The birth of stock exchanges

When people talk stocks, they are usually talking about companies listed on major stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq. Many of the major American companies are listed on the NYSE, and it can be difficult for investors to imagine a time when the bourse wasn't synonymous with investing and trading stocks. But, of course, it wasn't always this way; there were many steps along the road to our current system of stock exchanges. You may be surprised to learn that the first stock exchange thrived for decades without a single stock being traded.

The moneylenders of Europe filled important gaps left by the larger banks. Moneylenders traded debts between each other; a lender looking to unload a high-risk, high-interest loan might exchange it for a different loan with another lender. These lenders also bought government debt issues. As the natural evolution of their business continued, the lenders began to sell debt issues to the first individual investors. The Venetians were the leaders in the field and the first to start trading securities from other governments.

According to our research, Belgium boasted a stock exchange as far back as 1531 in Antwerp. Brokers and moneylenders would meet there to deal with business, government, and even individual debt issues. It is odd to think of a stock exchange that dealt exclusively in promissory notes and bonds, but in the 1500s there were no real stocks. There were many flavors of business-financier partnerships that produced income as stocks do, but there was no official share that changed hands.

In the 1600s, the Dutch, British, and French governments all gave charters to companies with East India in their names. On the cusp of imperialism's high point, it seems like everyone had a stake in the profits from the East Indies and Asia except the people living there. Sea voyages that brought back goods from the East were extremely risky—on top of Barbary pirates, there were the more common risks of weather and poor navigation.

To lessen the risk of a lost ship ruining their fortunes, ship owners had long been in the practice of seeking investors who would put up money for the voyage—outfitting the ship and crew in return for a percentage of the proceeds if the voyage was successful. These early limited liability companies often lasted for only a single voyage. They were then dissolved, and a new one was created for the next voyage. Investors spread their risk by investing in several different ventures at the same time, thereby playing the odds against all of them ending in disaster.

When the East India companies were formed, they changed the way business was done. These companies issued stock that would pay dividends on all the proceeds from all the voyages the companies undertook, rather than going voyage by voyage. These were the first modern joint-stock companies. This allowed the companies to demand more for their shares and build larger fleets. The size of the companies, combined with royal charters forbidding competition, meant huge profits for investors.

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