The Dutch are traders. It all started with a small fish found in the North Sea called Clupea harrengus, a.k.a. herring. The Dutch were fishermen and in 1385 they discovered a way gutting and salting the fish so that it would keep indefinitely and so began a centuries long tradition in trade.
This in turn led to the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compangie or VOC) which is regarded as the first multinational company ever and was responsible for setting up the first stock exchange in the world at Amsterdam. The VOC traded everything from spices to fabrics, and from opium to elephants and was the largest company in the world for close on 200 years. Not bad for such a small country.
This in turn led to the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compangie or VOC) which is regarded as the first multinational company ever and was responsible for setting up the first stock exchange in the world at Amsterdam. The VOC traded everything from spices to fabrics, and from opium to elephants and was the largest company in the world for close on 200 years. Not bad for such a small country.
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