Click here for a larger version. [Image: courtesy Business Financing]This is one fascinating insight from a series of maps published by the British publication Business Financing, which lays out the oldest companies still in existence in each country. The organization conducted its own research and did not work with any professional historians or academic institutions, so take their findings with a grain of salt. But in the broadest sense, they offer a glimpse into the industries that helped shape each country's economy. In many cases, they also reveal the darker aspects of history, as nations accrued wealth through slavery and colonialism.
[Image: courtesy Business Financing]In the United States, for instance, the oldest company still running is the Shirley Plantation in Virginia, formed in 1613. The farm grew tobacco, which was then shipped throughout the colonies and to Europe, and it was maintained through slave labor.
[Image: courtesy Business Financing]Colonialism is abundantly evident elsewhere in the maps. In Congo the oldest company dates back to 1889, when the country was under Belgian rule. It's a railway company that still bears a French name—Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo—and is currently owned by the government of Congo. In Haiti, the oldest company is a rum maker called Rhum Barbancourt, which dates back to 1862, when the country was a French colony. It was founded by a Frenchman named Dupré Barbancourt, who emigrated to the country to make his fortune. The sugarcane plantations that supplied the juice for the rum relied largely on slave labor.
[Image: courtesy Business Financing]For the most part, the oldest companies in colonized lands are banks, railways, and post offices that were first established by colonial administrations to create an infrastructure that would better serve the colonizers' economic needs. It was much easier for colonizers to export precious resources such as sugar, oil, or cotton back to Europe when they had functioning postal networks, transportation systems, and financial institutions. Later, when colonized countries gained independence, these companies were taken over by the newly independent governments in each country.
[Image: courtesy Business Financing]Meanwhile, in Europe, many of the oldest companies relate to traditional products that reflect the nation's culture. There are many old food and drink companies in central Europe, for example. The oldest company in the continent is the Staffelter Hof Winery in Germany, which dates back to 862. In Ireland, the oldest company, Sean's Bar, was founded in 900. In the Netherlands, Brand Brewery dates back to 1340. In Austria, the oldest company is a restaurant called St. Peter Stifskulinarium, which serves local food along with beer from a nearby monastery.
[Image: courtesy Business Financing]These maps provide an intriguing look at the companies that have managed to stand the test of time. But the maps also tell a story of how, for centuries, precious resources—including humans—were forcibly taken from some parts of the world and exported into others.