Venray sheep companies

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Venray sheep companies were a group of Dutch merchant firms in the 19th century that led Europe’s sheep trade.

Background
Venray is a large town in the north of Limburg, Netherlands. The surrounding land once included the Peel, a stretch of moorland that supported sheep farming. Sheep provided a steady source of wool and income for farmers, even before meat became a focus. French troops stationed in the area between 1794 and 1814 helped lift interest in selling sheep for meat.

Foundation
Around 1809, several farmers decided to drive their sheep to Paris to sell them. When this proved profitable, five farmers joined to form a partnership called De Grote Compagnie (The Big Company). They created an organized trade route between Venray and Paris with fixed stopping points along the way.

Expansion
At first, the partners drove only their own sheep. Soon, Dutch buyers formed a network, and Venray became the center of a thriving trade that sent tens of thousands of sheep to France each year. Other small companies joined them. Under the Raets, Poels, Camps, Trynes, and Vorstermans families, the business grew so much that, in 1845, a second outlet market in London opened. Sheep traveled from Harlingen, Medemblik, Rotterdam, and Vlissingen to London.

The trade did not stop there. Demand in Germany grew, and by around 1875 representatives even visited Ukraine, Denmark, and Iceland to source sheep. In 1891, a trading office was opened in Buenos Aires to arrange transport of live sheep and frozen meat to Europe. By the early 20th century, Venray companies dominated the meat trade in slaughterhouses in Paris, London, and Antwerp, and they became major bacon and tinned-ham producers for Poland, Hungary, and Canada.

Decline and legacy
After 1900, the smaller sheep companies folded one by one. De Grote Compagnie continued for a while, but the group held its last annual gathering in 1951 at the Swan Hotel in Venray. The event marked the end of a long era of cross-border enterprise, and the final balance was given to the Venray parish church to fund a new choir stall, serving as a reminder of the region’s industrial history. The story of these companies helped shape Limburg’s economic history and the broader Dutch trade in livestock.

References
Jan Derix, Limburg, Eisma Publishers.