The Great Depression was a major turning point in world history and Japanese history.
It was a little late to write an article, but there is news that the unemployment rate in the United States has reached 3.28 million in a week even in the current 21st century, and the employment situation is comparable to the Great Depression. increase. It's not just about past events.
Due to such a situation, I was planning to investigate the history of the Great Depression in a hurry, but this blog is a blog whose motto is "easy to understand". First of all, I would like to investigate from a corporation.
What is a company in the first place? ??
The definition of a company is
It is said that.
A company with the purpose of "pursuing profits" and "an organization whose rights and obligations are recognized by law" It seems to call it.
Currently in Japan, there is a law called the Companies Act, which stipulates the rules necessary for creating and operating a company. According to this Companies Act, the current "company" in Japan is investor . (Person who provided the property) Difference in how to call and the weight of responsibility By
- Co., Ltd.
- General partnership
- Joint stock company
- GK
It is classified into four categories.
The classification of companies differs depending on the country and the era, and the "limited company" that people in their thirties and over have heard is one of the disappearing forms of companies.
This time I want to learn about "company" related to history, so Co., Ltd. I will focus only on it, but for the time being, at this stage
Companies are divided into four types (in Japan today), and one of them is a company in the form of a "stock company".
I hope you will be aware of the degree and put it down.
What is a corporation?
Again from the definition of a corporation. It is pulled from the familiar Kotobank.
It is difficult to understand if it is only letters, so if you try to diagram it
It's like this.
Investors (individuals / corporations) invest funds and use the collected funds
- Hire people
- Introduction of machines
- System introduction
We create various things and provide services by doing such things. The profits gained from such manufacturing and services are
- Pay as salary to people who actually work for the company
- Invest in a company that is likely to be profitable for your company
- Increase corporate value ・ Save in case of emergency
We will continue to operate the company by turning it into such things.
Of course, the investor does not just pay. You can get various rights.
Such " rights obtained by investing And "I have rights stocks Such stocks " Shareholders " I call it.
If the business of the corporation goes well, as a thank you, " dividend And " Shareholder Benefits 』Can be obtained. On the other hand, if the business does not go well, you will not be able to get dividends, and in the worst case, stocks will become par.
... is what the first definition says.
The " stocks " that the corporation is giving to investors However, before, " stock certificate Was issued and handed over to investors. It is the one that appears in the game of life.
However, due to the trend of digitization, paper stock certificates are basically not issued at present.
Bonds issued when lending and borrowing money, including this stock certificate Securities including (Borrowing Certificate) I call it. This securities The word is an indispensable word for learning the Great Depression, so keep it in the corner of your head.
Wait for dividends and shareholder benefits?
"Dividends" are literally returned to you.
"Shareholder benefits" vary depending on each company, but for example, in the case of "Satsudora Holdings", it costs 167,100 yen or more.
In the case of "Toubu Jyuhan", it costs 80,000 yen or more.
I get it. It seems that some individual investors make investments by referring to these shareholder benefits.
Who has the most power in a corporation? ??
You need money to do business and make a profit. A "shareholder" who brings funds to a joint-stock company is indispensable. The owner of the so-called company. Naturally, you will participate in the management of the company.
Co., Ltd. The owner who provides the asset and the employee who actually does the business are separate So, shareholders who do not actually do business also have " voting rights that determine management . "can do. It is a mechanism that strengthens the voice of those who have many stocks.
Let's take a look at the history of the corporation
Up until now, we have covered the current corporations, but let's finally explore the past corporations.
What was the first corporation that was established?
The first corporation in the world was a East India Company that was born in the Netherlands in 1602. is. You may have heard the name because it was a company that traded in Dejima, which appears in Japanese history.
Looking back in Europe at that time for about 200 years, the demand for spices increased due to the treatment of plague. In addition to plague, cooling also overlaps (← the demand for food that can be stored for a long time has increased), and when the period of stagnation is overcome, it gradually begins to strengthen.
