AT BOTTOM, THE joint-stock structure was simple: a group of investors provided capital to pay for some action—in the early days, usually a trading venture. In return they received shares in proportion to the amount each invested. This was more than a simple pooling of resources; partnerships and more temporary alliances existed long before the joint-stock company emerged. Unlike such arrangements, a joint-stock approach shifted what it meant to own a business. Instead of indicating part ownership of discrete chunks of actual stuff—a ship, a stand of timber, a machine—shares in a joint-stock
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