SC - Anglo-Saxon cooling

[allilyn@juno.com]

> TOTAL SPECULATION MODE ON:
> 
> I wonder if there exists, anywhere, records of trade in spice
> futures/options. We do have records of such ventures being insured, and
> I would not be at all surprised if people were trading stock in
> corporations created for such ventures, formally or otherwise. If, say,
> Cedric were able to buy "call" options on grains of paradise scheduled
> to arrive in Bristol by ship in July, he'd be guaranteed the right to
> purchase them from this ship at a previously agreed-upon quantity and
> discounted price. Such options were probably transferable. Wouldn't that
> amount to almost the same thing as trading in spices as a medium of exchange?

Venturing in spices was common. 
This is how most of the Expeditions of the English East India company 
were funded. Actually, not just with Spices and hte Eastern India trades,
BTW, but also the Muscovy Company, and a lot of the voyages of 
expedition were funded by "venture capital"
A "company" or set of partners would pay to outfit a ship ( representatives 
of the company would often go on the trip as well, to ensure the captian 
and crew were not skimming ) and they would get a predefined share in 
the cargo upon return.  
(this was all "futures trading", since the ship was not even outbound 
at this point.)
Persons in the exchange company would be allowed to speculate on the 
venture by buying "shares" in the cargo.
It was not impossible that one could "opt out" of a shares contract on a 
single voyage by transferring the shares to Cedric, but what was more 
common was that the person would "cash out" of the company, selling 
his shares back to the company. 

Brandu