The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest in the world. It was established in 1602 by the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) to aide in the trading of shares in the company. Amsterdam was the first exchange to begin trading securities and was the location of the tulipmania bubble of 1636 to 1637, the first bubble in financial history. Global Financial Data has collected data for three companies that traded on the Amsterdam Stock exchange in the 1600s and the 1700s, the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) which had a monopoly over trade in Asia, the Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie (Dutch West India Company) which had a monopoly over trade in the Americas, and the Sociëteit von Berbice which established a colony in Guyana which ultimately failed.
Dutch East India Company, 1601 to 1794
Data for the East India Company (VOC1-AM) goes from 1601 to 1794 when the company fell into bankruptcy. Data for the West India Company (WIC1-AM) goes from 1628 to 1792 and data for the Society of Berbice (SBRB1-AM) goes from 1734 to 1752. Most of the data from the 1700s is bi-weekly or even daily during the 1720 bubble.
Dutch West India Company, 1628 to 1793
This data provides an insight into the behavior of stocks over a period of two centuries when the Dutch West India Company and the Dutch East India Company were one of the few stocks traded in the world. The Society of Berbice illustrates the performance of an attempt at colonization in the Americas that ultimately failed. Berbice included 12 plantations owned by the society, 93 private plantations along the Berbice River and 20 plantations along the Canje River. The colony suffered a severe blow in 1763 when 2,500 slaves rebelled and the leader of the rebellion, Coffy, temporarily become Governor of Berbice. The history of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India are also imbedded in their stock price history. The rise of the companies in the 1600s, the impact of the Mississippi Bubble in France in 1719 and the South Sea Bubble in London in 1720 is clearly visible. The slow but steady decline in the price of the stock of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company as each slowly slid into bankruptcy can also be traced. To better understand the history of the Dutch East India Company, read the blog, The First and the Greatest: The Rise and Fall of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie
Society of Berbice, 1734-1752
To truly understand the performance of stocks over the past 400 years, these three companies cannot be ignored. The data is available to all subscribers to the Equity Microverse. If you would like access to this data, please feel free to call Global Financial Data today to speak to one of our sales representatives at 877-DATA-999 or 949-542-4200.
