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Which company was the first to issue publicly traded shares, in 1602?
Its shares traded on the Amsterdam exchange.
The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) was formed in 1602 by merging several rival Dutch trading companies. Britannica says the Dutch government gave it a monopoly on trade between the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Magellan, with powers to make treaties, build forts and maintain armed forces. Its charter let ordinary investors buy shares and these could be traded afterwards, which is why it is often called the first publicly traded company.
Shares were traded in Amsterdam, where an early securities market grew around the company, and the Rijksmuseum describes the VOC as the largest trading and shipping company in the world between 1602 and 1800. Because the stock could be resold, investors could leave the company without it having to return their capital, which let the VOC raise long-term money for risky voyages. That feature, together with limited liability for ordinary shareholders, is a core part of the modern corporation.
The 'first' label carries caveats. Joint-stock ventures and tradeable shares in mines and shipping existed in earlier eras and elsewhere, so historians often say the VOC was the first major company with permanent, freely tradeable capital rather than the first ever. It was later weakened by corruption, debt and war, and the Dutch government revoked its charter and took over its debts in 1799.