Dutch East India Trading Company

Dutch East India Trading Company

The first modern corporation in the world. Established in 1602 by the Dutch government as a legal monopoly, it controlled much of the trade of spices and other goods between Europe and East Asia for the next 200 years. The Dutch East India Trading Company also exercised government control over much of the East Indies; it exercised law and order powers and ran a military to fight against European (mostly British) and other competitors. It was the first company to issue stocks and helped spur the existence of modern exchanges. It dissolved in 1800.