Merchants needed no longer to rely upon the friendly offices of the traveler who happened to be going in the desired direction, and were free from the expense of special couriers. Knowledge of market conditions in distant places spread more broadly and more rapidly than it had ever done before. Shrewd speculators could still sometimes make great profits by getting possession early of some special bit of news, but the essentials of commercial information were available for all. The modern newspaper grew up, by several stages, from written reports that were passed around as circulars in this period, telling of the state of the market, prices, conditions of transportation, etc. =162. Need of closer association among merchants; risks of commerce.=—The most striking change in the organization of commerce, regarding especially that with distant countries and other continents, was the growth of association among merchants. We have noted the development in the Middle Ages of the partnership and other forms of association; we have now to study the rise of great companies which form a connecting link with the corporations and trusts of the present day. Among the reasons for the rise of great commercial companies the following are to be noted. (1) Distant commerce was exposed constantly to armed attack. The protection of a country’s navy extended but a small distance from home. Ships in European waters were threatened by pirates in times of peace, by privateers in times in war; in waters outside Europe they faced trade rivals from other European countries, and hostile natives who were not bound by the civilized rules of peace and war. Distant commerce was essentially military in character, and required for successful prosecution greater military force than a small group of men could afford. (2) Partly because of dangers suggested above, partly because of the natural perils of the sea under the conditions of navigation at the time, partly because of the very novelty of the trade, distant commerce was very hazardous. If five men sent out a ship they might make a great fortune, but they might lose everything. If they associated themselves with ninety-five others and together sent out twenty ships they were pretty sure to lose some of these, but they were pretty sure to make from the other ships enough to return large profits. =163. Association required by government; reasons.=—It was natural, under the circumstances, that associations of men should spring up for carrying on commerce in distant parts. We must note further, however, that these associations were required by European governments, that a certain field was assigned to each company in which it was given a monopoly, and that in this field trade by individuals and by other associations was prohibited. The reasons for this course were, in brief, as follows: