stockmarkettradingguide.com

While some historians believe that the roots of the modern stock market go back as far as 11th century Egypt, most focus their study on European markets in the 12th - 14th centuries. From the first debt brokers in France through the commodity and government security traders of Italy, various models of investment trading flourished. It was the Dutch who first started joint stock companies, allowing shareholders to invest in exchange for a share of the profits. This culminated with the first offering of shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1602.