A History of the Rhodesian Stock Exchange: The Formative Years, 1946-1952

The Stock Exchange is a market where stocks and shares are purchased and sold and capital is raised for the purposes of industry and both local and central government.1 Markets for the trading of stocks and shares or securities have existed for centuries all over the world. One of the earliest known markets was established in Paris, France around 1138.2 However, the modern form of the Stock Exchange can be traced to about 200 years ago.3 By the twentieth century, the Stock Exchange had become a common feature in many capitalist economies and was widely considered an institution characteristic of a ‘modern economy’. The Stock Exchange is now recognised as an important cog in the financial structure of the capitalist system. While the Stock Exchange serves an important function in the economy, it can also wreak havoc. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which triggered a global economic depression.4