company

…The term company, in a broad sense, includes everything from medieval guilds to various modern corporate entities, but it particularly refers to the chartered companies that were established in England in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. These corporations, which were granted monopoly rights by letters patents from the king in exchange for huge tributes and loans, were established in a variety of fields of economic activity, including colonization and mining, but their core was trade.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "company" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…カンパニーcompanyは，広義には中世のギルドから現在の諸種の〈会社〉企業体までを含むが，とくに中世末，近世初期のイギリスに成立した特許会社chartered companyをさす。巨額の上納金や貸上げの代償として国王から与えられた特許状によって独占権を認められたこれらの企業体は，植民や鉱山業などを含む経済活動の多様な分野で成立したが，その中心は貿易業にあった。…

※「company」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報