Short answers, pulled from the story.
A corporation, or body corporate, is an individual or group authorized by the state to act as a single legal entity recognized in law. It is described as a legal person "born out of statute," able to own property, make contracts, and sue or be sued for as long as it exists.
The word corporation derives from corpus, the Latin word for body, or a body of people. By the time of Justinian, who reigned from 527 to 565, Roman law already recognized corporate entities under the names Universitas, corpus, and collegium.
The Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun, Sweden, is the alleged oldest commercial corporation in the world. It obtained a charter from King Magnus Eriksson in 1347.
The South Sea Company, established in 1711, fueled the first speculative bubble Britain had seen, with its share price rising rapidly before bursting by the end of 1720. The price sank from 1,000 pounds to under 100 pounds, triggering bankruptcies and bitter feeling against corporations and errant directors.
Limited liability was established in Britain by the Limited Liability Act 1855, passed at the behest of Robert Lowe, then Vice President of the Board of Trade. It allowed investors to cap their liability at the amount they had invested, applying to companies of more than 25 members.
A corporation has been ruled a legal person in several countries because it can own property, sue and be sued, and hold many of the same rights as natural persons. The 1897 House of Lords decision in Salomon v Salomon and Co confirmed the company's separate legal personality, distinct from its owners.
Today a corporation is formed by registering with a state, province, or national government and is regulated by that government's laws. It generally files articles of incorporation laying out its nature, the amount of stock it is authorized to issue, and the names and addresses of directors, with registration being the main prerequisite for limited liability.