Diving In: Americana A 400-Year History of American Capitalism By Bhu Srinivasan

Moving forward into the book’s first four chapters, I was quickly reminded of the history behind the United States and how it came about. Most of us know the story of the pilgrims coming over on the Mayflower. Still, I was fascinated to learn that the pilgrims were religious people who had left England and went to Holland to practice their religion, as they could not do so under British monarchy rule. They wanted to leave Holland because they feared the unholy influence the country would have on the young and were deemed to be worthy of credit based on their religious standing. The closer to God you were, the better your “credit” was.

The Mayflower was owned by The Virginia Company based out of London. The Virginia Company was formed in 1606 with permission from the newly crowned King James I after a failed attempt to colonize America in the 1580s in present-day North Carolina.

True to its name, The Virginia Company owned Jamestown, Virginia, the first colony in the United States, to colonize America for profits by bringing back resources and riches to England. Shares of stock were sold with the promise of high returns to shareholders. Money raised from selling stocks was used to fill three ships with supplies and 144 “settlers” to build and establish Jamestown (U.S. Department of Interior, 2024).

Here is the kicker: settlers were more like indentured servants working for freedom. The Virginia Company owned them, as they had to work for seven years with the promise of owning their land. They were charged with gathering the resources to be sold for seven years. All orders were taken from The Virginia Company employees, and all materials and supplies were provided to the settlers.

Unfortunately, The Virginia Company was a colossal flop that had to be bailed out time and time again by The Crown, and its charter was revoked after 17 years. Settlers died at accelerated rates from famine, lack of supplies, disease, cold winters, and attacks from the indigenous people.

The pilgrims that we know from The Mayflower were supposed to end up in Jamestown, but there were many delays caused by the change of terms to their contract by The Virginia Company, which they protested. Eventually, an agreement was reached, but the delay caused them to arrive in November, not at their destination. Instead, they were forced to make provisions for winter at Plymouth Rock, where they ended up settling a new colony.

When The Virginia Company ceased, an agreement was reached with the pilgrims that in exchange for 1,800 pounds, they would own the land and property in Plymouth Rock when the debt was paid off.

Unfortunately for The Virginia Company, things started taking off in Virginia when smoking tobacco caught on amongst the rich and elite. Virginia’s rich soil was a perfect match for farming tobacco, which could then be sold and sent back to England, allowing the settlers to become profitable.

One thing that caught my attention while reading was that shares were sold. I was curious to know when the first stock exchange was established. I discovered it was in Amsterdam when The Dutch East India Company became the first publicly traded company after they decided to sell stock in exchange for dividends (Hwang, 2024).

Thanks for stopping by The Professional Student, and I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog. Don’t forget to like, repost, and comment!

Resources

Hwang, I. (2024, May 22). A brief history of the stock market. SoFi. https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/history-of-the-stock-market/#:~:text=Who%20Created%20the%20Stock%20Market,Amsterdam%20stock%20exchange%20was%20created.

Srinivasan, B. (2018). Americana: A 400-year history of American capitalism. Penguin Press.

U.S. Department of the Interior. (2024). The Virginia Company of London. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/the-virginia-company-of-london.htm#:~:text=The%20Virginia%20Company%20was%20formed,34th%20and%2041st%20northern%20parallel.