However, a very large country around present-day Turkey, the Ottoman Empire had. Spices, which have been in high demand in Europe, cannot be obtained without a high margin and a high amount of money. Therefore, Europe is expanding so that it can directly trade spices. Thus, in the middle of the 15th century, we entered the Age of Discovery.
In addition, the plague drastically reduced the population to a quarter of the whole of Europe, changing the view of life and death, and the difference in religion caused the Netherlands, which was a nation of Spain at that time, to become independent in 1581. Due to geographical conditions, the Netherlands has become more commerce-oriented.
Long-term food storage is required for voyage. Spices are needed to store food for a long time ... So there was a high demand for spices in Europe, but
Many sailors at the cost of the ship, a large amount of food and liquor. Large ships also loaded livestock such as chickens, cows and goats. Of course, it costs a lot, so we will establish a method of soliciting investment for each voyage and distributing the profits obtained from trade after the voyage.
Of course, voyages are dangerous. At that time, food preservation techniques were not well-developed, and sailors were side by side with vitamin-deficient scurvy, as well as risks such as looting and sinking.
The current buying and selling of stocks carries risks, but it was a high-risk, high-return voyage.
Fewer people will be able to invest in such a dangerous voyage many times. What came out there was not in the form of every voyage ...
"If you share the profits of several voyages, the risk will be reduced."
The idea was to solicit investment. The Dutch East India Company was the first to adopt this method. We will create a trading company and change to a low-risk, low-return method that returns the profits earned from several voyages to investors.
This is the beginning of a corporation that continues to the present day, but it is not an idea that came out of scratch. Next, let's see how the method of soliciting investment was born.
When did you come up with a way to collect money and securities?
Italy in the 12th century was the oldest way to raise money. Italy around the 12th century was also a time of continuous war. Therefore, we will start borrowing from the citizens to raise war expenses. The bonds issued at that time are said to be the beginning of securities.
As the issuance of government bonds (bonds for debt by the government) to raise war expenses progressed, it became necessary to have a place to trade bonds frequently.
The world's first stock exchange was created in 1531. The Antwerp Stock Exchange in Belgium.
With the success of this stock exchange, more and more stock exchanges will be established mainly in Europe. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was opened in the Netherlands, where the East India Company is located, and stock certificates (and bonds) began to be bought and sold.
Let's see the transition of the central area where securities were traded
Eventually, in the middle of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution took place, and as mechanization progressed, a lot of money was needed to introduce the machine. The form of a corporation was the most suitable.
However, Britain, which caused the Industrial Revolution earliest, burst the bubble in the first half of the 18th century before the Industrial Revolution and saw pain (South Sea Bubble Incident), so stock investment is prohibited by law until the 19th century. It was done. This led to the development of a relatively inexpensive industry such as the textile industry.
Germany was the place where many corporations actually became popular. Since Germany was a country that was a latecomer to the Industrial Revolution and had no colonies, the need to invest in niche industries and efficiency would have been prioritized. It will contribute to the development of the heavy chemical industry, which became more important in the latter half of the 19th century.
Nevertheless, the early industrial revolution and the accumulation of wealth due to colonial rule could not be ignored. It is said that Britain also incorporated Dutch commercial and financial know-how. In this way, the center of the stock exchange moved from Amsterdam to London, England.
After that, over time, Wall Street in New York, USA Stock markets such as the New York Stock Exchange (established in 1817) and NASDAQ (Nasdaq, established in 1971) are booming. It has become one of the two major stock exchanges and continues to this day.
In addition, in recent years, the market capitalization of stock exchanges in East Asia such as Euronext, Shanghai / Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Japan, which have been integrated across national borders in Europe, has been increasing in presence.
By the way, the first corporation that was born in Japan is said to be the "Daiichi National Bank" in the 6th year of the Meiji era. The founder is Eiichi Shibusawa. Eiichi Shibusawa is described in the article below, so please have a look if you are interested.