ABSTRACT
In comparison with neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and Germany, Belgian interest in business archives and business history was rather late in developing. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, under French rule, the Scheldt was reopened and the city expended its vast energy on the redevelopment of the port and its trade. In 1975 the business archives directory composed by Hilda Coppejans- Desmedt already listed about 800 different archival fonds. The scientifically justified contemporary business histories were rather scarce according to him, and he enumerated a number of causes in explanation. Business organisations such as the Flemish Economic Union and the local Chambers of Commerce are approached to reach businesses. The publication of new inventories of business archives, and the introductory courses on business history and its sources, stimulate young scholars to study the history of enterprises or at least utilise business archives in their research.
