In the 1600s, the Dutch East India Company employed hundreds of ships to trade goods around the globe. In order to fund their voyages, the company turned to private citizens to invest money to support trips in exchange for a share of the profits. In doing so, they unknowingly invented the world’s first stock market. So how do companies and investors use the market today? Oliver Elfenbaum explains.

在16世纪，荷兰东印度公司雇用了数百艘船在全球各地进行货物贸易。为了给他们的航行提供资金，该公司求助于私人公民投资资金来支持旅行，以换取利润分成。这样一来，他们就在不知不觉中发明了世界上第一个股票市场。那么，今天公司和投资者是如何利用市场的呢？