Which company issued the first publicly traded shares in 1602?

The Dutch East India Company issued the first widely traded company shares in 1602.

Known in Dutch as the VOC, the company was established on March 20, 1602, when the States General of the Netherlands merged several competing trading ventures. It received a 21-year monopoly over Dutch trade in Asia and raised permanent capital by selling shares to investors rather than liquidating after each voyage.

That structure was a major financial innovation. Investors could transfer their ownership in secondary markets, including Amsterdam’s open-air trading market, which later became associated with the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The VOC is therefore often described as one of the world’s first joint-stock companies and a foundational institution in the history of modern stock markets.

The English East India Company was established earlier, in 1600, but it used a different early financing model. The VOC’s lasting share capital and active resale market made its 1602 share issue especially significant. The company also possessed unusual state-like powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, mint coins, and establish colonies.