TRADE

ORGANIZATION
Though in olden times trade with Iceland was carried on equally by
[celanders and Norwegians, vet, as time went on the number of Icelanders
 engaging in the foreign trade gradually decreased, owing to
lack of ships; and, when Iceland, shortly after the middle of the 13th
century, became united with Norway, the Icelandic trade was wholly in
the hands of the Norwegians. After the union with Norway- Denmark
the kings began to make their influence felt by imposing various restrictions
 on the Iceland trade, with a view to granting the port of Bergen
in Norway a monopoly of it. But as these orders of the kings were
not rigorously enforced, the greater part of the Icelandic import and
export trade throughout the 14th and 15th centuries was in the hands
of the English and the Hamburghers. In 1602 a complete monopoly was
established in Iceland, a policy which was continued down to the end of
the year 1787. During this period the trade was generally either granted
as a monopoly fo commercial companies, or carried on by the government
 for the king's account. But on the 1th of January 1788 it was
made free to all subjects of the Danish Crown, and finally, in 1855,
to all nations.
Since 1855 the number of permanent business houses in Iceland has
increased enormously. This increase, though at first gradual, has during
the last thirty years or so been very rapid, as may be gathered from
the following figures, giving the number of permanent concerns:

1855
1870
‘880
890
200
910
920
.207

58
62
78
137
208
122
303
332