An association or partnership of multiple organizations, companies, or nations formed to undertake a joint enterprise or achieve common goals. In historical contexts, consortiums often managed large-scale projects like infrastructure development or international trade.
From Latin 'consortium,' meaning 'partnership' or 'association,' derived from 'consors' (sharing, partner). The term evolved from Roman law describing business partnerships to modern usage covering various collaborative arrangements between institutions.
The most famous historical consortium was probably the group of European banks that managed China's foreign debt in the early 1900s, effectively controlling Chinese finances and contributing to the nation's 'Century of Humiliation.' Modern consortiums like the one that built the Channel Tunnel show how this Roman legal concept still enables massive international projects that no single entity could undertake alone.
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