The Early Years of the Dutch East India Company

MISS 3 - July 27, 2023

Speakers: 
Professor Abe de Jong, Business School - Monash University.
Professor Brett Neilson, Institute of Culture and Society - Western Sydney University.

With their legal personhood, permanent capital, transferable shares, separation of ownership and management, and limited liability, the Dutch and English colonial trading companies Dutch East India Company (VOC) and East India Company (EIC) are considered institutional breakthroughs.

In this seminar, we discuss the VOC’s business operations and financial policy and show that its novel corporate form owed less to foresight than to piecemeal engineering to remedy design flaws. We discuss limited liability, LeMaire’s short-selling syndicate, and the use of risk management contracts in relation to the company’s strategy and activities in Asia.

Watch the video now.