If you look at cities around the world, Amsterdam stands out for a long time of what is good in a city. Something about the city is good and asking why to do your homework leads to a book called Amsterdam – A History of the World’s Most Liberal City by Russell Shorto published by Doubleday, NY, 2013. There are many interesting facts and theories about the city and its relationship between the separation of church and state.

In reading about the economic drivers of the city, one of the more interesting stories (bias) is the founding of the Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC) or Dutch East India Company. For many years, the Portuguese controlled the trade routes to India from Europe, for a number of reasons, the Portuguese influence was falling. The Dutch sent ships to Indonesia and although only 89 of 249 men who left returned (not in great shape) the cargo they brought back, the investors made money. Two years later another fleet was sent but this time they brought back over 1 million pounds of pepper, cloves and nutmeg and the merchants made a 400% profit. A few years later, the merchants decided to co-operate and the VOC emerged. During its heyday, the VOC sent more than a million Europeans to Asia, brought back 2.5 million tons of Asian products to Europe. The genius of the VOC was in threading itself through the highly evolved network so by the end of a century later, the Dutch were selling spices not only to Europe by to China, India and even to the Spice Islanders.

The VOC was the first global trading company sending copper and silver from Japan to China for silk and porcelain, then selling those in the East Indies for the spices that it shipped to Europe. The VOC made porcelain, coffee, tea and dozen of other things literally household words in the West. It sold Indonesian sugar to Persia and Indian fabrics to Yemen.

Through the VOC people all over the world went from local cultivators to participants in the global trade networks. All of this involved a transportation system, insurance, storage and processing. The materials were sold to Europeans or it was the beginning of consumerism. Much of the infrastructure was built in Amsterdam.

The VOC was the first company sold on a stock market on August 31,1602 when 1,143 people bought shares in the company or 57% of the stock was issued. A healthy market in trading the shares developed and as the profitability grew.  The company originally paid dividends in spices however by 1618 cash was paid and for over 200 years the company paid its investors healthy dividends.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, we often think of global trading stocks as a 21st century thing, but in reality there were global stocks paying dividends in the 1600’s.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.