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[[File:B078682b5485b042587f5ca1fd08662c.jpg|thumb|left|Figure 1. The Dutch East India Company was the first company to be publicly traded in the first stock market established in Amsterdam in 1602. ]]
Stock markets developed over the last few centuries into companies issuing shares and investment opportunities to shareholders. Stock markets very much drive modern economies but the ideas behind them are a few centuries old. Nevertheless, the concept of investing in firms or organizations that reap rewards for shareholders engaged in trading is an ancient one and goes back millennia.
==Later Developments==
[[File:170520-How-to-use-Volume-in-Trading-Buttonwood-Agreement-2.jpg|thumbthumbnail|left|Figure 2. The Buttonwood Agreement helped establish what would become the New York Stock Exchange.]]
The idea of a stock market began to spread throughout Europe. London soon emerged as a key center, with traders at the first meeting in a coffeehouse in the early 18th century. The coffee house became very active for trade and soon was completely taken over by traders who formalized the name "stock exchange" in the English language. In the 18th century, as English explorers began to spread across North America, many of their expeditions, including trading for furs and other exotic products, began to be financed by stock exchange trading. Perhaps though the biggest turning point for the early stock market in establishing itself as a strong link to the wider economy occurred during the Industrial Revolution from the late 18th century through the early 19th century.
