The United States may have had a substantial economy well before the end of the 19th century and its international trade was sizeable too. As the century came to a close, the country’s financial system had also developed to allow it to meaningfully reduce the country’s reliance on capital from abroad. However, America’s banks…
Amsterdam was the first city in the world with an active stock market. In some respects, it was a minor market, with a small number of participants and few publicly-traded shares. However, the practices of participants and the instruments with which they traded would be surprisingly familiar to us today. Documenting the functioning of…
After the French Revolution, the advancing armies of France’s new militant republic distressed many in Europe and some fared far worse than the continent’s merchants during these years. Nonetheless, merchants and commerce were displaced by the wars that lasted more than two decades. Yet, whatever the destruction brought by the wars, the cities that…
Communist countries in Europe developed large planning bureaucracies and the infrastructure needed to confirm and force compliance with plans. Yet, bureaucracies are not entirely fungible. These systems proved unnecessary in the new capitalist economy. However, a capitalist economy does require one bureaucracy that is not needed, at least not in anything like its usual…
While not uncontested by other Italian city-states, Venice was a candidate for the foremost financial center of Europe in the 15th century. It was not home to many financial institutions but the ones it did possess were among the largest in Europe. These were banks tied to big merchant families, often noble families. Yet,…
Various Italian city-states excelled in banking as it existed in 15th century Europe. In or around this period, Siena, Florence, Venice, and Genoa each were home to some of the largest European financial institutions of their day. Some lasted for over a century, others for only a small fraction of that time. Though the…
France was the setting of one of the largest early experiments with paper money in Europe. This experiment usually refers to the paper money introduced in France by the Scottish economist and banker John Law in the mid-to-late 1710s. This was not the true introduction of paper money in France though. The country used…
The early diplomatic history of the United States, before the War of Independence even came to a close, revolved around securing recognition from other countries and raising money from their governments, bankers, or investors. Of course, London’s financial markets were off limits until the peace treaty of 1783 and France, while the provider of…
Commodity exports were the mainstays of peripheral economies in the 19th century. Agricultural products were among these. Initially, these were inputs into industrial processes, often in the textile industry: think of Indian dyes, American cotton, and New Zealand wool. Near the end of the 19th century, consumer demand enlarged markets for other ‘soft’ agricultural…
Standards of living improved in all Western countries after the Second World War. Incomes rose quickly, allowing more people to enjoy the use of products that were novelties or luxuries before the war, things like household appliances and cars. Homes were getting larger to fit all of the things people were able to afford…
