In the 1600s England was relatively poor compared to other European countries, provoking increased problems and poverty in cities like London. One option would be to invest in the New World colonies, but fearing the usage of royal money in a risky venture, they opted to start joint-stock companies to get funding from different sources.
Joint-stock company became one of the foundations for modern corporatism, creating the ideas of stock markets, capital and risk. These trading ventures proved to be successful and successfully developed British settlements with private investors.
The materials for the Ur ziggurat were bricks of mud and a material called bitumen. If the bricks were stacked with only mud between them, they would not have lasted long.
