Why were joint-stock companies created?

They were created in order to finance endeavors that are too expensive for an individual or even a government to fund. It also allowed several investors to pool their money/wealth in support of a colony that would, hopefully, yield a profit. They were created in 1606.

Explanation:

i confess that there are several parts of this constitution which i do not at present approve, but i am not sure i shall never approve them: for having lived long, i have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which i once thought right, but found to be otherwise. it is therefore that the older i grow, the more apt i am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others.

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