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Magnus Ressel, 2024

In the small Sauerland town of Frönsberg near Hemer in Westphalia, there is a ‘Von Romberg-Street’. A sign under the street name explains that a ‘successful major entrepreneur’ is honoured here. What is not mentioned, however, is that the man who gave the street its name, Baron Friedrich von Romberg (1729-1819), was probably the biggest German enslavement trader and plantation owner of the 18th century.

When the street sign was erected around 1982, only a few experts were aware of Romberg's activities in the colonial and enslavement trade. In the meantime, the biography of Romberg, who rose to become a globally active entrepreneur and at times probably the wealthiest man in Europe - and lost his fortune again after Haiti's independence - is also known in his region of origin.

The following article traces the career of the entrepreneur from the Sauerland region, focussing on his role in the enslavement trade of the 18th century.

Stationen

Origin and education

Emigration to Brussels

Romberg as an international trader and freight forwarder

Expansion of the company

Entry into the colonial and slavery trade

Peak of the enslavement trade

Peak of prosperity and prestige

The French and Haitian Revolutions

Collapse of the Romberg colonial and enslavement trade

Continuation of the company and death of Romberg

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