East India Company Shipyard and Warehouse in Amsterdam, 1725 (engraving)

T'Oostindische Magazyn en Scheeps Timmer-Werf;VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) shipyard and warehouse was based on an artificial island called Oosterburg; it was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia; often considered to have been the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock; also arguably the first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies;