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# Exclusive Company

## Definition

Chartered commercial organizations granted monopoly rights over specific trades or territories, such as the Dutch East India Company or the French Mississippi Company. These entities controlled colonial trade through exclusive privileges, setting prices, restricting competition, and often engaging in oppressive practices that hindered economic development.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 7

## Context

Smith criticizes exclusive companies as particularly harmful forms of monopoly, arguing that their merchant governance leads to military despotism in colonies and economic stagnation. He contrasts their performance with that of free colonial settlements, showing how monopoly control prevents the natural growth of commerce and industry.

## Economic Domain

Regulation

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