ON a March day in 1602, the Dutch Republic tried to solve a problem of commerce with a piece of statecraft. Rival merchant groups were bidding up the cost of spices in Asia, squeezing profits at home, ...
AMSTERDAM: On March 20, 1602, the Dutch Republic chartered the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), creating what historians often call the world’s first multinational corporation. The company was ...