Hope & Co.

Hope & Co. is the name of a famous Dutch bank that spanned two and a half centuries. Though the founders were Scotsmen, the bank was located in Amsterdam, and at the close of the 18th century it had offices in London as well.

Six of eight sons of the Scottish merchant Archibald Hope (1664–1743) – Archibald Jr. (1698–1734), Isaac, Zachary, Henry, Thomas (1704–1779), and Adrian (1709–1781) – were merchants of trade. They were active in shipping, storage, insurance, and credit in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In 1720 they barely survived the bubble that led to the passage of the Bubble Act in London. Buist was correct about all family members except for his data on the father of Archibald I, called Harry, who was the son of James Hope, factoor in Dieppe and brother of Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet. Many bankers in Holland at that time went bankrupt, and many (including Henry) left the country. That this year was an important one for Dutch bankers is shown by the fact that when Rotterdam issued new telephone numbers in the 20th century, Hope & Co. beat Mees & Zn. in snapping up the number ending with 1720.

In this early period the Hope brothers made money organizing shipment for Quakers out of Rotterdam (under the direction of Archibald, Isaac and Zachary) and the slave trade in Amsterdam (under the direction of Thomas and Adrian). The top years for the Quaker transport to Pennsylvania were 1738, 1744, 1753 and 1765. These transports were paid for by the city of Rotterdam and the local Mennonite church, since the Quakers had no money and the city needed to do something about the refugees. In top years the Hopes received 60 guilders per Quaker, and in off years 11 guilders per Quaker. The slave trade was much less lucrative, but the care of the slaves on board the ships was worse. Of these, 16% died on board. During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) the Hope brothers became very wealthy from speculation.

In 1762 when the nephews Jan (John) and Henry Hope (1736–1811) joined Hopes, the name was changed to Hope & Co. At that time the Englishmen John Williams and Pierre Cesar Labouchere were also partners in the firm totalling 26 people. In that year they expanded the offices in Amsterdam to house Henry and Jan in Keizersgracht 448. Thomas lived in the buildings next door, 444–446. Zachary's son Archibald (1747–1821) became a member of Dutch Parliament, regent of the West Indian Company (WIC), and owned the former palace 'Lange Voorhout' in the Hague.

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