Nearly 260 companies were founded in and for the Australasian colonies between 1790 and 1860. A quantitative survey suggests that the patterns of incorporation mainly reflected ‘functionalist’ economic factors rather than ‘autonomous’ legal conditions, though the changing nature of company law did influence the various forms that incorporation took. In some sectors, outside factors and even historical accidents also pushed patterns of incorporation along distinct lines. The result was a tradition of adapting legal powers of incorporation to local needs which persisted beyond the introduction of modern company acts to the region in the 1860s and therefore shaped the subsequent evolution of the company in Australia and New Zealand.

中文翻译：

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1790 年至 1860 年在澳大利亚的公司注册和公司组建

1790 年至 1860 年间，近 260 家公司在澳大利亚殖民地成立。一项定量调查表明，公司注册模式主要反映了“功能主义”经济因素，而不是“自主”法律条件，尽管公司法的变化性质确实影响了合并采取的各种形式。在某些部门，外部因素甚至历史事故也推动了合并模式沿着不同的路线发展。其结果是使公司的法律权力适应当地需求的传统，这种传统在 1860 年代将现代公司法引入该地区后一直持续存在，因此塑造了澳大利亚和新西兰公司随后的演变。