Antwerp Stock Exchange

Timeline

1. 1531Antwerp · AntwerpThe city government approved construction of the Beurs building, concentrating trading in stocks, bonds, bills of exchange, and commodity futures, marking the establishment of the modern stock exchange system in the Low Countries.
2. 1560–1565Antwerp · AntwerpAntwerp became one of Europe's largest trade and credit centers; merchants from many nations gathered daily at the exchange, Spanish imperial finances and American silver flowed through it, and the financing of the Flemish textile industry depended heavily on its bill market.
3. 1566–1567Antwerp and the surrounding Low Countries · FlandersIn 1566 the Iconoclastic Fury swept the Netherlands; religious unrest and political uncertainty caused merchants to withdraw capital and credit to contract, exchange volumes plummeted, and Antwerp's financial prosperity faced its first serious test of political risk.
4. 1568–1570Antwerp · AntwerpAfter the Dutch Revolt broke out in 1568, the Duke of Alba suppressed it with an iron hand; Protestants and exiled merchants shifted capital and skills to Amsterdam and elsewhere, and the Antwerp exchange's international hub status began a long decline.