Sign in

Private company

African Company of Merchants

British chartered company

The African Company of Merchants (also known as the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa) was a British chartered company which existed from 1752 to 1821. During its existence, the company administered British trading posts in the Gold Coast region of modern-day Ghana and engaged in the Atlantic slave trade, illegally from 1807 onwards. Controversy in Britain over the company's continuing involvement in the slave trade after 1807 eventually contributed to its dissolution, with the Gold Coast becoming a formal British colony in 1821.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1752Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

The African Company of Merchants (also known as the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa) was a British chartered company which existed from 1752 to 1821. During its existence, the company administered British trading posts in the Gold Coast region of modern-day Ghana and engaged in the Atlantic slave trade, illegally from 1807 onwards. Controversy in Britain over the company's continuing involvement in the slave trade after 1807 eventually contributed to its dissolution, with the Gold Coast becoming a formal British colony in 1821.2

The story

The company was established by the African Company Act 1750 (24 Geo. 2. c. 49), and in 1752 replaced the Royal African Company which had been established in 1660. Unlike its predecessor, the African Company of Merchants was a regulated company, not a joint stock company: Clause IV of the African Company Act 1750 stated:

The assets of the Royal African Company were transferred to the new company and consisted primarily of nine trading posts or factories: Fort William, Fort James, Fort Sekondi, Fort Winneba, Fort Apollonia, Fort Tantumquery, Fort Metal Cross, Fort Komenda and Cape Coast Castle, the last of which was the administrative centre. This coastal area was dominated by the indigenous Fante people.

From Wikipedia’s article on African Company of Merchants, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Royal African Company1

Timeline

  1. 1821Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1752Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3