Record #00389Economy archive
First Public Subscription to a Company's Share Capital
The Dutch East India Company opened share subscriptions to the public in 1602, establishing registers in Amsterdam and five other cities as a pioneering form of broadly subscribed corporate capital.
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Achievement date
1602
1602
- Achiever
- Dutch East India Company
- Location
- Amsterdam and five other cities in the Dutch Republic · Netherlands
- Record status
- VerifiedView verification details ↗Report an issue
Overview
Archive NoteOn 20 March 1602, the States General of the Dutch Republic issued a charter to the VOC, consolidating earlier trading ventures into a privileged company whose shares could be subscribed to by residents.
Subscription offices operated in Amsterdam, Middelburg, Rotterdam, Delft, Hoorn and Enkhuizen. Amsterdam's chamber attracted 1,143 subscribers, and the initial subscribed company capital was approximately 6.5 million guilders.
Record history
1 Milestones- First achievementDutch East India CompanyAmsterdam and five other cities in the Dutch RepublicFirst achievement
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesVerification basis and limitations
VerifiedThe record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
Oxford Academic's financial history of VOC supports the first public subscription to an enterprise's share capital in 1602, a more precise event than the disputed broad 'first joint-stock company' label.
- Verification assessment
- 2026-11-05
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-05
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