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Stock trading dates back as far as the mid-1500s in Antwerp, modern stock trading is generally recognized as starting with the trading of shares in the East India Company in London. Throughout the 1600s, British, French, and Dutch governments provided charters to a number of companies that included East India in the name. All goods brought back from the east were transported by sea, involving risky trips often threatened by severe storms and pirates. To mitigate these risks, ship owners regularly sought out investors to proffer financing collateral for a voyage. In return, investors received a portion of the monetary returns realized if the ship made it back successfully, loaded with goods for sale. These are the earliest examples of limited liability companies (LLCs), and many held together only long enough for one voyage. The formation of the East India Company in London eventually led to a new investment model, with importing companies offering stocks that essentially represented a fractional ownership interest in these companies, and that offered investors dividends on all proceeds from all the voyages a company funded, instead of just a single trip. The new business model made it possible for the companies to ask for larger investments per share, enabling them to easily increase the size of their shipping fleets. Investing in such companies, they are often protected from competition by royally-issued charters, which became very popular due to the fact that investors could potentially realize massive profits on their investments.