Johnny Depp and Capt. Sparrow and the English east India company.........Holland had one as well..............

Birth and wealth of corporate finance[edit]

In the 17th century the Dutch — traditionally able seafarers and keen mapmakers — began to trade with the Far East and as the century wore on, they gained an increasingly dominant position in world trade, a position previously occupied by the Portuguese and Spanish.[4]

In 1602 the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) was founded. It was the first-ever multinational corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange. This company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade and would keep this for two centuries. It became the world’s largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits, due to the efforts and risks involved and seemingly insatiable demand. To finance the growing trade within the region, theBank of Amsterdam was established in 1609, the precursor to, if not the first true central bank.[5]