Basel and the Atlantic Economy: Colonial Entanglements — conclusion

Conclusion

Switzerland had no colonies, but Swiss merchants, investors, manufacturers, soldiers and officials participated in the colonial economy and the Atlantic slave trade. Basel was among the most involved Swiss cities. Its merchants traded in colonial goods produced by enslaved labour. The fortune of the house Merian-Forcart, which later formed the basis of the Christoph Merian Foundation, was built in part through this trade. The Basel firm Christoph Burckhardt & Cie participated in the financing and outfitting of slave-trading expeditions from Nantes in the late eighteenth century. Swiss textile manufacturers produced indiennes used as trade goods in the slave trade, while the Swiss cotton industry depended on slave-grown American cotton. Isaac Faesch of Basel served as governor of Curaçao for the Dutch West India Company. Swiss settlers owned plantations and enslaved people in Brazil until the late nineteenth century.

Since the early 2000s, research and public debate have brought this history to light. Basel institutions have since begun to examine their origins. The questions it raises, about the responsibility of traders, investors and financiers for the conditions under which the goods they deal in are produced, are the questions that modern supply chain and due diligence legislation seeks to answer. The next chapter turns to an institution that engaged with Africa in a different spirit: the Basel Mission and its trading company.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

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Basel and the Atlantic Economy: Colonial Entanglements — conclusion

Conclusion

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