Trading Houses & Industrial Giants · Chartered companies & banks
The VOC: the first megacorp
The Dutch East India Company (1602–1799) issued the first widely traded shares, created the first stock exchange culture, ran a private army and a spice monopoly, paid huge dividends for 150+ years, then collapsed.
Step 1 of 7 · Overview30 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: none (helpful: History of Money: the VOC lesson). Next: The British East India Company. Crash Course World History #229; *The Company* (Micklethwait & Wooldridge).Next: 1. The problem it solved