From Rome to the world๐
Trading originated on the fragments of the Holy Roman Empire, between the inhabitants of European states, connected by sea and land. The old Roman tradition of gathering in designated areas to exchange news, orders and customer bases has spawned markets and fairs. In the 13th century, enterprising Italians invented promissory notes, which, due to the convenience and safety of moving large sums, soon spread throughout Europe, and by the 18th century they reached Russia. Joint stock companies, such as the East India Company, began to write trusts for various goods...
But we are already getting ahead of ourselves. So, the exchanges.
Holland, but not that๐๐ปโโ๏ธ
Imagine: XVI century, Holland. No legal drugs, the Red Light District isn't open yet. Crossing trade routes. Foreign merchants travel around the cities, astonishing the locals with a variety of goods. Here you can find coffee, tobacco, furs, silks, overseas wines, and precious stones... The Dutch run up their eyes, they want to trade, but money is not always available at the right time and in the right amount. Their main product is tree and tulip bulbs. This is where promissory note come to the rescue. I bought a promissory note for spices from a Greek, sold it to a Briton for real money, or for a stock in a tea company. Residents of trading cities, of course, understand that providing merchants with places to trade is quite a profitable business... This is an opportunity to keep abreast of the most profitable deals, these are useful acquaintances. And a certain profit.
A merchant from Brugesโ๏ธ
An entrepreneur from the city of Bruges, by the name of van der Bursa, opened a hotel for merchants, in the premises of which he organized all the comfortable conditions (safes, meeting rooms, coffee time) for trading. From which he had quite a decent income. Remarkably, his family crest was the image of three leather bags. From the surname Bursa, meaning "leather bag" or "purse", presumably the name "beurs" arose. After a while, the shop moved to the city of Antwerp (already without Mr. van der Bursa), where in 1531 it acquired an official status. The Antwerp Stock Exchange was housed in a new building specially built for the occasion, with an inscription above the entrance to which the following was written:
"For merchants of all countries and nations!"
The Tulip Crash๐ท
In 1612, due to a difficult political situation, the Antwerp Stock Exchange moved to Amsterdam (Why are you smiling? Hashish bars were opened much later). It was then that the East and West Indian joint stock companies came into play, things went uphill. Holland began to make money on flowers, specifically and powerfully, shares of tulip bulbs soared in price... Now experienced traders have to guess what happened next. Yes Yes. Yes! There was a panic in the market, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, and after it the entire economy of the Netherlands collapsed. Tens of thousands of stock traders suffered losses.
End of the first part
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