So the
company then raised a "terminable joint-stock" for a period of
years. The first of these was issued in 1613-16 and financed a
fleet every year for four years. Subscriptions were called in by
yearly installments and dividends paid out yearly. The voyage of
1613 brought shareholders a profit equivalent to about 11% a year.
By 1620, the Company operated thirty to forty "tall ships", many
built in its own dockyards. These dockyards were so
technologically advanced that they were daily viewed by visitors
and ambassadors. Here, besides wet and dry docks, there were
timber yards, a foundry and cordage works for supplying the ships'
hardware and a bakery and saltings for their provisioning. More
than 200 craftsmen were directly employed in the yard. Overall the
company was one of London' largest employers.
In 1606, the first charter of the Virginia Company was issued for
trading purposes. It gave the settlers "all liberties, franchises,
and immunities" they had in England. To oversee this colony, the
Crown appointed a council. Virginia established the Episcopal
Church by law. It became a joint-stock company in 1609. But
exports were few (timber, soap ashes, pitch, tar, and dyes) for
several years, and then tobacco emerged as a source of profit.
King James imposed a heavy duties on imported tobacco because it
corrupted man's breath with a stinking smoke.
In 1607, the Muscovy Company, hired Henry Hudson to find a
northwest passage through North America to the Pacific Ocean.
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