VOC Coat of Arms, 17th Century

VOC Coat of Arms, 17th Century

The company's first arms bear the motto: God leading, we are safe. The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It is often considered to have been the first multinational corporation in the world and it was the first company to issue stock. Over the next two centuries the Company acquired additional ports as trading bases and safeguarded their interests by taking over surrounding territory. It remained an important trading concern and paid an 18% annual dividend for almost 200 years. Weighed down by corruption in the late 18th century, the Company went bankrupt and was formally dissolved in 1800.

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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3320 x 3018 px | 28.7 MB

28.1 x 25.6 cm | 11.1 x 10.1 in (300 dpi)