The Amsterdam Bourse, an open-air venue, was created as a commodity exchange in 1530 and rebuilt in 1608. Rather than being a bazaar where goods were traded intermittently, exchanges had the advantage of being a regularly meeting market, which enabled traders to become more specialized and engage in more complicated transactions. As early as the middle of the sixteenth century, people in Amsterdam speculated in grain and, somewhat later, in herring, spices, whale-oil, and even tulips. The Amsterdam Bourse in particular was the place where this kind of business was carried on. This institution as an open-air market in Warmoestreet, later moved for a while to the ‘New Bridge,’ which crosses the Damrak, then flourished in the ‘church square’ near the Oude Kerk until the Amsterdam