Cross-Imperial Trade in Disguise: Overlooked Trade Interactions between the Dutch and the Danish in the Atlantic Trade during the Seventeenth Century*

This contribution explores seventeenth-century cross-imperial behavior through a close analysis of the activities of several northern European businessmen involved in the Atlantic trade. Its primary aim is to investigate an international network of individuals who were willing to jump ship whenever a better opportunity arose in another trading enterprise. The focus is on Dutchmen who left Dutch trading companies in order to join trading ventures under Danish protection. This article also examines the motives of these businessmen, as well as the ways in which they transgressed imperial boundaries. In doing so, it demonstrates that cross-imperial practices already existed prior to the establishment of trading companies. Overall, the article demonstrates the importance of these businessmen and practices in understanding the international and cross-imperial character of the northern European trading ventures in the Atlantic.