Handelsfarten

Handelsfarten is a term used to describe voyages undertaken by merchant ships for commercial purposes. It denotes the transport of goods between ports with the aim of profit, as opposed to naval, exploratory, or military movements. The concept covers the activities of shipowners, captains, crews, and merchants engaged in arranging cargoes, navigation, and delivery.

Historically, handelsfarten was central to mercantile economies in Northern Europe and beyond. In the Swedish-Baltic context it encompassed trade within the Baltic Sea and with Western Europe and overseas routes, moving commodities such as timber, iron ore, copper, grain, salt, wine, and textiles. Shipping companies and individual traders often operated under contracts or early forms of joint-stock arrangements, with insurance playing an important role to mitigate loss.

Common routes connected major ports such as Lübeck, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Riga, and extended to the North Sea, the Atlantic, and the Baltic’s southern outlets. The activity was governed by maritime law and, in many periods, by mercantile policy intended to promote national trade and economic growth.

From the 17th to the 19th century, changes in finance, technology, and state policy transformed handelsfarten from relatively small-scale regional trade to more capital-intensive ocean transport. In contemporary references, the term is often used in historical studies to describe the broader practice of commercial seafaring and trade, rather than a specific voyage.