The Muscovy Company was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint-stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England and finance its exploration of the world. The Muscovy Company had a monopoly on trade between England and Russia until 1698 and it survived as a trading company until the Russian Revolution. Since 1917, the company has operated as a charity, now working within Russia.
Ivan IV of Russia Shows His Treasury to Jerome Horsey (Alexander Litovchenko, 1875)
Vladimir Kosov. 1553 expedition of Richard Chancellor
Old English Yard Moscow
A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights by royal charter for the purpose of trade, exploration, or colonization, or a combination of these.
Share certificate of the Stora Kopparberg mine, dated 16 June 1288
The British East India Company's headquarters in London