Stock has become such a ubiquitous word in economic life, that often we forget that someone had to invent the concept. Stocks, or shares of ownership in a business, go back as far as the Roman Republic, but the history of modern stock is often traced back to the establishment of the English (later British) and Dutch East India Companies in the early 1600s. Partially state-owned, these companies were founded to bring resources from India and South-East Asia to Europe, either through trade or conquest. Some of the first European colonies in North America were by joint ventures between the British government and private shareholders. Two notable examples of this are the Virginia and Massachusetts Bay companies. These state-sanctioned monopolies allowed investors to participate in the establishment and profits of colonial projects, with the British military protecting their investments from natives and other European powers. These companies later became colonies, then states. In the late 1700s, the Buttonwood Trade Agreement was signed by 24 merchants on Wall Street. Within 30 years this agreement evolved into the New York Stock and Exchange Board, the precursor of