History of stock
exchanges
In 12th century France the courratiers de
change were concerned with managing and
regulating the debts of agricultural communities
on behalf of the banks. As these men also traded
in debts, they could be called the first
brokers.
Some stories suggest that the origins of the
term "bourse" come from the Latin bursa
meaning a bag because, in 13th century
Bruges, the sign of a purse (or perhaps
three purses), hung on the front of the house
where merchants met.
However, it is more likely that in the late
13th century commodity traders in Bruges
gathered inside the house of a man called Van
der Burse, and in 1309 they institutionalized
this until now informal meeting and became the
"Bruges Bourse". The idea spread quickly around
Flanders and neighbouring counties and "Bourses"
soon opened in Ghent and Amsterdam.
In the middle of the 13th century,
Venetian bankers began to trade in
government securities. In
1351, the Venetian Government outlawed
spreading rumors intended to lower the price of
government funds. There were people in
Pisa,
Verona,
Genoa and
Florence who also began trading in
government securities during the 14th century.
This was only possible because these were
independent city states ruled by a council of
influential citizens, not by a duke.
The Dutch later started
joint stock companies, which let
shareholders invest in business ventures and
get a share of their profits - or losses. In
1602, the
Dutch East India Company issued the first
shares on the
Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was the first
company to issue
stocks and
bonds. In 1688, the trading of stocks began
on a stock exchange in
London.
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