. The king's order also said that the port of Manila (in the Philippines) would be closed to all foreign ships. This meant that only the Royal Company could bring goods from places like Mexico, China, or the Philippines.
What the Company Did
The Royal Company of the Philippines started with a lot of money. It had 3,000 shares, and each share was worth 250 pesos. Many new Spanish financial companies helped by investing in it. Later, the company raised even more money by selling bonds.
The company quickly became very rich. By the end of 1785, it had 10 million pesos. It wanted to improve how the Philippines exported goods. The company quickly took control of other smaller companies. It kept the existing business plan that focused on growing crops for export. These crops included indigo, coffee, sugar, spices, and cotton.
The Spanish government used this company to keep a strong connection with its colonies in Asia. Before this, the government would make special contracts with different companies. The last of these contracts was made with the Royal Company of the Philippines in 1787. This company continued to trade with the Philippines throughout the 19th century.
Why the Company Declined
The Royal Company of the Philippines grew very fast. It started to control trade in many other parts of Spain's overseas empire. Because of this, other companies felt their own trading rights were being reduced. They began to have conflicts with the Royal Company of the Philippines.
The biggest problems happened with merchants in Manila and even the Filipino people themselves. They used the trade route to Acapulco (in Mexico) for their own business. There were also conflicts with the United Kingdom, which was the most powerful trading nation in Asia.
These problems caused the company to slowly decline starting from 1794. By the late 1700s and early 1800s, it was barely working. The company stopped its operations in 1829. This was after the Spanish colonial empire started to fall apart. The company was officially closed by a royal order on October 6, 1834, during the time when Isabella II was a young queen.
See also
- In Spanish: Compañía de Filipinas para niños
