Before the world of stocks became what we have known it to be today, its humble beginnings can be traced in the land of Venice where they engaged in trading of money. Their procedure is not exactly the same as the one that is done today, but their methods eventually evolved to the one that are being used in the current times.

The merchants in the land of Venice traded debts with one another. The lenders aim to get rid of a high-interest and a high-risk loan by trading this to anyone interested among their fellow lenders. In addition to that, these lenders were also involved in buying debt issues from the government because it promises bigger profit for them. The natural process of evolution took place and the time came that lenders learned to sell their debts to interested customers. The people of Venice were the dominating merchants in the field of stocks. They were the first ones that began to trade securities with other governments in the year 1300. Their method of selling is like what a broker does today. They would walk along streets with slates hanging on their body that contain information about the issues for sale. Then, he would meet up with potential clients.

Obviously, the method of trading stocks has travelled a long way to become the scheme that is used in the current stock markets. It is helpful to know how things came about and appreciate its history.