ABSTRACT
THE UNITED STATES WAS SETTLED by corporations. For Europe’s rulers the New World was a land glittering with possibilities. Yet colonialism was a risky and expensive enterprise. The construction of large ocean-going vessels and the maintenance of trade routes required a considerable amount of capital. And even once the money was raised, the investment was chancy. The limited liability corporation was an ideal mechanism for overcoming these obstacles. Colonialism spawned the first transnational corporations.
