Stock transfer patterns in the Hudson's Bay company: A study of the English capital market in operation, 1670-1730

In recent years, there has been expanding interest in the growth, structure and integration of the early English securities market. However, much of the research on this market has focused on overall market data or the larger chartered companies. The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative approach to studying the issue of market activity and development, utilising the stock ownership and transfer records of the Hudson's Bay Company. As a successful smaller chartered company it is possibly more representative of the majority of firms utilising the London financial market of the time. The records provide evidence of an organised and efficient market that was accessible to a variety of large and small investors, including a network of stockbrokers. The volume of transfers also indicates a dynamic pattern of market activity rather than a closely held firm which only obtained its initial capitalisation through the market.