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In Smith’s time, “corporations” were professional associations or guilds that regulated particular trades, often by restricting entry into them.
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Corporations Term Timeline in The Wealth of Nations
The timeline below shows where the term Corporations appears in The Wealth of Nations. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 10
...profit inequalities in three ways. First, they restrict competition by giving professional associations (also called corporations) exclusive privileges over particular trades and defining apprenticeship requirements. For instance, most English tradespeople are...
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...the public would benefit from greater access to cheaper high-quality goods. Indeed, professional associations (or corporations) originally formed by paying the king in exchange for monopoly power over a certain trade...
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As these corporations take over a town’s trades, both prices and wages rise. This has enriched towns at...
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...moving freely across different places and employments. Apprenticeship prevents people from switching occupations and local corporation privileges prevent them from exercising the same occupation in a different place. As a result,...
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