Companhia das Naus
Encyclopedia
The Companhia das Naus was a Portuguese institution founded in 1380 by King Ferdinand I
. It functioned as a kind of insurance
company, providing owners of Portuguese vessels with some security in case of accident and thereby fostering the development of the Portuguese navy.
All vessels weighing more than fifty casks were compulsorily registered, paying a percentage of the profits of each chartered cargo which was added to the common funds. These funds were used not only to cover the expenditures of wrecked vessels, but also to finance the construction of new vessels.
The creation of the Companhia das Naus was an important measure that would prove the forerunner of the later Portuguese overseas expansion
.
King Ferdinand I
assigned Lopo Martins and Gonçalo Peres Canellas as executors of the Company, and provided them with a clerk who recorded the Company's revenues and expenses. The funds were kept in a chest with three locks (one key for each executor and one for the clerk). The executors were renumbered in fifty pounds of the funds of the Company a year and the clerk in thirty pounds.
Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I , sometimes referred to as the Handsome or rarely as the Inconstant , was the ninth King of Portugal and the Algarve, the second son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile...
. It functioned as a kind of insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
company, providing owners of Portuguese vessels with some security in case of accident and thereby fostering the development of the Portuguese navy.
All vessels weighing more than fifty casks were compulsorily registered, paying a percentage of the profits of each chartered cargo which was added to the common funds. These funds were used not only to cover the expenditures of wrecked vessels, but also to finance the construction of new vessels.
The creation of the Companhia das Naus was an important measure that would prove the forerunner of the later Portuguese overseas expansion
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
.
King Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I , sometimes referred to as the Handsome or rarely as the Inconstant , was the ninth King of Portugal and the Algarve, the second son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile...
assigned Lopo Martins and Gonçalo Peres Canellas as executors of the Company, and provided them with a clerk who recorded the Company's revenues and expenses. The funds were kept in a chest with three locks (one key for each executor and one for the clerk). The executors were renumbered in fifty pounds of the funds of the Company a year and the clerk in thirty pounds.