Trust is often the premier concern highlighted in relation to the formation of mercantile business partnerships, the role of culture, family, and religion at the forefront. This is especially the case for expatriate communities. However, the Danish merchants of nineteenth century Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as especially demonstrated in the diaries of one of their number, Richard Steenberg, did not conform to this trend. This article investigates Steenberg and two other leading merchants, the Borries cousins, as well as some of their former employees, who typify trends within a wider body of 126 businessmen. It will show that they strategically chose partners who had complimentary supplies of financial, human, and social capital to improve the position of a shared firm, and these supplies formed the key criteria in forming or entering these businesses. The role of trust is not denied. Rather, this article seeks to direct debate toward the importance of financial, human, and social capital in commercial partnership formation in relation to trust.

在建立商业伙伴关系时，信任往往是首先强调的问题，文化、家庭和宗教的作用处于首位。对于外籍人士社区来说尤其如此。然而，十九世纪泰恩河畔纽卡斯尔的丹麦商人并不符合这一趋势，他们中的一员理查德·斯汀伯格的日记尤其表明了这一点。本文调查了 Steenberg 和另外两位领先的商人，Borries 兄弟，以及他们的一些前雇员，他们代表了 126 名商人中的趋势。它将表明，他们战略性地选择了拥有财务、人力和社会资本互补供应的合作伙伴，以提高共享公司的地位，而这些供应构成了组建或进入这些企业的关键标准。信任的作用不容否认。相反，本文旨在将辩论引向金融、人力和社会资本在与信任相关的商业伙伴关系形成中的重要性。