VOC Stock Certificate

Timeline

1. 1602Amsterdam Stock Exchange · NetherlandsOn March 20, 1602, a Dutch States-General charter formally established the Dutch East India Company, publicly issuing share subscriptions to citizens and raising about 6.5 million guilders. Subscription records were entered in the company's books in the form of written stock certificates (aandeelbewijs), becoming the world's earliest publicly issued stocks. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was founded the same year, providing an organized secondary market for transferring the certificates.
2. 1610–1690Amsterdam · NetherlandsFrom the 1610s to the 1690s, VOC shares were frequently traded on the Amsterdam Exchange, giving rise to prototypes of modern financial instruments such as futures, options, and short selling. Joseph de la Vega published Confusion de Confusiones in 1688, documenting speculative operations in this market; it is the first work of stock market analysis in human history.