The Historical Background
Sweden and the City of Gothenburg

23. Adolph Friedric

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Adolph Friedric

Built as a 60-cannon warship and converted to an East Indiaman at Djurgården Shipyard, Burthen 450 Swedish Last (after 1780: 493 3/5), 24 cannons, 160 men.

Voyages during the third charter:

December 16, 1766 - June 16, 1768 To Canton under Captain Sven Olbers. Supercargos: David Sandberg, Friedrich Habicht. David Sandberg becomes supercargo in Canton in 1768, director, and in 1772 ennobled as af Sandeberg.

Instead of sending three to four supercargos as during the second charter, now only one to two are sent with each ship. The voyages are safer, and there is now the opportunity to permanently station people in Canton who, during the off-season, could purchase goods for the Company's account at lower prices than if waiting for the ship's arrival. This opened the possibility for substantial and risk-free profits by independently contracting with the Chinese and then selling to the company. This, together with opium trading in spare time, was probably one of the fastest risk-free ways to get rich in world history. However, it was not without objections from those at home, leading to various measures with varying success.

Voyages during the third charter:

December 15, 1768 - June 8, 1770 To Canton under Captain Herman H. Strehlenert. Supercargos: Anders Gotheen, James Maule.

January 10, 1771 - May 31, 1772 To Canton under Captain Gabriel Ström. Supercargos: H. W. Hahr, Carl Henrik Forss. After this voyage, it takes nearly three and a half years before Adolph Frederic returns to China.

January 9, 1776 - June 3, 1777 To Canton under Captain Jonas Israel Ekman. Supercargos: Anders Gotheen, Carl von Heland. (see Kjellberg page 141).

March 31, 1780 - June 14, 1781 To Canton under Captain Mauritz von Krusenstierna. Supercargos: Anders Gotheen, Carl von Heland.

February 24, 1783 - June 18, 1784 To Canton under Captain Sten Bergenstierna. Supercargo: Fredr. Ulr. Peyron, supercargo in Canton 1784.

January 5, 1785 - July 20, 1786 To Canton under Captain Hans Hindrich Clason. Supercargo: Lars Gotheen.

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