The issue of corporate dividends has a long history and, as Frankfurter and Wood (1997) observed, is
bound up with the development of the corporate form itself. Corporate dividends date back at least to
the early sixteenth century in Holland and Great Britain when the captains of sixteenth century sailing
ships started selling financial claims to investors, which entitled them to share in the proceeds, if any,
of the voyages3. At the end of each voyage, the profits and the capital were distributed to investors,
liquidating and ending the venture’s life. By the end of the sixteenth century, these financial claims
began to be traded on open markets in Amsterdam and were gradually replaced by shares of ownership.
It is worth mentioning that even then many investors would buy shares from more than one captain to
diversify the risk associated with this type of business.