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Corporate bodies (another Brit invention?), which go way back, were typically created through a Charter granted by the King. I think the Corporation of London was one of the first.

A Corporate body is a legal entity which has a continuing legal existence INDEPENDENT of its members. A Partnership may have a separate legal existence, but this is DEPENDENT on its Members - so a partnership ceases to exist when the penultimate partner leaves.

A Corporate body is a "legal person" able to "own" assets and enter into contracts in exactly the same way as an individual.

Joint Stock Companies are a much later innovation. I was aware of the Dutch East India Company, and had thought it the first such "Joint Stock" Company. Fascinated to read of the Bazacle entity therefore.

But I was in fact referring to the Limited Liability Company ("the Corporation") as the bedrock of Capitalism - all Companies prior to the UK legislation - the Limited Liability Act of 1855 - had unlimited liability, as far as I know.

BTW an LLC is something else again - the US Limited Liability Company is not actually a Corporate body (like the Joint Stock Limited Liability "Corporation"), but is an interesting beast in its own right, with many of the good qualities of a partnership.

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Sun Jan 21st, 2007 at 12:00:47 PM EST
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To hear Szabo tell it, it was all the fault of the Genovese
http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2006/10/genoa.html
by richardk (richard kulisz gmail) on Mon Jan 22nd, 2007 at 05:24:06 AM EST
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