In the seventeenth century, Amsterdam was the financial capital of Europe and the new world. To finance the exploration of the new world, the first bank was opened in Amsterdam in 1609.

The Amsterdam bourse (securities market: literally, "purse") opened in 1611. In order to raise money for exploration companies such as the United East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, the bourse created innovative debt instruments such as annuities and perpetual bonds. In fact, at that time, Holland had a perpetual government bond that paid 8% annually.